Donating the "primary" regulator
- Thread starter jwllorens
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Not going berserk.
Seriously, no one knows what they will do if they panic and go berserk. The usual prevention for it is having enough training to feel confident you can handle an incident and thus be able to keep a steady mind and follow your training.
I'm thinking about a movie with Kevin Costner: "The Guardian". This kid has failed his Coast Guard rescue swimmer cert 2 times previously, and is now trying for the last time. In the scene I'm thinking about the instructor "goes berserk" while the kid is trying to rescue him; he's taking him under, drowning is a distinct possibility, and it's getting pretty intense. The kid gets P.O.'d and punches the instructor in the face. It stuns the instructor and the kid is able to "rescue" him. Of course he's now worried his instructor is going to be P.O.'d and fail him anyway. However, the instructor gets out of the pool with a bloody nose and walks over to the kid, an angry look on his face, but then the instructor smiles and says "good job". It was a great scene.
I am not sure we are talking about the same thing. Perhaps I am confused. The question appeared to me to be asking what WE would do if WE went berserk, not what we would do if SOMEONE else went berserk.
Obviously the kid knew what he was supposed to do, but that didn't work so he went to plan "B". Plan "B" was a knee jerk, but he was determined to do whatever necessary. If you aren't prepared to change your "plan" you may well go down. It isn't going to happen like the rescuer thinks, or the victim thinks, because a "crisis" is never textbook -- the future isn't scripted. We do not know what the future holds, simple as that. Unless you work in a field where crisis is on the daily menu you will need to tell yourself "I can friggin do this", then do it -- and "it" is not scripted.
Perry D. Vogel
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You took the words right out of my mouth. Just like the out-of-air panicking diver reaches for the bubbling primary to take right out of my mouth. I was trained to donate the primary and use my secondary AIR2. The AIR2 is always in the same place for me. Sometimes the Octo clip is missing or the Octo never makes it out of the pocket, which is a recipe for disaster.
Which makes having an octo on a necklace the best option. It's always in the same place. It never drags nor comes loose. When you donate the primary and switch to your octo you don't have to take it out of your mouth to adjust your BC.
One doesn't necessarily need to remove an Air2 (or other inflator-attached alternates) in order to adjust the BC. First, it will inflate fine with it in your mouth. Second, you can use the shoulder dump (or two) to let air out. And other inflator-attached alternates are not like the Air2, it's an alternate in line with the inflator so has a separate mouthpiece from the deflator outlet. It does take a bit of thinking ahead and practice.
I do like the alternate on a necklace, though, and that's what I have on my teaching equipment.
I have not read all 12 pages of this thread, but this seems to be a reoccurring question. Here's my two cents: When milliseconds count, you KNOW where your primary regulator is located - your mouth. The secondary, on a long hose, may have come out of it's holder (whether that be a on a bungee, or hose tucked in a sleeve). Do you really want to be searching for a loose secondary while your buddy is unexpectedly out of air? Or, do you want to take a deep breath, and hand your primary while trying to secure your secondary for yourself or your buddy.
Another reason, is that you should KNOW your primary is working. Sharing air would be best until the second stage can be located and established. It's just good basics.
For me, I need to share my primary as my secondary is on my inflator hose. I will take out my primary and shove it in front of the mask of my buddy while I locate my inflator hose and secondary regulator. I remind my regular buddies of my setup and make sure to tell other divers when I am a solo diver on a boat.
Did I provide a decent answer, or did I miss something?
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