Anyone ever dropped weights in emergency?

[Saint_Thomas]

I just want to get an idea of frequency. Anybody had to drop their weights due to out-of-air or equipment malfunction?

I don't mean "by accident" or "during training".

Thanks,
Tom

 

[Crowley]

I've had to do it once for a diver who appeared to be having a heart attack (turns out he wasn't but everybody involved thought he was). We were only a metre or so under the water but he'd also managed to undo the belly clip and cummerbund on his BCD because his chest was burning and he couldn't breathe so the only thing keeping him from an express elevator to the sea bed was his BCD chest strap. This was a big guy wearing a significant amount of lead so I ditched his belt and pushed him back to the boat. To this day I have no idea what happened cos I asked the guy to see a doctor, he promised he would, and disappeared at the jetty... however he walked away from whatever problems he did have.

That's once in my 10 year dive career, and it happened after I started working in the industry, where I suppose I am more likely to encounter these sorts of things.

(if you are one of those kinds of people who need to know - since the depth of that area was only 9 metres, we got the weight belt back).

Cheers,

C.

 

[Web Monkey]

I just want to get an idea of frequency. Anybody had to drop their weights due to out-of-air or equipment malfunction?

I don't mean "by accident" or "during training".

I ditched weights for a couple of panicing students on the surface during OW dives (each on a different day). I wanted to eliminate the chance of the student descending, reduce stress and gain a little extra altitude.

It's amazing how fast panic turns into "relaxed" once the diver is happily floating face up, looking at the sky, with no chance of going back down, and is being towed back to shore.

Terry

 

[captndale]

In thirty-five years of diving, thirty years of teaching and fifteen years of operating a dive charter I have seen literally hundreds of cases of divers accidentally loosing weights. I have, however, only seen only one case of a diver voluntarily dropping their own weights in an emergency. That was a case of a tired diver, actually a pair of divers, who were caught in a current and could not swim back to the boat. They dropped their weights and some other gear (stage bottles).

 

[Gombessa]

I would imagine an important distinction would be whether weights were dropped "at the surface" during or immediately after an emergency, or whether they were dropped at depth to facilitate an ascent (there appear to be examples of both above).

 

[Coldwater_Canuck]

I can't imagine many scenarios where I'd need to drop weights. Even for an emergency ascent, with a wetsuit on you just need to ascend a bit and you'll become buoyant. The only one I can think of is catastrophic BCD failure where you're buddy isn't able help you: but I've yet to hear of a BCD losing the ability to hold air.

I have almost lost a weight belt when I tried to tighten it at depth and it and accidentally came loose. I was horizontal though so it sat on my back, and even if it fell off, I had in my hand so could have done a safe ascent as long as I held onto it. Weight system failure is something I worry a bit about.

 

[greengo233]

This brings up another weight issue. If you are down at depth 65 feet or so and you have the old weight type belts and it comes undone,falls off or whatever. how do you keep from rocketing to the top.

I would have to be trying to get mine off (integrated).

 

[Rhone Man]

I have "not-dropped" weights in an emergency when I bl**dy well should have. Live and learn. Luckily.

 

[b1gcountry]

I've seen just as many integrated weights come loose as weight belts accidently (2 of each). The second integrated one actually beaned me in the head.

I've never seen anyone intentionally remove their weights due to an emergency.

Tom

 

[Gombessa]

This brings up another weight issue. If you are down at depth 65 feet or so and you have the old weight type belts and it comes undone,falls off or whatever. how do you keep from rocketing to the top.

I would have to be trying to get mine off (integrated).

It can depend on a number of things - how far off the bottom are you? How thick is your exposure protection and how much weight was on the belt? Wetsuit? Are you at the beginning or end of your dive?

If you dive with very little weight and the floor is just a few feet under you, you could conceivably invert and fin downwards and grab the belt. If you're in cold water and use an appreciable amount of weight, you're taking a ride. I lost a 16lb weight belt while being filmed in a class once. By the time I realized what that "poof" of silt was below me, I was on my way up, nothing to do but dump gas then flare and exhale.