Immediate CESA Vs. looking for your buddy...

[Bob DBF]

CESA from 30 meters with a inflated BCD and swimming hard takes you around 30 seconds. With all the bubbles likely blowing around you, your BCD over pressure valve blowing and the gas you are exhaling you don't really have time do something else, and you probably won't pass out for hipoxia. The gasping at the surface is from a massive swell of adrenaline your system just took.

Using an inflated BC and taking 30 seconds to surface from 30 meters is a buoyant ascent, not a Controled Emergency Swimming Ascent, which should take around a minute and a half, longer if you can.

Since the CESA is rarely done in training, or practiced by divers, it is not likely to be done properly when needed. This makes the evolution considerably more dangerous than it should be.

As for the original question, if I am OOA and my buddy isn't around, it's time to head up.


Bob

 

[Neilwood]

This is a great post. The only thing I would add/change is that both the divers in a buddy team should know where each others octo is located so it can be retrieved and deployed by either diver in case of emergency.

Some agencies do not teach that the non-OOA diver deploys their octo....they teach the OOA diver to take the air source and if the non-OOA diver is aware of what is going on they teach for them to "present" their body to facilitate the OOA diver taking the octo. Hence another reason why pre-dive briefs/discussions are important...

....a couple of seasons ago I was acting as a safety diver for a friend who is a BSAC instructor. I was primarily underwater with him and his class for him in case he had any problems so that he did not have to rely on the actions/reactions of his students. They were practicing OOA scenarios and he asked me through signaling to do this exercise with one of his students. I was the OOA diver in the exercise. I signaled OOA and removed my 2nd stage as I expected the person to hand me their octo similar to how it is taught by other organizations. The person splayed out all starfish like and I had no idea what they were doing but while this was going on I was slowly blowing bubbles and running out of air. Once I realized they were not going to move towards me and give me the octo I swam towards them and grabbed it. It was at that moment I realized how important it is to discuss OOA procedures during my pre-dive briefs before every dive as I cannot be sure of how others were trained but I can insist on agreement to how we will handle certain things underwater. Had that been a real OOA situation things could have been hairy.

-Z

Agreed - particularly when diving with a new buddy. The short discussion that dealing with this should entail (all of 10-15 secs) could save your life.

 

[Sam Miller III]

Los Angeles County Underwater Instructors Program - AKA UICC
The father of all civilian and several military dive training programs
established in the summer of 1954 by the late Bev Morgan and Al Tillman

33 foot dich and recovery in open ocean
99 foot free ascent in open ocean (Catalina Island )

No problems ! Practice and perfect under controlled conditions what must be preformed perfectly under emergence conditions

LA CO always demanded that the applicant was a good waterman prior to acceptance and the non equaled program produced divers - not people who just dove and identified themselves as a diver

I always recall Commander Bond USN 300 + free assent
And less publicized Lt jg Dick Bonin USN free ascent from 200 feet + under artic ice while testing regulators for USN

Commander Bond became famous as the father of Sea Lab
Dick Bonin was a co founder of SCUBA Pro

So a CESA can be done under controlled training conditions-to prepare the diver for real life emergency conditions .
SDM

 

[EFX]

I make it a habit to always breathe from my secondary reg while under water at the start of the dive. Just because it worked on the surface doesn't mean it will work at depth. I've never seen any of my buddies do this except my usual dive buddy who is full cave. It's a shame because this is life support equipment. My life may depend on your secondary reg or octo to work underwater. I don't recall in my OW training eight years ago that I was taught to do this. Do the rec agencies teach it now?

 

[Bob DBF]

I always recall Commander Bond USN 300 + free assent

And don't forget Chief Tuckfield who did it with him.

An account:
http://benhellwarth.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/SEALAB-excerpt.pdf



Bob

 

[Zef]

Los Angeles County Underwater Instructors Program - AKA UICC
The father of all civilian and several military dive training programs
established in the summer of 1954 by the late Bev Morgan and Al Tillman

33 foot dich and recovery in open ocean
99 foot free ascent in open ocean (Catalina Island )

No problems ! Practice and perfect under controlled conditions what must be preformed perfectly under emergence conditions

LA CO always demanded that the applicant was a good waterman prior to acceptance and the non equaled program produced divers - not people who just dove and identified themselves as a diver

I always recall Commander Bond USN 300 + free assent
And less publicized Lt jg Dick Bonin USN free ascent from 200 feet + under artic ice while testing regulators for USN

Commander Bond became famous as the father of Sea Lab
Dick Bonin was a co founder of SCUBA Pro

So a CESA can be done under controlled training conditions-to prepare the diver for real life emergency conditions .
SDM

Sam,
With great respect and deference to your knowledge and experience, I would not argue against the fact that "a CESA can be done under controlled training conditions-to prepare the diver for real life emergency conditions"....but I stand by the notion that more attention is better served focusing on training a diver to avoid, as best as possible, those things that would cause one to need to perform a CESA in the first place.

-Z

 

[rsingler]

And don't forget Chief Tuckfield who did it with him.

An account:
http://benhellwarth.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/SEALAB-excerpt.pdf

Bob

Awesome account!
Buoyant ascent from 302 feet in one minute. Incredible!
Completed without incident, it should be noted.

 

[rsingler]

I stand by the notion that more attention is better served focusing on training a diver to avoid, as best as possible, those things that would cause one to need to perform a CESA in the first place.

Why not both? When all your options are gone, whether from lack of training, preparation or practice, why not know how to properly do a CESA? It's not either-or.

 

[Bob DBF]

I make it a habit to always breathe from my secondary reg while under water at the start of the dive. Just because it worked on the surface doesn't mean it will work at depth. I've never seen any of my buddies do this except my usual dive buddy who is full cave. It's a shame because this is life support equipment.

Normally I just roll my eyes when "life support equipment" is tossed about, since it is an overstatement of fact. Life support is between ones ears.

That being said, anyone who assumes that any mechanical device will work as planned without actually testing it, is asking for a supprise. I have never had an issue when testing so it would probably work as designed in an emergency without the test, but I'd rather know prior.

....but I stand by the notion that more attention is better served focusing on training a diver to avoid, as best as possible, those things that would cause one to need to perform a CESA in the first place.

I agree with that sentiment, however this training is being done instead of proper training for a CESA in the event there is no other choice at the time. By avoiding CESA training, it is more dangerous when actually needed. Read post post #20 and the description of a CESA.



Bob

 

[Diving Dubai]

I forgot to mention the non-OOA diver's octo was attached by a deck hand to a different part of their BC (it was dangling prior to jumping off the boat so the deck hand stopped him and clipped it off). That has it's own issues in itself. I would never let a deck hand clip my stuff to a spot it normal is not clipped to.

Not an excuse I'm afraid. Think. How much "real estate" does your BCD have with which to attach your alternate reg? And its got a nice fat hose attached.
To be frank and blunt, simply and calmly running your hands over you gear and you should easily find it. This isn't an equipment issue, it's a skills issue.