How many would consider using a tether when diving with a loved one?

[miketsp]

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I don't own an Aqualung Maverick. I do know how to use Google, however, and according to the spec sheets, the Maverick does, in fact, have two ditchable and two non-ditchable weight pockets. And apparently the known-to-be-problematic Velcro only attachment was replaced with a more secure system in 2003.
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My wife uses a Maverick and the velcro retaining the 2 front pouches became almost useless after about 400 dives. I simply added two bungee loops (short length of bungee sewed and epoxied to make an overlapping joint) that go through the pouch limiters, around the outside of the pocket and hook over the plastic knobs on the pouches. Very simple to use and fully secure. Since I put them on she never again lost a pouch.

 

[phoenix31tt]

If being tethered to her presents a danger to me, because now we are both at risk for what ever the reasons are, so be it. I am willing to risk my life to save hers or my kids, that includes using a tether, if needed. It really isn't that difficult to figure out. IMO

Even though you have made your decision just want to reiterate one misconception you are having here.

You are saying that if being tethered to her presents a danger to you then you're ok with that... Being tethered to you also presents a danger to her... Are you willing to put her in that danger? Are you willing to put her in a situation where you drag her down (or up as the case may be) with you? Are you willing to give her a false sense of security that a tether means you are "always right there to help" rather than just overall becoming better self reliant divers?

...others have highlighted some very valid uses for a tether... but you are looking for comfort from it and assuming that it means you will be there to properly assist your loved one if things go bad... proper training, experience, buddy practices etc will do that...




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[Rusty Roo]

this confirms my decision not to dive with ditch able weight.

 

[TotDoc]

I know that using a tether is can be dangerous and presents a potential entanglement hazard.

this is very true

But I was thinking of using a coiled leash that would stretch to about 6 to 8 feet max.

This type of line can be even more problematic than a straight line. The coils can snag on things quite easily, including things line reg hoses and other important dive equipment

I would have to bolt snaps on it and would use it when diving with my wife during bad viz.

Bad viz is one of the worst situations to deal with an entanglement issue, and also one of the worst best ways to increase risk of entanglement if you are dragging a line between you. Also, being tethered quickly turns a single diver problem into a two diver problem.

In your runaway ascent situation, if you had both been neutral before the pocket fell out, BOTH of you would be going for a ride once that line between you went taught, unless you had been grossly overweighted and lying on the bottom when she took off. In deeper water, the problem would have been worsened significantly by the air expansion in BOTH of your BCs as you ascended, as well as the return of the inherent buoyancy of BOTH of your thermal protections. As one diver would be 6-8 feet above the other, that diver would be pulling the other diver up, as these forces would be acting more strongly on the diver above, which means the line between you would be taught...which makes it much harder to unclip in an emergency. Especially when it catches you by surprise.

There are certainly situations where tethered diving is appropriate, but not without specific training. From what I am hearing, you are considering a potentially dangerous equipment solution to a problem that should be resolved with more training. If the viz is that bad, touch contact would be a much better option. Or...just dive another day

I do have a recommendation that will help prevent runaway ascent from dropped weights, however. If you need lots of lead for a dive, you don't need all of it in ditchable pockets. It would be best to consider some fixed ballast, like steel tanks or a steel backplate/wing combo to help decrease the lead you carry. If that is not an option, consider cam band weight pockets (aka trim pockets) to spread your weight more evenly around your rig. That way, even if you lose a pocket, you won't be dropping enough weight to turn you into a bottle rocket. The best thing about the pockets is that they are not terribly expensive (from xs scuba and the like), can travel with you easily and attach to rented gear if needed, and can be moved around your rig to help your trim in the water.

hope this helps

 

[doctormike]

I know there are some who also have wondered why I would consider my wife's( or kids) life more important than any other dive buddy. REALLY!!!!

If being tethered to her presents a danger to me, because now we are both at risk for what ever the reasons are, so be it. I am willing to risk my life to save hers or my kids, that includes using a tether, if needed. It really isn't that difficult to figure out. IMO

I guess you are referring to my comment. Hope that you didn't take the the wrong way. Of course there is a difference between a stranger and a loved one. I would take a bullet for my kids. But you seem to be making a different point entirely.

