Shooting a bag in AOW

[Sas]

I learned to shoot SMBs just after OW as all the diving around my area is done via free descents/ascents, me and my buddy practiced under a pier til we got the hang of it. However, it was part of the Deep course with SSI as well when I did that course later - though not sure if that is a requirement or just something included by my instructor.

I always dive with an SMB actually, and think everyone should, at least where I dive.

As far as the difficulties go, I got tanged a few times when I was learning but after a few attempts it is pretty straightforward so I think you'll be fine doing it a few times in the quarry. Me and my buddy would just take turns so we could untangle each other if needed - though he has never gotten tangled

These days, me and my buddy launch one together often. I.e. he holds the spool whilst I inflate or vice versa. You can do that if you have a regular buddy as it makes it easier, especially in mid-water. Though I dive often enough where I have to launch it myself I stay in practice.

 

[CoralSeaMan]

AOW skills vary by need. PADI has mandatory nav and deep dives, you pick the other three. Generally you pick ones you can do (No drift diving here) and need. Where I live there would be no need for a rec diver to "shoot a SMB" because the type of diving doesn't require it. I've done it to practice but never taught it.

 

[gsk3]

You are painting with an awfully broad brush. Anyone who intends to dive the east coast of Florida will be well served to make sure to include this skill in their AOW since it's all drift diving. Since most all Floridians would make sure to dive around Palm Beach - some of the best diving in the state IMHO - it's fairly common to learn deploying a bag early on.

Haha, fair enough. Didn't mean to make a generalization based on two people chiming in, although that's clearly what I did. So, is it fair to say that places where drift and/or wreck diving is the norm will be more likely to do this skill earlier on?

 

[StreetDoctor]

It's probably quite unusual to see "shooting an upline" taught in an AOW course.

DMs in the Carib need to know the skill for drift diving.

And tech divers who go into deco and run the risk of losing the downline or anchor line also need to know it.

Other than that, you would probably never need to know it.

Note that SMBs are more often used these days, rather than "bags."

Bags are for lifing heavy objects off the bottom, such as boat motors or bicycles.

As far as AOW goes, the most appropriate skills for that course would be navigation, search and recovery (in which case you really use a real bag), night diving, deep diving to the limits of recreational scuba, nitrox, and photography. Gear maintenance is also a commonly taught and quite useful AOW segment.

Often times, you can talk to your instructor and tell him/her what topics you are interested in for an AOW course.

I feel shooting a SMB is a very good skill to know, especially if you dive in any large body of water (Lake michigan for example), afterall it's a safety device right? Just like a whistle and a mirror, no reason carrying it if you don't know how to use it. Also I don't know how you can identify appropriate skills for AOW, personally I have no interest in search and recovery, night diving, or photography. I find it odd you didn't list peak buoyancy though, isn't that one of the most important skills in diving?

I self-taught myself to shoot a bag, it's also much more difficult to do it in horizontal trim!

 

[Katamuki]

I live in the far pacific and teach how to use an SMB to AOW students too. It doenst make sense to me for any diver past the beginner stage to not know how to use such a useful tool. Beats being run over by a boat and makes a nice adjustable stopping depth marker for blue water drifts...

 

[String]

Given a DSMB is used on near 100% of dives in the UK its an absolutely essential skill. Its rare to see a diver enrol on an AOW course who cant already use one. You need it literally on every single dive you do off a boat. If you cant launch a blob you wont be allowed on the boat.

There was talk of applying to have it included under the "local practices" clause in padi but nothing came of it. Other course directors have stated that including it is a potential liability risk in that if there's an incident and its a skill not core-course you'll be out on your own trying to defend it. Id argue its a vital safety skill thats completely essential to the local diving so has to be taught.

 

[beester]

My certifying agency is the Belgian chapter of CMAS.

It's not really known in the US I gather.

 

[gsk3]

My certifying agency is the Belgian chapter of CMAS.

Thanks. Never heard of it, you're right

So I give up on trying to find out a pattern of who learns early and who learns later on. Serves me right for trying. :cool2:

 

[scubadiver888]

My certifying agency is the Belgian chapter of CMAS.

It's not really known in the US I gather.

I don't know if they are the same agency but I met two guys from Belgium (Frogmen) during a dive in the Caribbean April 2008. They showed their certification cards and the dive instructor (he had 3000+ dives) never heard of the agency before. He was really skeptical of them but after the first dive it was abundantly clear they were experienced divers.

The few times I dived in the Caribbean the divers are all Canadian or American. Didn't see too many Europeans diving.

 

[String]

Any dive centre that doesn't recognise a CMAS card doesn't deserve business. Its probably the most recognised world wide and has been around a very very long time.