Pinnacle Diving Company PDC
Pinnacle Diving Company PDC
Expedition Diving since 2014
Growing the best divers on the planet.
Amazing divers can't be "made". After all, while most can learn to dive, all the courses in the world won't make you a good diver.
No. Amazing divers must be "grown" by leaders capable of solid mentorship.
This is where Pinnacle Diving Company comes in.
Pinnacle Diving Company is an American veteran-operated English-speaking professional diving service based in Kanagawa, Japan, and we nurture and grow the best divers on the planet!
We have a passion for diving. Our adventure is exploring the world-over, our mission is to teach, train, and certify, hands-down, the best divers in the world, and our goal is to grow a competent, confident, capable, and safe dive community, that truly cares about the health of the oceans, the planet, and each other.
To learn more, visit: www.pinnaclediving.com
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Any advice on an smb for class?
SMB’s should be provided to all students who are taking an Open Water course, and they should deploy it several times, from depth, during the course. For other courses, SMB’s should be made available to students if they do not have their own by that point. For recreational divers, a single SMB is fine. Orange is a good color as it is contrasted against the water and easily seen. An open bottom design with a flapper valve inside will allow for 4 different filling methods. For your reel and line, use a delrin reel, not a metal one. Metal sinks if you drop it, but delrin will stay put in the water for a few moments, giving you time to grab it if you accidentally let go of it. And you really don’t need more than 30m of line.
@@pinnacledivingco wow thanks for the huge explanation. It really helped.
Enjoyed the video. Love that kind of instructor.
I wish there were more of these videos on YT. Thanks for sharing!
I plan to make more in the future that document training at all levels. However, a lot of caution needs to go into what gets up out though. We have to be extremely cautious not to present training processes or steps, or provide instruction of any kind either. Doing so could give an unknowing but daring person just enough information to falsely believe they can repeat it on their own, which can and will kill them. So when posting videos that show training, they need to be very generalized and not detail anything specific.
@@pinnacledivingco I completely agree. Having just completed my Mod 1 on a Sidewinder, I think you did a great job. As you presented it, it was more about your experience than it is was bout how to dive the unit.
@@DeepBlueDiscoveries825 Thank you very much. Yes, my experience was a crossover, not a full beginners course. I had a background in O2 rebreather use, but hadn’t used a rebreather in a decade by the point of doing this. As an instructor myself, I wanted to share my experience, but I didn’t want to share anything that would entice idiotic daredevils with misguided or just purely ignorant beliefs and too much confidence, if that makes sense. Since sharing this, I’ve received numerous positive responses, mostly in messages, asking for more. So I’ve decided starting this coming summer I’ll plan to make more of these types of videos to hopefully encourage people toward diving, proper and correct KSA’s, experiences, and more. If anything, I hope they’ll be enjoyable and promote education and safety. 😎🙏🏻
Very good video. Thanks.
Glad you liked it. ☺️👍🏻
What was the water temperature this trip?
I don’t remember exactly. It was probably somewhere around 18°C. May is the timeframe when the water temperature in the region starts to climb back up. Why do you ask?
We'll be visiting in March. Looking forward to diving in Japan.
@@TheodoreJudah That’s wonderful. Please feel free to let us know if we can help facilitate in any way. ☺️👍🏻
Double long hoses?
Yes. I always personally use double long hoses of the same length, however, I give all my students the choice over what they want to train with and learn to use. I teach them all the different configurations, and give them all the pros and cons to each, and let them decide. After reading my sidemount manual before the course, and discussing and going over the options in advance of the course, I let them decide what they want to use. The majority opt to take my own preference of dual long hoses for the pros that it offers.
did 3 dives on 2 july 23 with a 2mm. holy hell does the water get cold past 25ft. only managed about 20lbs of trash. best finds were an oar and coke bottle from 1967
you're great
Thank you. 🙏🏻
Amazing camerawork and amazing music as always! Can't wait to see your next trip
Thank you very much for your compliments. ☺️🙏🏻
I'd love to know what you guys think of the Triton
It's a good unit, and I really like it. However, it does have room for improvement. Everyone here that dives with it says the same, that they really like it, but it has room for improvement. The unit is small (smaller than the DiveRite ChOptima), has a standard 100M depth rating, is capable of being used as a pure O2 unit all the way through mixed-gas, can support off-board gas plug in capability, and is customizable in O2 and Dil placement. It can mount to any harness (sidemount, backmount), and it easier to travel with than most any other CCR out there. As for the negatives... M3S refuses to get rid of the stupid Monox controller (monitors O2, set-point, and HUD, though the unit is 100% functional without it as long as you get a Shearwater Petral2 with the unit, you'll just lose the HUD if you cut it off), and the counter lungs could stand to be made of a tougher, more durable material. But that's really about it. All in all, I like it, and wouldn't trade it. I would just hope for improvements down the road. Other than that, it's a great unit.
