What again does this term refer to?
Blow and Go
- Thread starter Xizang
- Start date
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ZAquaman
Contributor
A special kind of love on the freeway?
cuddlefish
Contributor
ZAquaman:
HA ha!!
Actually, I believe it refers to an older style method of an out-of-air ascent. Rather than a continuous exhalation as you ascend...this method had you exhaling completely and then ascending. Both are aimed at avoiding lung overexpansion. I believe that most certifying agencies these days avoid the blow and teach the CESA (controlled emergency swimming ascent) with the continuous exhalation.
I bet that dive instructors would find it easier to determine if their students were holding their breath during this exercise with the CESA. After all, seeing a continuous stream of bubbles would let the instructor know the student wasn't holding their breath. With the blow and go, how would you know if the student was holding air in their lungs?
We were taught (1971, NASDS) to instantly drop your weight belt, spit out your reg, and as you made a non-stop b-line at full speed for the surface, slowly blow out a small stream of bubbles. The little phrase they taught us was:
Stop
Drop
Spit
Go
Blow
Flare
and you're There
Stop
Drop
Spit
Go
Blow
Flare
and you're There
ZAquaman
Contributor
My father did this as part of his navy training from a depth of 100 feet back in the 60's. We did it from 30 feet as part of my PADI training back in the 80's. Along with buddy breathing, it's a skill that's been droped from open water training from what I understand.
"Blow and go", "free ascent", a skill that could save your life. I wonder how many divers have drown because they don't realize that they can swim to the surface from depth if they have to? Definately a last resort kind of thing though...
"Blow and go", "free ascent", a skill that could save your life. I wonder how many divers have drown because they don't realize that they can swim to the surface from depth if they have to? Definately a last resort kind of thing though...
cuddlefish
Contributor
Rick Inman:
Ohhh baby, keep talkin' like that. (Sorry, I couldn't help myself)
cuddlefish:
Cuddlefish - Brilliant screen-name!
Rick, I always thought that "blow and go" had to do with the little CO2 cartridges. Blow was, at least in my mind, triggering the auto-inflate--reminiscent of blowing the ballast tanks on a submarine.
R..
In our OW class it was the expression for a CESA. Slow exhalation as you swam for the surface. Dumping weights was included in the procedure but not in the rhyme. Just a quick short rhyme that will come back to you as you see your life flashing before you.
Pete
Pete
It should be emphasized that this is a LAST RESORT (as stated by Zaquaman). You can still die doing a blow-and-go. But if you're drowning and have no buddy nearby then take your chances with a blow-and-go. I hope never to have to do one.
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