Diver dies in San Diego

[Bubbletrubble]

It's easier said than done. Try this scenario: A diver is low on air (500 PSI) at 100 fsw and he/she gives you the low on air sign with their eyes are almost ready to come out of their sockets. You calm them down as you switch to your air2 and give them your primary, you start the ascent with a firm grip on their BCD, and the diver has no concern for their buoyancy so YOU have to dump both your air and theirs all while trying to keep the diver from bolting to the surface. This is doable, but difficult.

@KnightDiver:
Hmmm. That sounds like a scenario that DMs might face during an AOW class. Wouldn't you agree?

 

[pinoiryder]

my deepest condelences for the family.. hope the son recover well.. prayers for him and his family.

 

[KnightDiver]

@KnightDiver:
Hmmm. That sounds like a scenario that DMs might face during an AOW class. Wouldn't you agree?

Oh yes, absolutely... I'm just pointing out that doing so with an Air2 it's not an easy thing to do.

MLO

 

[nereas]

I'm now on a bp/w with a 7 foot hose and a necklaced reg now but because I still use a bc with air/2 when diving wet, I practice this occasionally (very very occasionally) with a friend of mine.

With the air/2 in your mouth it's still the highest point on your body unless you are inverted. But since it's not AS high you may not feel the air dumping as fast. That being said, I use the right shoulder dump, it works fine. This isn't the "ideal" situation. I mean trying to figure out where you are in the water column when you may not be able to see your computer/gauge clearly, especially if you have a console, is not an easy task. Trying to see anything while your buddy is 6 inches from your face and you are grabbing onto them is also not ideal or easy.

Condolences to the family.

These new divers would not have known about Air2s nor long hoses.

And since most classes these days are taught with an emphasis on fun rather than on caution, I have to wonder if things might be different had the instructor been a bit more thorough about the caveats and risks. Maybe and maybe not?

150 ft on the 5th dive is amazing.

 

[Power Scuba]

...I have to wonder if things might be different had the instructor been a bit more thorough about the caveats and risks. Maybe and maybe not?

The fact is: We DON'T KNOW how thorough the instructor was. That being the case, how can you (or any of us bystanders) make a statement like that?

The instructor could have been the most thorough trainer in the world... and what difference would it make when the father and son team hadn't dove A BIT since their final certification dives a year or more prior???

 

[RJP]

Maybe it was their first after AOW certification?

Still too deep.

 

[scubajcf]

Oh yes, absolutely... I'm just pointing out that doing so with an Air2 it's not an easy thing to do.

MLO

Just a footnote (and cannot speak for every brand BCD):

Most modern BCDs being sold with Air2's have dump valves on the inflater corrugated hose. That means you have two options with your left hand to dump air. These options are left side dump valve and using the deflator button.

Additionally, most modern and certainly all high end BCDs have dump valves on the right shoulder as well as the left shoulder. That means while ascending, you can continue to breath off your Air 2 and dump using the pull string on your right hand side. Yes, I know, on rare occassions the pull string can break. Murphy lives in the water and all that.

The key here is whatever method you use, needs to be practiced ... ongoing.


jcf





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[nereas]

The fact is: We DON'T KNOW how thorough the instructor was. That being the case, how can you (or any of us bystanders) make a statement like that?

The instructor could have been the most thorough trainer in the world... and what difference would it make when the father and son team hadn't dove A BIT since their final certification dives a year or more prior???

If I had been the instructor, I certainly would feel a sense of some responsibility. That is how. Although with some students, it might not matter, either, no matter how thorough the instructor may have been.

150 ft is a technical depth, not recreational.

On this board, or most others, very little is ever known, per se.

 

[littlewaywelt]

Here is a warning to new divers: Don’t go deep, you won’t find anything down there but colder water, darkness, narcosis and the pleasure of watching your air get sucked out of your tank at an alarming rate.
If you must (and we know your ego requires it) go deep, do so only with an instructor or very well qualified diver, have a good plan and know your limitations.

Good advice.
I got my open water less than three years ago, and only dive on a single 7-10 day trip per year, maybe getting in 10 dives.

As a climber for more than 20 years I've seen similar things in that world where ppl make errors of a similar nature. I made a conscious decision about depth, that I simply never need to go beyond 80ft. My air goes faster and the view where I dive is the same there as it is more shallow. I don't dive often enough to warrant cooler deeper diving, and I won't gain the experience to do so because I don't love it enough to dive more than I do. Given the frequency of my diving, I'll always be a newbie, and that's fine with me.

As to the separation, I have to wonder if the father knew that there wasn't enough air for the both of them and gave his son his best shot at survival. Any dad would do it.

As a matter of question, if you were down to just a few breaths/on empty and were deep when you realized it, would you use that last bit of air to inflate your bc to try and get you to the surface if you couldn't cesa from the depth you were at? I'd rather be unconscious and bent on the surface than at 20 feet.

 

[NudeDiver]

I'd rather be unconscious and bent on the surface than at 20 feet.

Not me. I have no interest in the possbility of being revived and ending up with some kind of brain damage. That's why I wear a "do not resuscitate" medic alert necklace.