Ontario diver dead - Bell Island, Canada

[tursiops]

But we teach the CESA swimming horizontally in a swimming pool. Sometimes it is done diagonally from the deep end, but there is still nearly no expanding air. Students finishing the required 30 feet think, "Phew, I barely made it! No way I could do it deeper than 30 feet!"

Which is why it is then done vertically in OW, prior to certification. No problem.

 

[boulderjohn]

Which is why it is then done vertically in OW, prior to certification. No problem.

Except that in my experience, it is done from a very shallow depth, so the learning from the horizontal challenge is not altered.

Not all agencies do the vertical CESA, BTW.

 

[NW Dive Dawg]

My pony's name is Han.

Perfect pony name!!!!!!

My 19cf pony is "Silent Bob" .

 

[DandyDon]

But we teach the CESA swimming horizontally in a swimming pool.

I remember that pool exercise from 22 years ago. It's nothing like a real CESA from 50 feet. I did run out of lung air around 10 feet so stopped ascending and took a breath from the expanded air in my tank. On the surface I had enough to fill my BC and blow my whistle.

 

[boulderjohn]

took a breath from the expanded air in my tank

Just a technicality....

The air in your tank did not expand. Air in an inflexible container is not affected by depth.

What happened is that when you were at maximum depth, there was no longer enough air pressure in the tank to allow you to breathe. There needs to be enough pressure for your regulator to overcome the ambient pressure compressing your lungs. Once you ascended, the ambient pressure decreased enough to allow the regulator to deliver some air.

That is another fact that is not part of normal CESA instruction.

 

[SlugLife]

My OW instructor, would not let me use my pony during the course

That makes a little sense. In OW, you're operating at limited depths, with a qualified professional, and starting out with the standard-configuration. Since everyone mostly starts out the same, it's easier to design more consistent and reliable course material.

I'm not an instructor, but I'd be a little concerned about any student who showed up with anything different from standard-basic-OW-equipment. Perhaps that they spent a bunch of time on internet forums or facebook, learning things "in theory" from random anonymous people online who may give good or bad advice that I (the instructor) haven't vetted.

My 1st dive after my course, I did a drill to switch over

In my loose-hose story, in all the bubbles, I couldn't find my octo. I also discovered soon after on another dive, I had forgotten about purging the reg. In short, I hadn't practiced any of these ultra-basic skills since OW. I think regulator-switching is a skill people should do once per dive, because it drives home knowing where the octo (or pony, etc) is at all times, that it's working, and you'll be able to do it seamlessly in an emergency.

I have written about this many times in the past, but the fact that you wrote this sentence (a sentence that has appeared in various forms many hundreds of times in threads over the years) demonstrates the danger of the instructionally unsound way we teach CESA. Of course you can CESA from 60 feet. Properly instructed, you would have no doubt.

Valid point. I do believe my OW instructor gave me correct information, but perhaps not enough information where I would have felt safe and confident doing it at 60ft.

There is actually a way I could practice an emergency-ascent (safely), I just haven't gotten around to doing it yet.

 

[DandyDon]

Just a technicality....

The air in your tank did not expand. Air in an inflexible container is not affected by depth.

What happened is that when you were at maximum depth, there was no longer enough air pressure in the tank to allow you to breathe. There needs to be enough pressure for your regulator to overcome the ambient pressure compressing your lungs. Once you ascended, the ambient pressure decreased enough to allow the regulator to deliver some air.

That is another fact that is not part of normal CESA instruction.

Yes, that makes sense.

 

[wgw04024]

I don't remember doing any of this CESA stuff in OW. I'll admit, it wasn't a great OW class (i had those thoughts during the class, started feeling irritated about it, then wondered if I was just being an ahole....I was right).
For those that have done a deep CESA, do you have the feeling that you'll never run out of breath by continuing to exhale? The sensation is very hard to imagine. And if you're exhaling, does it remove the feeling of wanting to 'inhale'?

 

[DandyDon]

For those that have done a deep CESA, do you have the feeling that you'll never run out of breath by continuing to exhale? The sensation is very hard to imagine. And if you're exhaling, does it remove the feeling of wanting to 'inhale'?

For mine from 50 feet, I did run out of lung air. Results will vary with how fast you ascend and how fast you exhale. I had no desire to inhale until then, but then I stopped ascending and took a breath as the residual tank air became easier to access at 10 feet.

 

[Gandalf-the-Diver]

I'm not an instructor, but I'd be a little concerned about any student who showed up with anything different from standard-basic-OW-equipment.

My OW instructor, was the owner of my LDS. Pretty much everything I purchased through the shop, some used items, most new, and the shop owner, set up my pony with a stage bottle kit. The shop owner told a buddy of mine, who worked where the shop kept it's dive boat; I was the only student he had ever had, that purchased everything I needed to dive, before my OW even started. I had tried Scuba before, so I knew I was going to love it. I used the gear lists from the PADI Self Reliant, and SDI Solo courses to determine what gear I should get.