Absolutely gorgeous!
Visibility was definitely 30m or more! But the temperature was all of 16c. 😂
Your emphasis on efficiency, simplicity, and doing less for more in recreational diving are well appreciated. That’s an awesome video presentation. Thanks a lot.
You’re very welcome. I hope to share more soon. My goal is to help divers improve and grow better as divers, because I see a lot of bad things across the diving world today. I want to make diving better by growing better divers. ☺️👍🏻
How about a little helium buddy!
Hi there, how did you enjoy diving in Boracay? I want to convince my girlfriend to go there and I think it is great that the school you have been chosen is a NAUI school.
I’ve been twice now. Going again in May. The diving is great. There’s lots of variety to choose from, and every type of diving you can think of is possible. I’d recommend it. As for the shop, they’re the only shop on the island I’d recommend people use as well. ☺️👍🏻
Why would you not do a buoyancy check at the surface. That’s like diving 101 wow maybe go back to a swim pool
😂 Perhaps you could teach me since you already know everything. 🤔👍🏻
What a useless comment. I assume you’ve never done a tech course and found the initial learning curve overwhelming. The fact that @pinnacledivinco shows his mistakes is a credit to his humility.
SPG on crotch strap? I have a 24" HP hose that always clips to the left hip D-Ring.
That’s a good way to do it. It’s very common too. My hose is 32”, and all the hoses on all my rental sets are the same. 32” long. The goal is to keep the hose as close to the body and as streamlined as possible, while at the same time, keeping it secure. 24” would only be long enough for the hip. I like them a little longer so they can be up front. If for any reason you are in a situation where you can’t use your hands to grab it, you can still look down and see your pressure. Putting it on the crotch strap also guarantees both hands can reach it if necessary, and it keeps the hose straight and close to the body, preventing it from becoming a snag hazard.
I love what you are doing on the regulator retrieval. I think it is great that you also put your secondary second stage in your mouth during the retrieval process. I have big arguments with some of my instructor colleagues on this. They tell me, that they think people should retrieve it without the secondary second stage in the mouth. I totally disagree as in case of an emergency and maybe empty lung, people who might not catch it on the first try will panic and shoot up as they will not think of the octopus anymore. If you learn it the way you show it, people will remember it and put the octopus in the mouth and then go for recovery. As we learned during the instructor course, first learned will be remembered.... Thank you putting it this way into the video.
100%, absolutely! It is exactly like you pointed out. Law of Primacy. First learned, best remembered. I have a belief that all dive instruction--exactly the same as flight instruction--should be developed in a progressive manner, that places the foundational skills necessary for real-world use in diving as primacy. To this end, I teach everyone "neutral from the start" (NO KNEES!!!), and design skills so they apply to emergency procedures in an intuitive and safe way. Sure, the ability to locate the regulator while blowing bubbles can demonstrate a degree of water confidence and capability, but little else. I want 100% of all MY divers to be "thinking" divers, not "robots". So why NOT use the tools you have to address an emergency when encountered? The secondary second stage is your personal regulator, why not use it? Once you put it in your mouth, congratulations! The "emergency" is now over! At this point, you can take your time to address recovering the lost regulator from your perfectly neutral position, and carry on with the dive. Instilling these skills right away from the very beginning will ensure these new divers go on to become "amazing" divers later on, capable of thinking and acting independently, and being truly self-reliant divers as they should be. Thanks for the comment Alex! 😎🤙
@@pinnacledivingco I agree so much with you. The "emergency" is indeed over when the secondary second stage is in the mouth. Regarding doing the skills while hoovering. I agree with you as soon as they have done it a first time while being on the ground and have a little bit improved hoovering skills. Are you still planning to do additional NAUI skills video? I like them and for me as a NAUI instructor it gives me a different perspective of how to do it. I believe all of us can learn from each other. Best regards Alex
