Who practices emergency free ascents?

[NJMike]

Another thread about losing your buddy prompted me to ask this question: suppose you and your buddy were down at, say, 50' - 70', and something went wrong. Your buddy got tangled, disabled or something...still breathing but unable to be moved.

Would anyone ever consider leaving your tank with your buddy and doing a free ascent to get help?

Which brings me to the question - does anyone every practice emergency free ascents?

 

[sasscuba]

Yes I have practiced from 90 feet with all gear on with one breath so I know I could do it if I had to with no gear but I would not practice without your tank just in case.

 

[Ed Palma]

I don't think I'd ever try doing this from 70 feet. Besides, there are too many variables in this scenario.

I'd probably just shoot a balloon up to the surface.

 

[rocketry]

I think you would have to examine each situation differently. If you KNEW you could get to the surface safely, and KNEW that help would be a very short time away (i.e. the time left in the two tanks at the bottom). And, hopefully, your buddy has a computer that can handle the deco if he goes over his NDL waiting to be rescued. If we were both below 700psi, I would probably leave him my kit and do a CESA, ONLY if i knew i had another gear setup that could be assembed and another full tank, to get back down there. If it was a REALLY bad tangle, or he was wedged between something, you could keeping moving tanks down until you got him freed, then SLOWLY decompressed with the computer or, to play it safe, very slowly.

 

[NJMike]

rocketry, that's interesting...leads me to another question which may be easier to answer: do dive boats normally carry a compressor where tanks could be continually filled if that's the only way to keep a diver alive below water?

 

[Tanker299]

Yes I have practiced from 90 feet with all gear on with one breath so I know I could do it if I had to with no gear but I would not practice without your tank just in case.

Oh? I always thought that doing a CESA from that depth (if you've been down there for a while) would immediately get you an all expenses paid (not) trip to the chamber ...

 

[all4scuba05]

would you take a trip to the chamber if it means saving your buddies life?

 

[sasscuba]

Oh? I always thought that doing a CESA from that depth (if you've been down there for a while) would immediately get you an all expenses paid (not) trip to the chamber ...

Nobody said I was down for a considerable amount of time??? Dive was done only with the intent purpose to practice. You know what happens when you ASSUME don't you?

 

[CBulla]

Why not practice them... cripes, make it a game and do it. I love skills games that involve gear going AWOL.

 

[Charlie99]

Oh? I always thought that doing a CESA from that depth (if you've been down there for a while) would immediately get you an all expenses paid (not) trip to the chamber ...

If done right, one can ascend at much less than the 60fpm ascent rate of the old US Navy tables. So the odds of DCS are low.

I did a practice CESA from around 90' up to 15' with an ascent rate of only 40fpm or so, and still felt like I could have gone slower.

This was a practice CESA, so I did it at the beginning of the first dive of the day, with no more loading than a freediver would have had.

The trick is to keep your airway open, but to not actively expel air, humm, go ahhhhh or any of the other things divers are normally taught. Just keep your airway open and any excess air will just bubble out on its own.

DON'T TRY THIS METHOD UNLESS YOU HAVE GOOD VOLUNTARY CONTROL OF YOUR AIRWAY CLOSURE/EPIGLOTTIS.