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Shooting a bag in AOW
- Thread starter gsk3
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mike_s
Contributor
My suggestion is to dump the air from your BC/Wing bladder first into your bag.
That way you don't have to worry about changing your buoyancy or having to be "slightly negative" if not on the bottom. that way a small amount of air from your BCD goes into the SMB and at the minimum floats it up vertical to get it out of the way. You then can get everything "ready" to "shoot the bag".
You can then either let go of the bag with the little air in it (and it will go up), or add more with your regulator/inflator to give the bag a little more lift.
When you let go of the bag, since you dumped your BC/wing into it, you will be slightly negative then allowing you to "hang" from the bag. This is useful in doing your 20ft 3min safety stop for example.
wow... hadn't heard this yet..... this is kinda crazy.
you're right that it adds enganglement. but also could catch on the bottom on the reef.
Also you have to take weight off you to do this, which changes your buoyancy.
This is not something I would reccomend.
Ive seen it. Its a complete mess. Usually a birds nest of rope out of a pocket that hangs around in the current. Or a dropped weight that smacks into the reef.
Its a deployment method for people that dont know how to do it properly. Most commonly seen by DMs and guides abroad who sent a bag up maybe once a year and dont really know how.
Bill_PNW_Diver
Contributor
I learned to shoot a bag out of OW as well, practicing with friends and by watching videos on the internet (so the one thing I'm not sure about from my youtube education, do you inflate the bag before or after you wrap the line around your neck a few times and lock the spool on your BC? 
)
One thing that helped quite a bit was getting a small 3ft SMB with only 6lb lift. You get the practice you need for both oral and hose inflation, don't have to worry as much about getting dragged to the surface in case you get entangled, and can potentially drag the SMB down from the surface if you want to practice again without needing to ascend and deflate it.
) One thing that helped quite a bit was getting a small 3ft SMB with only 6lb lift. You get the practice you need for both oral and hose inflation, don't have to worry as much about getting dragged to the surface in case you get entangled, and can potentially drag the SMB down from the surface if you want to practice again without needing to ascend and deflate it.
It's a great skill to have. Be glad you're learning it so early and take it seriously. Too many divers don't know how to do it. It comes in handy when drift diving (you have to tow a float and being familiar with handling a line is very handy) and you never know when you may need it diving off of a boat. If you for some reason can't find the upline or get blown off the wreck/reef in a current, having a DSMB and knowing how to deploy it can make the situation much safer and much less stressful.
beester
Contributor
If the local circumstances are very varied and you have divers who dive alot in these varied locations/circumstances you get generally speaking divers who's diving methods can cope with these circumstances. (= good divers)
Belgium (but also UK (even more so), North-France, Netherlands, etc) will have varied diving circumstances which involves normally bad vis, current, cold water, shore and boat dives, wrecks, etc... A diver with let's say around 100 of those local dives should be able to cope with tropical circumstances
For CMAS... it's normaly recognised... since it's one of the oldest certifying organisations: Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
If the local circumstances are very varied and you have divers who dive alot in these varied locations/circumstances you get generally speaking divers who's diving methods can cope with these circumstances. (= good divers)
Belgium (but also UK (even more so), North-France, Netherlands, etc) will have varied diving circumstances which involves normally bad vis, current, cold water, shore and boat dives, wrecks, etc... A diver with let's say around 100 of those local dives should be able to cope with tropical circumstances
For CMAS... it's normaly recognised... since it's one of the oldest certifying organisations: Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Having started diving in Canada (low viz, current, deep, cold, boat, wreck, shore, etc.), I'm guessing anyone with 50 dives (possibly less) can handle diving in the Caribbean. I thought I was getting good until I started diving here.
The guys I met from Belgium definitely had more than 100 dives. They spotted more marine life than everyone else combined. They had better buoyancy control then everyone (including the guide). They were first people in, last people out, always went deeper then everyone and they always had 500 PSI (or more) than everyone else. I'm not sure if they are CMAS. I remember their certification expired and they had to renew it every so often. This make the dive instructor in the Caribbean think it was a resort course certification (apparently PADI issues cards with expiry dates for resort courses).
I would HIGHLY recommend anyone who lives in an area where there is diving but it is 'not nice' to learn there. Dive trips to the tropics will be a breeze and you'll enjoy them so much more.
JimHar99
Contributor
We did it as part of our S&R for PADI AOW.
beester
Contributor
Having started diving in Canada (low viz, current, deep, cold, boat, wreck, shore, etc.), I'm guessing anyone with 50 dives (possibly less) can handle diving in the Caribbean. I thought I was getting good until I started diving here.
The guys I met from Belgium definitely had more than 100 dives. They spotted more marine life than everyone else combined. They had better buoyancy control then everyone (including the guide). They were first people in, last people out, always went deeper then everyone and they always had 500 PSI (or more) than everyone else. I'm not sure if they are CMAS. I remember their certification expired and they had to renew it every so often. This make the dive instructor in the Caribbean think it was a resort course certification (apparently PADI issues cards with expiry dates for resort courses).
I would HIGHLY recommend anyone who lives in an area where there is diving but it is 'not nice' to learn there. Dive trips to the tropics will be a breeze and you'll enjoy them so much more.
Instructors have to renew their license every 5 years and have to sign of every year... that could be the reason... but CMAS and certainly CMAS instructors should be recognised everywhere.
I'm very fortunate to be able to dive with some people as you describe. They learned and and are still learning me to dive. Steadily and slowly by just buddying up with me... showing the ropes... being gentle.. telling you privately where you went wrong what to do... steadily increasing the difficulty... etc etc.. I'm close to 200 dives in difficult circumstances but I'm just a fresh newby doing his first dive compared to them.
On their own they are extremely good divers... (imo)... what makes them special is their patience and their willingness to pass on their experience. Glad you met people like that.
You are right of course with regard to the difficult circumstances and tropical diving. There is one danger... if you are used to low vis , big current, cold water... then the aquarium water of the tropics can give you a false sense of security, specifically regarding depth.
Cheers
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