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There were only two ifs. Do you distrust that you have your wits around you, or that your buddy is reasonably competent?too many "if" for me
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There were only two ifs. Do you distrust that you have your wits around you, or that your buddy is reasonably competent?too many "if" for me
The second (apart my wife, but, as said, this brings me in a completely different situation. My life is much less valuable than her one...).There were only two ifs. Do you distrust that you have your wits around you, or that your buddy is reasonably competent?
The risk, for the donor, is that, for any reason, the backup fails. If the buddy is my wife, I happily accept that risk.
If the buddy is an unknown, then I will FIRST get the backup in my mouth, test it for 2-3 breaths, and having verified that it is in good shape and I am not at risk, then, and only then, I will cautiously offer my primary to the buddy OOA. If during this additional time he is drown, I still have done the proper safe procedure, it is not my fault.
It is donating FIRST and searching for backup LATER which is questionable, and entirely unacceptable in a firefighter perspective.
Do you think the OOA diver is going to patiently wait while you take the time to test out your backup regulator? I think it's more likely they will tear you apart (or at least try to) in order to get that next breath of air.
An out of air diver needs gas NOW not after you've had time to take 2-3 breaths from your backup. I can't believe others think this way. Scuba diving is not firefighting. In firefighting you don't "share air" in scuba it's a common & easy skill done from OW-Advanced training.
Do you think the OOA diver is going to patiently wait while you take the time to test out your backup regulator? I think it's more likely they will tear you apart (or at least try to) in order to get that next breath of air.
An out of air diver needs gas NOW not after you've had time to take 2-3 breaths from your backup. I can't believe others think this way. Scuba diving is not firefighting. In firefighting you don't "share air" in scuba it's a common & easy skill done from OW-Advanced training.
That's the reason for which I offer my yellow secondary with long hose, without having anything to wait. The delay is only with the "primary donate" approach, which is not my first choice!
In fact, I really do not see the point to have to swap your regulator for donating. The secondary is the first choice, for me. And I keep my primary in my mouth, without any additional risk for me.
It already happened to me to donate the secondary, without any delay nor any problem. At least three times. It must be said that the recipient was not yet fully out of air, nor panicked.
The problem is when you get in contact with someone really panicking.
It never occurred to me underwater, but it occurred when on service as a firefighter. It is not a pleasant situation, people when panicking are entirely selfish (much more than me), they can try killing you if they perceive that this is the way of saving their own life...
It must also be said that the risk of burning triggers panic much more than the risk of drowning...
Allow me to disagree. For me, it's quicker to grab my primary, duck my head and donate than to fumble for my octo (yes, I'm exaggerating a little bit, but I've been in that situation).The delay is only with the "primary donate" approach,