@@alexg.994 Yes. I’m still planning to continue making these demonstration videos, starting with part 2 of the OWSD skills. It will include things such as: all surface swimmer skills, recovery of an unconscious diver at the surface and underwater, pushes and tows, cramp releases, shared air ascent, ESA, and more. I just haven’t been able to film it yet. I makes these videos specifically for use in conjunction with my courses. As a part of their academics, I have my students watch and study these videos at home before the actual course. This way, during the course it’s not the first time they are seeing the very skills they will be expected to perform, and this method has been proven to be more effective at preparing students for success than waiting until the course to introduce students to skills for the first time. Finally, I do strongly disagree with ever having any student on the bottom. Not even during confined water. All students should be focusing on their development of neutral buoyancy from day one. It’s all about Primacy. You put a student on the ground first, and you ruin them for life. From that point on, even after they learn to be neutral later on, Primacy for them is forever more “on their knees”, and every time, without fail, if you stress them enough to force them to react on instinct, their primacy will take over, and without ever thinking about it, and without ever knowing they’re doing it either, they’ll go to their knees while attending to address the problem. There is a MASSIVE safety issue with going to your knees. If you’re neutral, going to your knees changes your buoyancy characteristics, and will make you negative. If you’re already task saturated and dealing with an emergency, now you just compounded the problem by adding an additional problem to deal with. The next instinct for most is to grab the inflator and add air, making them rise, further compounding their problems. And what follows is a continuous spiral of progressively out of control sequences of events making things worse, which all could have been avoided had the diver stayed perfectly in trim, which also would have happened had their primacy been that in trim neutral position. No... Absolutely no knees. No skills on the bottom, no instruction from the bottom, not in confined water, not in open water. Just no. 100% neutral from the start, all skills performed from neutral. That’s how I teach. Of course no student is perfect, and not everyone picks up neutral by the end of confined water. Many struggle with it and rise and fall until they figure it out. I also teach breathing techniques and minimum weighting from day one as well, and these help greatly toward new student’s development of neutral early on. By the end of my OWSD course, nearly all my students have a good development of neutral buoyancy skills, and they get complimented quite often by divers from other agencies.
@@pinnacledivingco I do agree with you on doing as much as possible in neutral buoyancy. It would interesting to hear how you do that on the first shallow confined water dive. I think I could learn here something.
@@alexg.994 It's nothing special really. I start off by making sure all students have the best equipment for actually "diving" (backplate and wing with long hose regulator setup), then work to find their minimum weighting, brief students on expectations, brief the students on the proper techniques, and lead by example, reinforcing the expectations and standards along the way. Of course this is simplifying the explanation, as it would fill the comments section if I attempted to detail the whole process of getting students to start from neutral on their first dive, let alone explaining the details on how I assess each individual student's comfort, learning needs, and best methods of instruction to use for them during the course. I'd be happy to discuss it over another format/medium at some point if you like. Besides being the highest standards in the industry, the granting of full academic freedom is one of the main reasons why I choose and stick with NAUI as an instructor. I have full authority to design my courses and the curriculum, as well as to adapt them as necessary, to meet the learning needs of each and every student in order for them to achieve the required standards. And let's not forget, exceeding the "standard", is "the standard". Needless to say, I have not yet had a single student who couldn't start in a horizontal trim position, begin learning to find neutral from session one, who couldn't complete all skills from session one and then throughout the entire course in that horizontal position, and who couldn't perform a whole dive from neutral by the end of their basic course.
Wow, that was one incredible Video. I just started the tecnical career on OC last year and i am still strugeling with taskload because i changed all my equipment and have to find the perfect setup and get used to the equipment. CCR is far away for me but verry interesting to see how an experienced instruktor like you still strugles with an unknown setup. You did a great job improving and adapting during the course. 👍👍👍
Hey Markus, thanks for the compliment! I have a firm belief that there is always room for improvement, for everyone, at any level. And changing equipment can throw anyone off. I'm glad to hear you're on the tec path, and I wish you all the best in your adventure. I recommend to take is slow, one small step at a time, then practice to master that step before moving on to the next. Before long, you'll be able to look back and marvel at how far you've gone. 😎🤙🙌
Do you think the sidemount equipment configuration is correct and are you satisfied?
Always trying something new. So long as the configuration is safe and effective, many things come down to personal choice and what works best for the user and the needs of the dive. At the beginning of this video, I was making changes to my tank bands because I changed the connection points on the harness, simply to try something new.
