dropping weights

[Angie S]

I was just reading the thread in Basic Scuba Discussions about the diver's death in Palau.. a few times in the thread it was mentioned that dropping weights is a bad idea for divers in an emergency situation. Rather than add to the marathon-length thread, I thought I'd ask here... why is dropping weights in an emergency a bad idea?

I do realize that ideally your buddy will be close if you need an alternate air source, but if your buddy isn't close (for whatever reason) and you don't have air, we were taught that you drop weights and swim for the surface while exhaling. I'm curious to know why some might disagree with this.

 

[canuckdiver]

this is something that there seems to be a lot of disagreement about, and has been discussed quite often.

IMHO, I would think that an uncontrolled bouyant ascent would NEVER be a good idea.

You should always be able to swim to the surface with no air in your BC (or wing). This is part of proper wieghting.

 

[Drew Sailbum]

In a warm water environment like Palau, I'd suspect that dropping weights would not be as dramatic as it would be in other circumstances. Usually, warm water divers use less thermal protection and need less weight. A drysuit diver who drops his weights for an emergency swimming ascent will do a fair imitation of a breeching whale when he hits the surface.

What you describe is almost a CESA. The preference (if you've already messed up and your buddy is not around) is to keep the weights in place while swimming up and exhaling. Keeping the weights in place allows you to better control your rate of ascent. This minimizes the chance of an arterial gas embolism or other barotrauma.

 

[MikeFerrara]

Angie S once bubbled...
I was just reading the thread in Basic Scuba Discussions about the diver's death in Palau.. a few times in the thread it was mentioned that dropping weights is a bad idea for divers in an emergency situation. Rather than add to the marathon-length thread, I thought I'd ask here... why is dropping weights in an emergency a bad idea?

I do realize that ideally your buddy will be close if you need an alternate air source, but if your buddy isn't close (for whatever reason) and you don't have air, we were taught that you drop weights and swim for the surface while exhaling. I'm curious to know why some might disagree with this.

Who taught you that? The PADI OW text lists these responses to a low on air or out of air situation IN THIS order.

1, Normal ascent - You notice your getting low and simply end the dive normally

2, switch to buddy's alternate and share - You blew it or had an equipment failure. You signal (or not) and get air from the buddy who is right next to you

3, CESA - You doubly blew it and your buddies too far away. ALL equipment stays in place and you ascend at a normal rate of speed exhaling as you go. Of course you keep the reg in your mouth because as you reach a lower ambient presure you might get another breath or two.

4, buddy breath - they stuck this here because it's optional to teach and they don't want you to do it because everyone should have an alternate.

5, Buoyant ascent - You really blew it. Your too deep. You've done the CESA for as long as you can and you ARE going to drown if you don't get to the surface now. We have screwed up so bad that we have come to grips with the fact that we are likely to be injured and we're just trying to survive.

Dropping weights at depth is an absolute last stitch effort to live. You have to make many mistakes before this should ever happen.

Please get that dropping weights at depth stuff out of your head and avoid the instructor who taught it to you.

At the surface it's a different storry. If you are in doubt about being able to maintain positive buoyancy at the surface don't hesitate to toss the lead.

 

[WreckWriter]

Drew Sailbum once bubbled...
Usually, warm water divers use less thermal protection and need less weight.

Sadly "needs less" frequently doesn't mean "wears less".

WW

 

[chickdiver]

The water temps in Palauare approx. 85 degrees year round. Most people dive without any exposure protection in that part of the world, and yet- I have (regularly) seen many people wearing in excess of 15 lbs. Most are vacationers from cold water climates, who just dont realize that they should adjust their weighting to the amount of exposure protection used. Other culprits include the operators who intentionally overwieght their clients in order to give them a false sense of security in high current.

 

[scuberd]

I was taught in my rescue class that if you find an unconscious diver you should drop his weights but leave your own in place, and escort him to the surface, if he becomes too bouyant just let him go and ascend safely yourself, meeting the victim again at the surface. What are your thoughts on this?

 

[jbd]

with removing weights at depth even with an unconcious diver. I do agree with MikeF's point about the last ditch effort to save yourself though.

IMHO removing weights at depth guarantees that you won't control the ascent. WreckWriter makes a good point that most people are overweighted. When you remove that weight they will turn into a polaris missile. I would imagine that this would get them bent or a gas embolism. Now you have compounded the victims problems.

 

[MikeFerrara]

scuberd once bubbled...
I was taught in my rescue class that if you find an unconscious diver you should drop his weights but leave your own in place, and escort him to the surface, if he becomes too bouyant just let him go and ascend safely yourself, meeting the victim again at the surface. What are your thoughts on this?

If they have much of a wet or dry suit on you will not be able to control their rate of ascent. I won't do them any good to be at the surface if your not there with them. You don't need to drop their weights to get them up. On the contrary you usually have to dump air out of their bc on the way up because if they were near neutral they have air in the bladder and they get more buoyant as you ascend. When you get to the surface you want to dump it but on the way up you want control. If you are in a current and send them up buoyant you may never see them again.

In teaching rescuse classes I couldn't even guess at how many divers I have brought up from the bottom and there was never a need to drop weights.

The exception would be if they were so negative that you couldn't get them up. Dump only what you need to to get them up.

 

[Rick Murchison]

Whether dropping weights in an emergency is a good idea or not depends on the case. In general, in an emergency at depth, dropping the weights is a bad idea; in general, in an emergency at the surface, dropping the weights is a good idea. However, there are cases where dumping the weights at depth is a good idea. And while I can't think of a case offhand where it would be a bad idea to drop 'em with an emergency on the surface, I suppose there are some.
Bottom line is that blanket statements like "always" or "never" are 99.44% bogus.
Rick