Need Advice for Film, Please...

[Indiana12]

Hi! I'm writing a script about treasure hunters and I've been researching a lot about diving. I have never gone diving, so I'd appreciate any advice/insight to keep things realistic. I'm working on a scene where a rival sabotages our heroine's scuba gear-- what would my protagonist do exactly to make my heroine run out of air fast, but still be able to make it to the surface? (it's not a deep dive)-- she is by herself, too. There seem to be a lot of safety measures to prevent this (which is great), but makes it a bit more challenging for me! I appreciate any advice!

 

[diversteve]

Something wrong with a low pressure hose. Possibly loosening the fitting on the 2nd stage regulator so it comes apart during the dive.

Or one of the low pressure hoses at the regulator - although it's less realistic for that to completely unscrew during a dive..

It actually happened to someone I know at about 60' - he was able to use his octo to safely ascend quickly after his primary came loose in his hand, (improperly tightened by the service tech) and his tank was about empty by the time he surfaced.

Although you see it on TV - having another diver cut the hose would be unrealistic - they're pretty tough.. You'd need a lot of time/effort or bolt cutters - the heroine might notice someone sawing on her hose...lol

Although it seems counter-intuitive - damaging the high pressure side is much less serious - the hole in the regulator is tiny so you have about 10 mins. before it drains the tank. So tampering with the pressure gauge would be unrealistic.

 

[diversteve]

 

[Indiana12]

Thanks so much! So, if he loosens a low pressure hose, the regulator stops working and my heroine would use her octo to ascend? Want to make sure I get it correct...Yeah, she'd notice someone sawing on her hose haha!!

 

[northernone]

I've seen a guy use a pair of metal shears to cut the hose that goes from the tank to the regulator in the mouth of the diver. Empties the tank in a few minutes. It's not very creative and requires carrying a specific tool for the sabotage.

A regular knife it takes hard work to cut a hose without getting a firm grip and taking a good slice at it.

I like the subtle idea of unscrewing a hose, a little unpredictable when it fully unscrew, I've seen that a few times on dives by poor regulator servicing. Catches a diver by suprise to be still holding the regulator in their mouth but to have no air.

Interesting project, do you think you might try an afternoon discover scuba program where you can try out the equipment to get a personal feel for making the script more realistic?

Either way, questions welcome.

Cameron

 

[Indiana12]

That was hysterical!! And, SO helpful because this is really new to me and seeing it made it very clear-- thank you!!

 

[Indiana12]

I've seen a guy use a pair of metal shears to cut the hose that goes from the tank to the regulator in the mouth of the diver. Empties the tank in a few minutes. It's not very creative and requires carrying a specific tool for the sabotage.

A regular knife it takes hard work to cut a hose without getting a firm grip and taking a good slice at it.

I like the subtle idea of unscrewing a hose, a little unpredictable when it fully unscrew, I've seen that a few times on dives by poor regulator servicing. Catches a diver by suprise to be still holding the regulator in their mouth but to have no air.

Interesting project, do you think you might try an afternoon discover scuba program where you can try out the equipment to get a personal feel for making the script more realistic?

Either way, questions welcome.

Cameron

Thanks so much for your input! I definitely like the idea of messing with a low-pressure hose and boom- no air! -- so, it sounds like she'd have trouble breathing in 1 minute and be out of air in like 2 minutes...but, the octo is your back-up, right? So, she could just grab that and be ok? I'd like to definitely try a scuba program and get a feel for it-- though, I have to admit, it does scare me a little...being in the ocean, anyway!

 

[northernone]

Thanks so much for your input! I definitely like the idea of messing with a low-pressure hose and boom- no air! -- so, it sounds like she'd have trouble breathing in 1 minute and be out of air in like 2 minutes...but, the octo is your back-up, right? So, she could just grab that and be ok? I'd like to definitely try a scuba program and get a feel for it-- though, I have to admit, it does scare me a little...being in the ocean, anyway!

Correct. Octo is a second regulator but they attach to the same air tank. When one is out of air so is the other.

If the boat is sinking both port and starboard will get wet no matter which one you put the hole in.

You can try scuba diving in a swimming pool, with an instructor who keeps a close eye on you, without doing an actual certification training program.

As a side note, if she is diving alone she may carry a second tank and regulator for exactly this sort of emergency. I do.

 

[diversteve]

Here's two specific situations.

The 2nd stage (the part that you breathe from) has a fitting that could be tampered with/loosened so that it released at some point during the dive. What would happen then is the heroine might choke temporarily as she sucked in water before changing to her octo and ascending - it's not something you try to fix underwater.

Less obvious is to loosen the other end of the hose at the regulator. Many divers use hose protectors - it would completely hide if that had been done.

Less likely to fail because as you power up a regulator - typically the hoses stiffen in place.
Any basic pre-dive check would catch it.

 

[Indiana12]

Correct. Octo is a second regulator but they attach to the same air tank. When one is out of air so is the other.

If the boat is sinking both port and starboard will get wet no matter which one you put the hole in.

You can try scuba diving in a swimming pool, with an instructor who keeps a close eye on you, without doing an actual certification training program.

As a side note, if she is diving alone she may carry a second tank and regulator for exactly this sort of emergency. I do.

Ohhh! Gotcha-- so, she's still in trouble and needs to get to the surface asap...which is perfect for what I'm looking to do...ok, good to know about a second tank, too...
I can do a pool! I'm going to have to check into it so I can step into my heroine's flippers...FINS, I mean!