How do YOU hold your 2nd stage?

[vladimir]

Anybody read his book?

Uh oh …

He clicked the trigger several times—nothing. The scooter had died, its internals flooded from a seal that had surrendered to temperatures it hadn’t been designed to withstand.

Trying to ignore the dire consequences the loss of the scooter foretold, Luke released his grip on the dead vehicle and it quickly sank to the bottom.

He really was on his own now.

In the ensuing silence Luke realized the water was alive with a variety of odd noises and he paused, trying to make sense of them. A strange sensation suddenly pressed intensely on his inner ear.

A rumbling sensation seemed to run through his entire body, shaking him. The pressure in his ears sharply increased, and he tried in vain to equalize against it.

Now what?

The vibrations quickly grew into concentrated waves of force as Luke pressed his hands to his ears, his head pounding in agony.

The faint glow behind him suddenly increased in intensity, and as he looked back toward the sphere he noticed the pipe next to him appear to undulate—to leap.

Crack!

The water around him visibly jumped, and an ear-splitting spear of sound drilled into his head. He felt his body ripple as a concussive wall of energy hit him, the glow behind bursting into a brilliant ball of orange that rapidly began expanding.

Panic engulfed him.

He turned and kicked wildly at the dense water, propelling himself away from the approaching horror, his whole body writhing in pain from the increasingly concussive shockwaves that coursed by. Unconsciously, he observed a section of the pipe beside him split open, the surrounding water immediately erupting into a boiling frenzy.

He kept kicking, clawing at the superheated water, the camera banging at his side with every frantic stroke. He swam blindly through a world lit an eerie orange by the aquatic nova that pursued him through water that was pulsing with the energy of a subterranean eruption.

The pipe he still unwittingly followed suddenly disappeared into a solid wall of concrete, and Luke ploughed headfirst into the unyielding side of the pier.

Lights burst behind his eyes, and he felt consciousness sliding away as he fumbled for the inflator hose of his rebreather.

Then darkness descended and Luke’s world winked out.

Enough of it.

 

[Wilson]

Thanks Vladimir, that was awesome.

 

[Thalassamania]

You guys really don't know what JohnnyH faces on a daily basis. If you did you'd be far kinder.

Think what it would be like to be faced with the responsibility of the health and safety of every one of you that has posted to this thread, all of them divers that you have not trained, that don't agree on anything.

And your mission, what your job performance is judged on, is how well you mold these disparate diving dilettantes into a coherent working unit. You must create a team that dives the same, and works together, with a level precision and clarity that far exceeds anything found in the recreational community and which equals anything ever found in the technical community. What ya’ll think was at the top of the diving world, Key West Diver or the WKKP, is what most Diving Safety Officers create and maintain on daily basis.

JohnnyH has been entrusted by his institution with this task. One of the most important things he must do is create a system that assures that each diver will become an interchangeable unit. My advice to him is to get rid of anyone who is not willing to retrain from the beginning.

You diver under JohnnyH's authority and responsibility, then you damn well drink JohnnyH's Kool-aid. If JohnnyH thinks it’s not polite to offer up a second stage without your pinky extended, you extend the god damn pinky and learn to be proud of doing it, if for no other reason than it’s a code that shows that you’re not a “nim-nuck” or “stroke” or whatever word the in-group that JohnnyH creates decides to use to describe nonmembers. Believe me, there will be such a word … there always is.

JohnnyH’s reasonable enough to ask some simple questions to try and get a “read” on the diversity of opinion that is out there in the community, but I guess you’ve taught him not to do that in the future.

 

[Dive-aholic]

I don't mean to imply there is only one correct way, however there is definitely an incorrect way - and covering the purge valve with your hand is definitely incorrect. Anal? Humm, sure. But if you make yourself learn to do something one way every time then when there is an emergency you can react without thinking.

Any yes - every single person I've checked out has covered their purge valve with their hand - when placing the reg in their mouth (no big deal) or when donating (big deal) during OOA. And of course it's not their fault - they were trained that way.

BTW - There have been some funny as hell posts on this thread. However to be an instructor and to say the above quote is kinda irresponsible.

John

Never really thought about it, but every time I've done an out of air (only in training scenarios), my buddy grabs the reg from my hand about midway between us. I haven't had to shove the reg in anyone's mouth. In a real OOA situation, I really doubt I'll have to shove it in anyone's mouth either...

 

[Tigerman]

Never really thought about it, but every time I've done an out of air (only in training scenarios), my buddy grabs the reg from my hand about midway between us. I haven't had to shove the reg in anyone's mouth. In a real OOA situation, I really doubt I'll have to shove it in anyone's mouth either...