It seems that you are advocating modifying your dive plan and procedures based on your relationship to your buddy. I think that this is a problem, as others have pointed out. You should all work towards being safe, comfortable divers. You should NOT work under the assumption that because your buddy is so important to you that you will shortchange that goal by incorporating a potentially dangerous crutch to a dive that is beyond your comfort level. If anything, you are putting your loved one MORE at risk by saying that you will take her on a dive that she might not survive without your presence.

 

[raftingtigger]

I am not a fan of the idea of holding a bolting diver down. I think that is likely to result in a stronger 'flight' reaction. Having a hold of an unhappy diver face to face offering reassurance while ascending is one thing, getting all negative and pulling them back down on a bit of string is something else.

Amen to that. Also if you think you can hold an overly buoyant diver down on the end of a string then try holding down a full DSMB (even a small one) that is the length of your tether above you. Unless you start out overweighted I'll bet you have to let go.

 

[Z Gear]

I guess you are referring to my comment. Hope that you didn't take the the wrong way. Of course there is a difference between a stranger and a loved one. I would take a bullet for my kids. But you seem to be making a different point entirely.

It seems that you are advocating modifying your dive plan and procedures based on your relationship to your buddy. I think that this is a problem, as others have pointed out. You should all work towards being safe, comfortable divers. You should NOT work under the assumption that because your buddy is so important to you that you will shortchange that goal by incorporating a potentially dangerous crutch to a dive that is beyond your comfort level. If anything, you are putting your loved one MORE at risk by saying that you will take her on a dive that she might not survive without your presence.

All right, let me explain why I have begun to look at this buddy line option as a something I would use. There are a number of factors that have helped me get there. Remember I am probably just being extra cautious by having something on me like this. After that incident I definitely check on her more often when I am leading the dive. So I spend less time checking on her I am getting her to lead the dive, and that works out a better. But it does become harder when I am trying to film something, and she starts to kick in the after burner. I am still trying to get her to dive super slow especially for filming, but it is getting better.

I am also thinking in the event of running into strong currents. I know the details to what happened to TS&M are not many but when I heard the news it triggered something that I could not easily shake off. I became worried for my wife. That is the truth. Even with all her discipline and training she lost her life and was separated from her husband, who was therefore unable to assist her. The only detail that stuck in my mind is that they descended down into an expected current. Also it only took a moment for him to look down at his gauges and then she was gone.

I didn't really want to bring this part out but it is the reason why I am having this reaction. It will probably go away in time and I will be fine. I guess when bad things happen it can be hard to get them off your mind.

TS&M was one person who was nice and courteous in her responses to me and I really appreciated her comments.

Frank G
wwwzgearinc.com

 

[Storker]

All right, let me explain why I have begun to look at this buddy line option as a something I would use. There are a number of factors that have helped me get there. Remember I am probably just being extra cautious by having something on me like this. After that incident I definitely check on her more often when I am leading the dive. So I spend less time checking on her I am getting her to lead the dive, and that works out a better. But it does become harder when I am trying to film something, and she starts to kick in the after burner. I am still trying to get her to dive super slow especially for filming, but it is getting better.

Still, although there may be good reasons for using a buddy line, most of the time the disadvantages more than outweigh the benefits. As for many other things. There probably is a reason why buddy lines, which were taught and used in Europe many years ago have more or less fallen out of fashion. In our club we still have a couple of them, and the old-timers remember them being used; I haven't seen them used even once.

 

[Hatul]

I've seen couples doing this in Cozumel and it looks cute. So many dive accidents are preceded by buddy separation (including our Lynne Flaherty) that the benefit may overcome the risk. It's amazing how quickly separation can take place and how quickly bad things can happen in the seconds of losing sight of your buddy. I think it's a good idea and worth a try. You can view the extra hassle as an insurance policy.

In our California waters with surge and kelp it may require technique to avoid entanglement, like following one behind the other when traversing kelp. I would try it and see how it works.

After all cave divers are taught to stay in physical contact during silt out conditions and this is along the same idea.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

Never in the history of SB has there been such univeral agreement on a subjeçt, you still will not take the advice. Don't you have coil lines on your mask, your camera and who knows what else? A knife too? I used to us a coil line on a light and on my Speargun and when they intertwined, it was a mess.