Inadequate Training

[Phanault]

When I did my OW course, we practiced this in confined water and I could feel what it is to get out of air.

I think it wouldn't be a good idea to do the same thing at 30-40 feet deep, the same way people don't practice lose of control when learning to drive a car.

Me and my wife are new divers and I have 16 dives in my log. Everytime we can, we practice things in shallow waters in order to better react in case of emergency. Practice is the key to my opinion. AOW is also a good choice I suppose.

 

[DiverBizz]

IMO it is always good practice to rehearse bad situations. Practice the skills correctly and you and your wife will be so much safer in the water. By the way my driving instructor made our group drive off the road to practice keeping control of the car. Not a recommended skill in my opinion. PS never been in an accident in 30 years of driving. I hope to say the same about diving in 30 years. Practice, practice, and be prepared.

 

[FreeFloat]

My NAUI OW course included an air-shut-off drill. The instructor came up behind us, turned of the air, waited for an OOA sign and turned the air back on.

Mine too. Some people I later talked to slammed my instructor for "going against standards" but I feel I became far more confident from that training than I might have been otherwise.

 

[jbd]

Mine too. Some people I later talked to slammed my instructor for "going against standards" ....... .

Could they show that this was in fact "going against standards" ? Or was this just their opinion?

 

[1_T_Submariner]

I wondered about why they don't shut off your air in open water. I guess its kind of like them not blowing out a tire in drivers training. If they did that at like 65 MPH and the car rolled we would get rid of the casual drivers only people that were serious (an survived) would be on the roads.

 

[Peter Guy]

Reading this just reinforces my belief that every new diver should do a "test dive" with a j-valve'd tank. We all knew what it was like to "run out of air" and it was different from having the air shut off. Of course with the highly balanced 2nd stages we now use, I don't know if I'd still get the "sucking through a collapsing straw" feeling I used to get before (hopefully) releasing the extra air.

 

[Mako Mark]

I wondered about why they don't shut off your air in open water. I guess its kind of like them not blowing out a tire in drivers training. If they did that at like 65 MPH and the car rolled we would get rid of the casual drivers only people that were serious (an survived) would be on the roads.

Im pretty sure it is a liablity risk:

"So Mr Dive instructor, you intentionally turned off you students air at depth and as a result of that they died?"

"yes your honour"

"then it is the electric chair for you sonny boy"

:11:

or "So Mr Dive instructor, you intentionally turned off you students air in water shallow enough to stand up in, and as a result of that they died?"

"yes your honour, they didnt stand up"

"that was pretty silly of them now wasnt it son."

"yes your honour"

"you may go now"

 

[Crowley]

To clarify the PADI Air depletion exercises:

There are two instances where your air is shut off underwater:
Confined Water Dive 2: Instructor shuts off your air and immediately turns it back on when you demonstrate the Out-of-air signal
Confined Water Dive 3: Instructor shuts off your air, student gives OOA signal and secures and breathes from an alternate air source. The instructor should turn the air back on as soon as the OOA signal is given and the alternate secured.

I personally also have my students do by the side of the pool before they get in the water, so they experience the sensation beforehand.

Although there is an out-of-air / alternate air source / alternate air source ascent during the Open Water dives, the air is NOT shut off at any point. The reasoning is simple. In confined water there is an option to go to the surface should any problems occur. There is a small risk associated with this, depending on pool depth, but by and large, in confined water, not generally a problem.

In the Open Water dives, where minimum depth is 5 metres, if a student were to bolt for the surface and make a rapid breath-holding ascent, they could be seriously injured or worse. This is why air sources are always made available and kept switched on.

Hope that helps to clear things up.

Safe diving always - check your gauges regularly!

Cheers

C.