Floated Up and Couldn't Get Down

[KristenK]

Totally embarrassing. This was my 35th dive overall, 9th during this trip in Roatan. All was going well, felt like I was finally getting comfortable and gaining some confidence. (We only dive on vacation, usually once a year.)

I was at 60 feet, following our dive master. Around 30 minutes ascended to 35 feet. All of a sudden I realized I was starting to float. I used a lot of energy, and air, trying to stay down. Eventually I just surfaced and couldn't descend again. No air in my BCD. I've plenty of weight 16lbs....probably too much (I weigh 150.) I believe I breathe pretty well. I exhaled all I could. My shorty is loose (I've lost weight.)

What happened? What did I do wrong? I have one more day to dive and am feeling like a loser.

 

[GreggS]

You may have had some air trapped in your BCD. That would seem to be the obvious thing to check.


For example, I was trying out some steel 100HP tanks today and reduced the weight I normally wear with an AL80 by six lbs. Couldn't descend. Added 2 more pounds, still couldn't descend. Twisted around a little bit and tried exhausting air and a big burst of air came out. Sank like a rock.

So if you've been staying down with your configuration, and it sounds like you have, I'd say trapped air. But you can always ask your DM. He should be able to help you if that's not it.

 

[seaseadee]

Don't stress. Are you really really sure your BCD was empty? Also, if you are diving with a Jacket style BCD, you may actually need that much weight or more. They tend to make you more buoyant based on the way they change your shape (and thus the buoyant force acting on you). AL80 tanks tend to get more buoyant as you use the gas in them, so there's also that. Consider asking the DM to do a weight check with you on your next dive.

 

[kelemvor]

I agree with the others. Also, you were getting stressed and working hard to stay down. Many people tend not to exhale fully when they're in those conditions unless they deliberately force themselves to do it. You'd be surprised how much buoyancy a full set of lungs have. It's especially noticeable if you were weighted "just right" in the first place.

 

[RayfromTX]

It takes what it takes. My wife finally clicked to getting all the air out of her BC at dive 62. In all other ways she was solid in the water but she couldn't "see" how to get the bubble out. I tried videoing her. I tried illustrating with a half empty coke bottle to help her understand that she had to vent at the highest point of her bc so the air could escape. She is a smart person but it wasn't working for her. She insisted she needed more weight. She was wearing 6 lbs and diving a steel tank.

One day we went to the lake to work on this again. A friend here on SB talked to us the night before and suggested that she not wear gloves and when she wanted to vent to keep her hand on the release valve and rotate her body until she felt the air come out.

She once again starts to rotate in a way that placed the valve lower than the bubble. While she held the valve open I physically rotated her so the bubble could find it's way to the dump valve. Air gushed out on her hand and she yelled through her regulator "OH,I see!" It clicked and she has never had the issue again. She no longer wears any weight with her steel tank. She is a rock solid diver. On dive 62. It takes what it takes.

 

[KristenK]

Thank you all! RayfromTX, I had my hubby read your response. He's going to hang with me and try to help the way you did.

 

[fmerkel]

Make SURE your inflator valve is not sticking/leaking. A slow leak will do exactly what you describe.

 

[RayfromTX]

I was able to always see the bubble in her wing. If you are in a jacket bc it may be a little harder to see the bubble but it will be at the high point. A back inflate bc will let you see it pretty well.

 

[IncreaseMyT]

Is it possible that you noticed you were floating and tried swimming down? If so the only way to get the air out of the BCD in this position is to use a rear dump valve on the back of the BCD. If your head was down using your normal controls won't be much help.

 

[bowlofpetunias]

Brilliant answer from @RayfromTX It takes what it takes. @Increase I tend to use my rear dump valve a lot. My first BCD (jacket) and my back inflate BC I tend to use
the rear dump valve. Both seemed harder to vent from the shoulder if I want to really get rid of the bubble. I tend to do a lot of shore dives so I keep my weight as close to the minimum as possible.

KristenK don't be discouraged those kinds of wobbles are so common at your stage of diving. I wonder if you were indeed starting to feel comfortable and that allowed you to notice the increased bouyancy of your tank which started a bit of a stress/overbreathing response. Throw in a possible bit of trapped air in your BCD and it becomes the type of frustrating experience I'd suggest most of us have had at some point

Congratulations on the weigh loss...I'm a bit envious there