Do you teach the Naui Technical Sidemount Course? Or another association? I'm looking forward to seeing your sidemount dives, and I'll be cheering you on. And I hope sidemount diving has a lot of communication with you.
@@teammaxlee205 I do teach NAUI Sidemount. Just finished writing a whole new sidemount manual myself too. I enjoy your sidemount videos as well. ☺️🤙🏻 I have many sidemount videos on here right now. Feel free to please check them out.
That eel was huge
Ohhhhhhh there’s bigger ones here. 😂
Absolutely beautiful
It's a great place! I'm sure you'd love it man.
@@pinnacledivingco not a doubt in my mind for sure me and my gf are talking about coming but Japan can be expensive lol but it is on the list
@@overcash007 Well if you do, let me know in advance and I can be sure to setup some excursions for you both.
Great video! For the next one, it would be great to see you use light colored gloves on both sides, to enhance the visibility! Thank you!
Thanks! And thank you for the suggestion. I’ll see what I can find, specifically for use only with these types of videos. 😎🤙🏻
That jelly fish was beautiful
Definitely thought he was cool! 😆
Essential and fundamental skills! I saved this video and I am looking forward to the next one! :-)
I’ll be making part 2 soon. Need a few people willing to join in to do some of the skills for it. 😎👍🏻
Great video AJ, and I have to say I love the attention to detail on these exercises! I don't know if it's specific to NAUI, but practices such as breathing from the backup regulator while retrieving the primary regulator just make so much sense, and seem to add an extra layer of safety that I don't see taught by other training agencies? Really enjoying this content, also loved the videos on the Triton rebreather, we literally didn't know there was a mechanical CCR that was so small, and chest mounted until we saw that video!! We're in the US, so it might be tricky finding someone to help us do a try-dive, but we're looking!
Sean, thank you for the compliment. It means a lot. Attention to detail is just as important in providing quality instruction as using correct terminology is, or teaching to the learning needs of the individual student is. Switching to the secondary regulator after losing the primary is not a "standard" per say. It is taught when using a long-hose regulator configuration, which is all I teach from the basic level and up. Most people learn to dive using the older and considered "more traditional" recreational regulator configuration, which typically has a short hose you breath off of and a long, often "yellow" [supposed] "safe-second" or "octo" secured to your side. The problem with this setup is that it doesn't actually work in real-life full-on panic situations. A person in full-panic mode will not take that yellow hose, but instead, they will see the regulator in your mouth, their brain will tell them "you have air and it WORKS", and they will fight you tooth and nail to take it away so they can breath off of it. Thus, the long-hose, which originated in cave diving, solves this problem--and a long lists of other problems. When learning off of the traditional regulator configuration, students are taught to simply blow bubbles (to show they aren't holding their breath) and perform either of TWO methods for retrieval (reach back and sweep). With a long hose, you're absolutely right! It makes TOTAL SENSE to simply put your secondary (aka, "personal" or "backup") regulator in and breath normally (now it's no longer an "emergency", now is it?), then retrieve your primary using any of THREE different methods possible (reach back, sweep, pull). May I ask, are you at the level where you can move on to CC? Or do you mean "try-dive" as in just getting into diving? If so, where are you located? I might know a NAUI shop who can help. :)
@@pinnacledivingco Thanks AJ, I was away from diving for 28 years and returned in 2020. I started all over just like I'd never done it before, since it had been so long; my girlfriend and I got certified together with a TDI/SDI instructor in Miami where we planned a week of vacation around our certification. Because we're in Ohio, we are limited to quarries while we are here, and then travel three times a year to Florida + 2 Caribbean trips typically. Together, we are about 25 dives in, and I recently became interested in rebreathers along the way, as some of our diving friends and acquaintances now use rebreathers for purely recreational diving, as well as for added comfort in the colder waters. We fully understand that we have to pick up our nitrox cert prior to doing anything with a rebreather, and are also very much aware of the increased level of detail, complexity and associated risks that are there with rebreather technology. On a side note, I was very conflicted about regulator set up when re-entering SCUBA, and very much agree with your thoughts on regulator configuration, as I've never been fully comfortable with the traditional, yellow hose octo (having learned to primary donate in my original certification in the late '80s). I know there is a LinkedIn page for your business over there; can I correspond/DM with you there at any future point (or somewhere else if you prefer)? Thanks again, AJ!
