Overhead Protocols

The UTD Overhead Protocols course is a mandatory prerequisite to UTD’s Wreck 1 and Cave 1 classes, and acts as Part 1 of any overhead environment course. As there are so many skills and techniques common to both wreck and cave diving, the Overhead Protocols class presents the student with the foundational skills that are necessary to be a safe, thinking diver in any overhead environment.

This three-day class takes place in non overhead environment (open or confined water but not pool), generally at depths of 30’/10m or less, and introduces the student to line-laying, line retrieval, no-visibility line following, touch contact communication & skills, critical skills while no-visibility line following, lost line, lost buddy and lost light. Once these skills are learned, the class introduces a series of simulated failures while on the line: out of air situations, valve failures, etc. These are tested to a level 2 (similar to that of Tech 2 skills) but complicated by the necessity of staying on a line and simulating the need to navigate back to open water.

Completion of this class qualifies a diver to move on to UTD Wreck 1 or UTD Cave 1, each of which is another three-day class that takes place in the actual overhead environment. If a student wishes to complete both Wreck 1 and Cave 1, he/she will not need to repeat the Overhead Protocols class, eliminating the repetition of the line skills. Both Wreck 1 and Cave 1 contain a complete review of line procedures in case there is a time gap between the Overhead Protocols class and Wreck 1 or Cave 1.