Nearly drowned in the pool... But it was fun...

[Web Monkey]

Glad you survived and had a good time doing it. The difficulty you had, but were able to overcome is one of the reasons a lot of us old timers would like to see some of the old training come back. What you described was part of my NAUI class in 62. Even when I watched some classes in the 70’s they were doing it.

I think it's an overly risky exercise also, and honestly not very useful for problem solving.

Problem solving would involve determining who isn't qualified for a dive and then discreetly selecting an easier divesite without publicly embarrassing anybody. Or noticing that someone has all their gear on and the drysuit zipper is still open. Or noticing that someone has a BC dump valve stuck open before entry and fixing it.

Terry

 

[laurelgsc]

What emergency underwater could ever cause you to have to switch all your equipment with your buddy? That skill seems more like a right of passage than a skill. Seems pretty ridiculous. I agree a ditch and don would make more sense. What part of that skill will ever be useful underwater?

 

[pir8]

When I did it for my DM, we started in the shallow end of the pool and did a practice swap. After our first swap we were then in each others gear. At this point we then swam to the deep end of the pool in each others gear, buddy breathing of course atwhich point we swapped back into our own gear. Everything done while buddy breathing and ending up in our own gear.

 

[cwkline]

Did mine in open water with surge and a little current. The other student was about the same size as me, but used 18 lbs of weight to stay down. It was very uncomfortable in her gear. We started the dive with each others gear, which left us to end the dive with our own gear after the swap.
I was told that this is an exercise in task loading and problem solving. I'm not sure I learned anything, other than I could do it and survive.
Charlie

 

[Gary D.]

You just answered your own question which is part of the intent of the exercise. I don’t agree with doing it in open water but as a pool exercise it may just give someone more skill and confidence in being able to do something outside of the box.

Gary D.

 

[fisherdvm]

Fisherdvm,
You told about the difficulty you had with the really big equipment. How did the instructor do with your small stuff?

He did better as he can not buckle my jacket, so the tank is high, and the valve is close to where it should be. I had open fin, so I took off the boots before the exercise. So the fins fit him better. He had full foot, which is way too big for my boots. Switching weight belt didn't work, as his belt can cinch around mine, but mine went only half way, so we went back to our own belt.

My error in judgement, was not to think about the bouyancy issue. He was in swim trunk, and I was in full 3mm suit. I had 10 lbs of weight, and he had about 4 or 6. My error, on an afterthought, was not completely emptying out my BC, and that caused part of the mismatched buoyancy. Of course, if we thought about it, only one of us can clear our mask at once, as the other must hang on to the buddy's BC.

I initially thought it was a dangerous exercise, but on hindsight, it likely was very safe. If I were to shoot up to the surface, I would've been at a very very end expiratory from blowing bubbles, and the risk of AGE would be very small... I think my instructor was doing very well, as I don't think he was blowing bubbles as fast, and was not anxious as I was.

Yes, I think the lesson teaches alot about the danger of buddy breathing, the need for both buddies to be firmly grabbing on to the other. The need for both to be negatively buoyant on the way up. And how anxiety can occur when you can't see worth a darn.

 

[NancyLynn]

Jump in with all the equipment in hand, air turned off and set a time limit to come back up fully dressed without breaking the surface early if you want to see how someone adjusts to stress.

My 15 year old daughter (who is not an incredibly strong swimmer) had to do that in her YMCA OW class. It wasn't timed, but she sat at the edge of the pool for parts of three classes with her equipment all sitting hanging off her tank, not jumping in. She eventually managed the task. The Y class was far more rigorous than PADI - which I think is a good thing for someone who is less confident in the water. IMHO this skill was a bit over the top for folks just starting out.

 

[DBailey]

What emergency underwater could ever cause you to have to switch all your equipment with your buddy? That skill seems more like a right of passage than a skill. Seems pretty ridiculous. I agree a ditch and don would make more sense. What part of that skill will ever be useful underwater?

For me, the thing I got out of this exercise was that if you have air, you can solve any problem underwater. No matter how many times it was said to me, until I did this task, I never knew how true it was.

I have done this in the pool and open water (but near pool-like conditions) a few times. The hardest part of the task is not drowning due to laughter. Nothing in this task is difficult. No mask breathing coupled with buddy breathing is the essence of this task. Everything else is cakewalk.

 

[BarryNL]

What emergency underwater could ever cause you to have to switch all your equipment with your buddy? That skill seems more like a right of passage than a skill. Seems pretty ridiculous. I agree a ditch and don would make more sense. What part of that skill will ever be useful underwater?

It's not supposed to be a useful skill - it's supposed to be a test of your ability to think and act calmly and clearly in a stressful situation. The exercise is actually fairly easy provided you (and your buddy) remain calm and controlled throughout.

 

[vixtor]

The purpose of this exercise is to put you in a situation in which you have to reach an objective, while performing a lot of important skills (buddy breathing, controlling your buoyancy, manipulating gear, using gear that doesn't fit perfectly, and so on). When you perform each of the skills on purpose, you are focusing only on doing it right. Now, you have to focus on some complex task (exchanging gear), while still doing every skill right.

- You have to do buddy breathing. In real life, you will not try to exchange equipment with your buddy, but maybe you will have to pass through a tiny hole, and then you'll need to get out of your equipment an put it back. Maybe you will have to abandon some of the equipment. The idea is that you need to do it while still buddy breathing.
- You need to control your buoyancy as a reflex, not as in thinking about it (because you are overloaded with other tasks)
- You need to use gear that is not fit. In real life your gear is fit, but might have a malfunction. It is hard to simulate some malfunctions, but gear that doesn't fit can replicate some issues (like a flooding mask, a broken fin, a fully inflated/deflated BC and so on).

I think the purpose of this exercise is to (1) make you more confident in water, and (2) prove that you can perform a lot of skills simultaneously, naturally, while overloaded with more complex tasks.