@@seanlotz9581 No worries at all! And yes, Linkedin and Instagram are both options used routinely for direct messaging. Whichever you prefer.
Very instructive video, even if i'm a beginer (36 dives for the moment) but as i'm french, i thinks that's one day i will purchase a Triton MCCR ! Awesome video, keep going like that !
I hope you do. It’s a good unit. 😎🤙🏻
the instructor is on REVO and he is a ninja.... just sayin
Shared this insanity on my Facebook to lol I wish we trained like that here
Nothing stopping you from developing a program. 😉 If you need help, feel free to reach out any time. ☺️
@@pinnacledivingco more just building up some buddies that are willing to wreck each other at random on dives
Bro I love this video I was thinking use the dsmb and you said it
😂 Yeah, I was all like, “Pfffft, ok, whatever, I’ll just swim sideways!”, and when that didn’t exactly work out, the lightbulb went off and I was like, “Oh yeah! I can use my SMB for buoyancy, duh!” 😂
@@pinnacledivingco I carry a dsmb and a lift bag on all technical dives
@@overcash007 I carry two, different colors. I posted two videos here explaining why. 😎
@@pinnacledivingco I’m going to have to get my passport and come out one week on vacation and do some diving with you I think it would make epic content
@@overcash007 Bro you’re more than welcome any time.
Great channel, could you show the DSMB deployment
Hey! Absolutely! Can definitely demonstrate an SMB deployment in the future. Will need to wait till sometime in August, but it's on the list. 😎👍
Great content I’m going to share this with the divers in my group that could benefit from this there are some skills here I use every dive without thinking about it like the helicopter is a every dive skill so Is mask removal but I do a full switch
Great content I’m going to share this with the divers in my group that could benefit from this there are some skills here I use every dive without thinking about it like the helicopter is a every dive skill so Is mask removal but I do a full switch
A full switch to a backup mask is a great skill to practice often. Especially if you need to retrieve it from a pocket or pouch. I only do that with rescue students, advanced rescue, and above, but now you got me thinking. 🤔😆 I hope this is able to be useful for people. I do argue I personally feel it seems a bit “rushed”. Personal criticism and all. Any suggestions on the next set of skills I should demo for the next video? Recreational, sidemount, technical, CCR?
@@pinnacledivingco I thought it was good I think you could add to the disclaimer on some skills going beyond any open water skill just this isn’t a substitute for training just to convert your self but I definitely would like to see some tech skills I would do them but it’s hard to get people to simulate a decompression dive with me and hold a camera while doing their accent and stops lol
@@overcash007 🤔 Ascents and deco stops wouldn’t necessarily show well on camera. But equipment setup, manipulation, and procedures, drills, gas switches, and emergency procedures would be easy to demonstrate.
@@pinnacledivingco gas changes, ascent on a line, under a lift bag or dsmb, why each would be used over a free ascent. How to schedule and plan a dive would be good but I feel like that would almost get into training that’s why I haven’t done it on camera yet
Skills that every dive should practice from time to time! 🙂I will be trying the fins removal drill on my next dive! Thank you!!! 😊
There is an opportunity to practice at least one skill, any skill, on every dive. I hope you try the fin removal. It’s a great self-development drill. ☺️🤙🏻
It’s hard to believe, it’s Inner Bay from your videos! 😉 great edition!
Thank you. 🙏🏻 I try my best to make it interesting for people to see. I love the music, it’s fun. 😆☺️👍🏻
I am also very interested in front mount.
Chest-mount is all I have ever used from 2002 to today. I am interested in trying the Sidewinder Sidemount CCR, but it costs too much money right now. I like chest-mount systems because they are versatile. I can use the same unit with both sidemount and backmount diluant without the need to change anything on the unit. If there is ever a problem, I can easily reach the unit because it is in front of me. The work of breathing is superior to back-mount because the counter-lungs are below you. It is very easy to remove water from within the loop simply by flushing and squeezing the lungs, forcing the water out through the OPV. I don't even need to have an O2 cylinder attached to the bottom if I don't want to have it there. I can simply add a right-side O2 cylinder of any size in sidemount and connect it to the unit. It's adaptability, ease of use, customization, and great performance are why I like it.
@@pinnacledivingco 👍 great
Nice dive 😍
73 minutes with 12 minutes of deco on 100%. It was fun. :D