Out of Air Emergencies

[Michael Freeman]

I have had one OOA buddy. He gave the signal, I handed him my octo, he put it in his mouth and swam me to the surface. I couldn't stop him but I slowed him enough to prevent a problem.

Our OW and AOW instructor required us to swim the length of the university pool on a single breath (w/o scuba gear). It let you know you really can go without air for longer then you think... even though it hurts a bit. My OW was 16 weeks long in a university class so we did a lot of pool training.

 

[fsik]

I was trained both ways...the whole octo ceremony in the pool, and when I got to the ocean for OW (referral), it was donate primary (or be ready to, like it or not). I appreciate the reality of the latter, tho, better to know somebody may mug you for air.

I'd also seen an OOA by one of my first few dives after OW. Not a bad one (okay, terrible from a procedural point of view), he was about 1.5 minutes into his safety stop, and the last time he looked at his SPG was probably when he bought it. Ran flat, PANIC. He bolted straight for the surface without warning despite having other divers hanging with him on the descent line.

He later said something about getting air out of his BC, I hoped he was joking...