CESA - How to Teach this PADI skill in Confined Water • IDC Course

The PADI CESA (Controlled Emergency Swimming Ascent) skill is a very important skill to teach the right way as it can be a life-saving technique if a diver runs out of air underwater. If not performed correctly a diver can get seriously injured with potential lung over-expansion injury, decompression sickness or drowning. For this reason PADI takes this skill very seriously and it needs to be practiced correctly during the Confined and the Open Water part of the PADI Open Water Diver Course and the PADI Instructor Development Course (IDC).

CESA How To Teach The PADI CESA Controlled Emergency Swimming Ascent In Confined Water

PADI CESA in Confined Water

In this article I will explain first how to perform the CESA (Controlled Emergency Swimming Ascent) the right way in confined water (swimming pool or confined open water) and then, soon, there will be another article for the Open Water evaluation as the skill is conducted quite differently there.

Why is the CESA such an important PADI Skill?

In the unlikely event you run out of air and your buddy is too far away from you or missing, then you can still make a controlled ascent from a depth of up to 9 meters. To make sure the ascent is controlled a diver should swim up slowly (slower than 18 meters per minute) while exhaling (making a sound) all the way to the surface.

If this is not done correctly then a serious diving injury can occur. Not only can this happen during a normal dive, but it can also cause injury performing the skill during the PADI Open Water Diver course. For this reason PADI takes the CESA (Controlled Emergency Swimming Ascent) skill very seriously and wants to make sure all PADI Diving Instructors teach it the right way according to PADI Standards. During the PADI IDC (Diving Instructor) course at Sairee Cottage Diving we practice the CESA multiple times to ensure our Dive Instructor candidates master the skill for future teaching.

Any PADI diving skill can be performed in slightly different ways depending on the style of the Diving Instructor. In this article I want to explain one way of performing it within PADI standards that is also one of the safest options, the most realistic performance and will get you full scores (5.0) on any PADI IDC Course and the PADI Instructor Examination (IE).

Picking the best location for the CESA skill in confined water

Confined Open Water means a swimming pool or an open water area with swimming pool-like conditions. According to the PADI Instructor Manual you can perform a CESA (Controlled Emergency Swimming Ascent) in the shallow or deep water of the confined area. To make it as realistic as possible we recommend to go from the deep part of the pool (or deeper area of the confined open water) and swim to the shallower part whilst performing the skill. I recommend to start at a depth of around 3 meters and end the skill in around 1.5 meters depending on the depth of your confined water area.

How to organise the CESA (Controlled Emergency Swimming Ascent) in confined water

First of all make sure that the area where you choose to perform the CESA is clear from aquatic life and other divers. Then get a reel or measuring line and measure a distance of 9 meters underwater. Be sure to mark the spot of 9 meters with a weight or any other marker. Then place your students in a straight line next to each other (preferably) in the deep end of the swimming pool or confined open water. If you have an assistant (PADI Divemaster or Assistant Instructor), instruct him or her to watch over your students on the side, in front or behind them. Once everyone is in place, perform a CESA (Controlled Emergency Swimming Ascent) demonstration and then perform the skill with the students one by one until everyone completes the CESA skill correctly.

The CESA – Controlled Emergency Swimming Ascent in confined water briefing

There are many different ways to brief the PADI CESA Skill in confined water. During the PADI IDC and IE you need to mention a few points to get full scores:

Objective
Value
Description
Signals
Organisation

You can find the Objective in the PADI Instructor manual in Section 3 of the Open Water Diver course in Confined Water dive 3.

One of our PADI IDC candidates presenting a perfect CESA briefing

Objective:

Simulate a controlled emergency swimming ascent by swimming horizontally for at least 9 meters while emitting a continuous sound.

Value:

In the unlikely event you run out of air and your buddy is to far away from you or missing, then you can still make a controlled ascent from a depth up to 9 meters.

Description:

Establish neutral buoyancy by adding some air in the BCD (fin pivot), then get into the superman position by stretching your right arm out to protect your head, holding the deflator button of the LPI (just simulate pressing the button), then take a few breaths and when you are ready, take a final deep breath and start swimming slowly while making a continuous sound until you reach 9 meters. Please make sure you keep your regulator in and your weight belt on. If you have to take a breath then no problem, we will just repeat the skill.

Signals:

Arm position, breaths, swimming, sound, slowly, 9 meters, etc.

Organization:

We will start in the deep end in a straight line next to each other. My Divemaster will be looking after you and I will start with a demonstration. After my demonstration I will come up to you one by one until we have all completed the skill.