I have infact used my buddys octo (both in class and on regular dives), and what happened was more or less what you describe there. However, I wasnt in panic or needed it in the biggest hurry ever..
One of the occations was a shallow dive of over 60 minutes and my gauge barely was above empty, so I decided time to go up and swim ashore. However when my buddy offered the octo, i took it and yeah, i met him halfway. I also DONT use the purge when I take the octo. Blow in it, use your tongue to divert eventual remaining water and youre fine.. basically the same as if i was to use my snorkel (which is mentioned in another thread ). As I took his octo instead of going up with my own regulator, we could swim closer to shore and THEN ascent.
I know, I shouldnt breathe my tank dry, but I wasnt deeper than being comfortable with ascending without air and there was no deco obligations..

 

[fire_diver]

You guys really don't know what JohnnyH faces on a daily basis. If you did you'd be far kinder.

JohnnyH’s reasonable enough to ask some simple questions to try and get a “read” on the diversity of opinion that is out there in the community, but I guess you’ve taught him not to do that in the future.

That's not how it came across to me, and apparently, not to very many others either. I read the post as 'I know what's best and y'all are f'ing stupid 'cuase you don't do it my way.'

FD

 

[dive_goddess]

Anybody read his book?

I read it.

And I actually thought Out Of Hell's Kitchen was one of the best novels I've read in its genre. He even included the first chapter of the sequel at the end of the book, so now I'm a fan.

My dad's reading it now.

I've been reading Scubaboard for some time and when I found out someone who was a diver wrote a novel and actually got it published, I was excited. My boyfriend is in the publishing industry and he says it's nearly impossible these days to get anything that's not a memoir published.

 

[dive_goddess]

I have infact used my buddys octo (both in class and on regular dives), and what happened was more or less what you describe there. However, I wasnt in panic or needed it in the biggest hurry ever..
One of the occations was a shallow dive of over 60 minutes and my gauge barely was above empty, so I decided time to go up and swim ashore. However when my buddy offered the octo, i took it and yeah, i met him halfway. I also DONT use the purge when I take the octo. Blow in it, use your tongue to divert eventual remaining water and youre fine.. basically the same as if i was to use my snorkel (which is mentioned in another thread ). As I took his octo instead of going up with my own regulator, we could swim closer to shore and THEN ascent.
I know, I shouldnt breathe my tank dry, but I wasnt deeper than being comfortable with ascending without air and there was no deco obligations..

What about buddy-breathing? I was taught to hold the 2nd stage by the base of the hose to not cover the purge valve and when donating never release control, the receiver then holds the donor by the wrist (I am VERY familiar with this as I had to practice it many times)

 

[dive_goddess]

That's not how it came across to me, and apparently, not to very many others either. I read the post as 'I know what's best and y'all are f'ing stupid 'cuase you don't do it my way.'

FD

What is wrong with you people? I went back to JH's original post...

Okay - so I know it's a fairly limited question - but one that I feel is important nonetheless - and I have very rarely seen people do it correctly. When I conduct check-out dives for my job (and all Scientific Diver candidates are already certified divers), it's something I spend some time on as not one person was doing it correctly.

So rather than answering my own question, I'd like to see what other people have to say and why...

Which doesn't seem like a bad question. Then he next wrote...

Sorry for the confusion - my questions pertains to how you grab the reg whenever you, well, grab your reg. (When you put it your mouth, when you take it out of your mouth, when you donate, ...) It is an action that is subconcious and probably never really thought about.

Again - I don't see any f/u or anything wrong there - do you? So then he replied - and this one MUST be the killer, right?...

I don't mean to imply there is only one correct way, however there is definitely an incorrect way - and covering the purge valve with your hand is definitely incorrect. Anal? Humm, sure. But if you make yourself learn to do something one way every time then when there is an emergency you can react without thinking.

Any yes - every single person I've checked out has covered their purge valve with their hand - when placing the reg in their mouth (no big deal) or when donating (big deal) during OOA. And of course it's not their fault - they were trained that way.

BTW - There have been some funny as hell posts on this thread. However to be an instructor and to say the above quote is kinda irresponsible.

However, my point is that you should try to be consistent so that when confronted with a stressful situation you don't have to consciously think about your actions - they just happen.

Oh - now THAT is totally just uncalled for. Again - what is wrong with this? So far, he's said everything I'd expect from my own instructor.

So now let's look at his last post, because that must be where he screws up...

That is the method I teach and was taught. I originally asked the question because I thought there might be some good discussion around the topic and because I've found out that many folks hadn't really spent too much time thinking about it.

Anyway - hope you guys all have a good Thanksgiving.

OH MY GOD! How dare he!

Anyway - JH thanks for the great book and y'all have a great t-day

K

 

[Thalassamania]

That's not how it came across to me, and apparently, not to very many others either. I read the post as 'I know what's best and y'all are f'ing stupid 'cuase you don't do it my way.'

FD

I didn't read it that way, but then I'm biased by experience.