losing weights / uncontrolled ascent

[hedgehog47]

I have a diverite transpac BC.

The weights are in pockets which are velcro'ed and then have a clip which secures them further. But Assuming somehow, magically these weights fell off and I started heading rapidly up towards the top.


What would I want to do in that situation ? I use about ten pounds of weight, total.

 

[pdhenry]

Funny (?), I was just reading the manual for my BCD tonight and it warns you that you'll probably die if that happens...

Not really, but it suggests that injury or death is a likely outcome. In my experience losing a properly clipped-in integrated weight is less likely than having a weight belt slide off, particularly when wearing a significant amount of neoprene.

I think the procedure is to go spread eagle to slow your rate of ascent and dump as much air as you can from the BC.

 

[Max Speed]

Swim downwards. If you have deco obligation....pray. Better yet, put weights and two buckles on a belt. Put the crotch strap over it. Now losing weights requires a knife.

 

[Roatan Joe]

Dump all air from your BCD, maintain a low volume of lung air capacity, enlist the help of your buddy. Maybe your buddy could make himself negative and slow or stop your ascent. Otherwise, further slow your ascent by swimming in a downward direction. If you hypothetically lost your weight at the beginning of the dive and you werent the least be overweighted to begin with, you may only be something like 5 lbs. positive which you shouldn't cause you to rocket to the surface and could easily be controlled with breath control, buddy assistance and light finning. Also, it's unlikely that you would lose all of the weight from both pockets anyway.

 

[Z Gear]

I have a diverite transpac BC.

The weights are in pockets which are velcro'ed and then have a clip which secures them further. But Assuming somehow, magically these weights fell off and I started heading rapidly up towards the top.


What would I want to do in that situation ? I use about ten pounds of weight, total.

I posted a similar question regarding losing weights and I got a lot of good advise from that thread it was under both the basic scuba discussions and the weight and BC section. Here is what I posted.What would you do or has this happened to you with your weights!

I was diving this morning at La Jolla Shores CA and my dive buddy"s integrated weight (velcro secured) fell out. Thank God we were heading back towards shore and this happened at 20 feet. All I know is, I took a look at my gauge for a second and when I turned to look for my buddy she was gone. She said when her weight fell out she immediately shot up like a rocket!!! She at least remembered to breathe and not hold her breath and we ere pretty shallow. It brought something to my attention that this could have happened at our 75 foot depth that we were earlier. Thats why I wanted to ask for any thoughts or experiences this topic, on what to do if this should occur especially below 30 feet.

One of the moderators had a great answer to my question, here is what he said:

.I know at least some of the companies that came out with Velcro integrated pockets changed that design to something less vulnerable to accidental loss, but not all of them. They are not a good thing, IMO. On one trip in Cozumel years ago, I found two such weight packets on two different days of diving.

On the other hand, I think you can do things that will make that not such a big deal:

1. Make sure you are as properly weighted as you can be. You were near the end of the dive at 20 feet. I am guessing you she had a fairly thick wet suit, which does tend to get you overweighted. At the end of the dive, having lost most of the air from the tank, you should not have a lot of air in the BCD. This has another advantage in that Velcro pockets with too much weight in them are good candidates for falling out.

2. Next, distribute the weight for the purpose of achieving trim. If I were diving a BCD of that type, I would try to have about half my weight in trim pockets near the shoulders, either in the BCD if it has them or on the cam bands if it does not. Let's say that a diver wearing a heavy wet suit needs 16 pounds in salt water. If only half of it is in the two weight pockets, then losing one of those pockets would only cost that diver 4 pounds--an amount that should be controllable.

I dive with weights distributed quite a bit. I was diving not all that far from you last year when I saw a small weight pouch lying on the rocks in the kelp right below me. I thought, hey, that's the same brand of pouch I use on my cam bands. (It was the kind that can slip over and be held in place by the pressure of the cam band's tightness against the tank. I picked it up and noticed that a name was written on it--mine! I have no idea how it managed to come loose and drop off, but the amount of weight in it was so small that I had not even detected the difference.


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If you want more info check out the thread, its full of good advise on this subject.

 

[DiverRtNY]

If at a depth, empty BCD should suffice an uncontrolled ascent as you will probably have placed air in BCD. Light fin kick and low volume breathes should be manageable to make a controlled ascent. In deco... stay down and come up with a game plan. Controlled buoyancy @ 80 ft. post losing weights is much more manageable then @ 20 feet dec or safety stop. Like Dave Chappelle says " I like rocks!!"

 

[jimbeeler]

With my TransPac I use a weight belt. I have the weight pouches and really didn't feel comfortable with them either. The velcro is very strong, but I just didn't care for it. Weight belts are time proven and the way to go for me and my TransPac.

Jim

 

[RJP]

I have a diverite transpac BC.

The weights are in pockets which are velcro'ed and then have a clip which secures them further. But Assuming somehow, magically these weights fell off and I started heading rapidly up towards the top.


What would I want to do in that situation ?

Go back and ask your OW instructor... this should have been (was?) covered in you're OW course.

---------- Post added October 15th, 2014 at 02:04 PM ----------

In deco... stay down and come up with a game plan.

Great advice. [shakehead]

Folks - this is the "Advanced Scuba Discussions" forum. I'd suggest that a discussion of remedial Open Water topics properly belongs in "New To Diving" or "Basic Scuba Discussion." The discussion of "what do do if you're in deco" between divers that don't have enough dives/certs between them to qualify for a Deco course is likely to end up in the "Incidents and Accidents" forum eventually - especially if the best advice offered is "stay down and come up with a plan."

The other advantage of posting such topics in "New Divers..." or "Basic Scuba..." forums is that those are both Flame-Free zones, where divers of any skill level may ask questions about basic scuba topics without fear of being accosted. (By posts like mine.)

 

[doctormike]

I have a diverite transpac BC.

The weights are in pockets which are velcro'ed and then have a clip which secures them further. But Assuming somehow, magically these weights fell off and I started heading rapidly up towards the top.


What would I want to do in that situation ? I use about ten pounds of weight, total.

There have been a few threads about weighting recently - you might want to read this: http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/new-divers-those-considering-diving/490481-weighting-strategy.html

Bottom line is that you don't have to have all of your ballast as ditchable weight. As was mentioned above, distributing weight will minimize the chance of an uncontrolled ascent, but still give you the ability to ditch weights once you are on the surface to keep you buoyant (the main reason for ditching weights). Consider putting 4-6 lbs in trim pockets (very unlikely to accidentally release).

 

[3D diver]

My weight belt fell off at the beginning of a dive a while back. With air in my drysuit and BC an ascent seemed inevitable so I prepared by dumping what air I could, flaring my arms and legs to slow my ascent and actively maintaining my airway.

As I started to rise, I got to thinking this was the end of my dive day then thought 'Kelp!' & I grabbed a convenient strand. I could see my belt, so dragged myself back down to the bottom, then laterally 10 to 15 feet, going from one bull kelp to the next, 'til I reached my belt. This is where my training abandoned me (it's been 30 years) and I needed my buddy's help getting the belt back on.

Our dive continued uneventfully.