Do you have any questions?

This is a great way to explain the briefing but the order is not very realistic. To make it more realistic I recommend using this order:

Objective
Value
Organization
Description (with signals integrated)

It’s best to integrate the scuba hand signals by showing them during the description to make your briefing even more realistic.

This, then, is an example of a more realistic CESA briefing for confined water in real life and during the IDC and IE:

“Hi all, the next skill we will be performing is to simulate a controlled emergency swimming ascent by swimming horizontally for at least 9 meters while emitting a continuous sound.

This is a great skill to learn because in the unlikely event you run out of air and your buddy is too far away from you or missing, then you can still make a controlled ascent from a depth up to 9 meters.

We will start in the deep end in a straight line next to each other. My Divemaster will be looking after you and I will start with a demonstration. Please keep looking during my demo and afterwards I will ask you if you understood it. After my demonstration I will come up to you one by one until we are done.

So how are we going to do the CESA skill? (now integrate showing hand signals, while explaining)

First of all we start by establishing neutral buoyancy by adding some air to the BCD (fin pivot), then get into the superman position by stretching your right arm to protect your head, holding the deflator button of the LPI (just simulate pressing the button), then take a few breaths and when you are ready, take a final deep breath and start swimming slowly while making a continuous sound until you reach 9 meters. Please make sure you keep your regulator in and your weight belt on. If you have to take a breath that’s no problem, but we will have to repeat the skill.

Do you have any questions?”

Now this is a much more realistic order for the CESA in confined water briefing.

Best way to demonstrate the CESA (Controlled Emergency Swimming Ascent) in confined water

Start by positioning yourself in front of the students and signal to them that you are about to demonstrate the CESA skill and that they look at you though out the full skill demonstration. Then move a bit to the side and get in the right position. To position yourself correctly for the CESA we recommend that you start by establishing neutral buoyancy by doing a fin pivot, then go into the “superman” position by stretching you arms forward. One to simulate protecting the head and the other to hold the deflator button of the LPI hose. Please do not press that button during the performance of the CESA as you will then loose neutral buoyancy, just simulate pressing it.

Once you are in the right position, take 3 slow deep breaths and then on the third breath signal that you are out of air to your students and start swimming horizontally for a few meters (to the end of the line of your students). Make sure you swim far enough to show the skill, but not too far that your diving students can’t see you anymore. During the swim show that you are exhaling by making a sound. When you have swum far enough, stop and signal to your students that they have to do it for at least 9 meters. If you want to add more signals like keeping the regulator in, keeping the weight belt on or swim slowly you are free to do so.

How to perform the CESA (Controlled Emergency Swimming Ascent) with your students in confined water

After you completed the CESA demonstration signal the PADI Divemaster or Assistant Instructor if they are OK and that they should watch the students that you are not performing the skill with. Then take one OW/IDC student out of the line, place him or her in the fin pivot position (or fully neutrally buoyant) and signal to the student to start the CESA skill.

By standards you don’t have to hold onto the student, it depends on the situation or student if you should. In most cases we recommend holding onto the student’s tank valve / first stage with one hand and your other hand on the second stage of their regulator so it can’t fall out of their mouth when they start exhaling.

If a problem occurs during the CESA, then stop the student, correct the problem and then restart the skill from the beginning point. This is very important as students need to perform the CESA skill perfectly for at least 9 meters. If you don’t restart the skill in an IDC it can result in a score of 1.0, a fail in the IDC or IE presentation.

If no problems occur then swim with the student for 9 meters and constantly look for any problems. Stop the student when they reach the 9 meter mark and give them some positive reinforcement like a handshake or high five, remind them one more time of the problem so they don’t forget then finish with another happy handshake or high five (students love this). Swim back and place them back in the group at the end of the line. Communicate again with the Divemaster or Assistant Instructor to watch the students and start the CESA again with the next student until everyone is done.

Problems that can occur during the CESA (Controlled Emergency Swimming Ascent) skill in confined water

Holding the breath – This problem can seriously injure your student, so it is very important to spot it in time. The best trick is to watch the bubbles coming out of the regulator. If there are no bubbles then the student is not exhaling.

(If you don’t catch this problem on the PADI IDC or IE it will result in a score of 1.0)

Taking breaths – Same as holding the breath you can easily spot this problem by looking at the bubbles coming out of the second stage. Some people say that you can also hear or feel it by touching the second stage, but I found out that looking for the bubbles is much easier.