New diver with questions on one of the certification tasks

[Darya3018]

Hi everyone! I recently got my AOW certification in the winter, and though I love diving, I always feel cautious towards every dive. I don't have as many dives under my belt as some other experienced divers, but I want to make sure that I would know how to react if a problem arose during a dive and be responsible and calm. One thing I've been confused about is one of the skills that they teach new divers when first getting certified, specifically removing the BCD while underwater. I know the chances of actually needing to perform this skill in real life are slim, but I think it would be a good thing to know still. I feel silly for asking, but wouldn't removing the BCD underwater (while still breathing from the regulator) make a diver shoot up to the surface? The thought of this happening freaks me out, but what if I was entangled in something, and my buddy wasn't able to help me, and I had no other options? I'm sure that doing this skill on the bottom of a pool would be different than in the ocean, or possibly being in mid-water with no surface to sit on.

 

[Nick Steele]

During my OW class we had to remove the bcd while in mid water and not sitting on the floor of the pool. The key I believe is keeping the bcd close to your body if you hold it out away from you this is where problems will arise.

I myself use a weight belt so I could ditch my whole rig and be neutrally or negatively buoyant. Actually come to think of it I never have done this with my weight belt and will have to ditch my rig one day in the pool to see how my buoyancy is.

 

[DiverDownD3]

The only way I think you could "shoot" to the surface is if you are diving an overinflated drysuit. Sure you will probably become buoyant (maybe not with a weight belt) but should be able to control with light finning

 

[TMHeimer]

During my OW class we had to remove the bcd while in mid water and not sitting on the floor of the pool. The key I believe is keeping the bcd close to your body if you hold it out away from you this is where problems will arise.

I myself use a weight belt so I could ditch my whole rig and be neutrally or negatively buoyant. Actually come to think of it I never have done this with my weight belt and will have to ditch my rig one day in the pool to see how my buoyancy is.

Yes, same here. I've never bolted to the surface doing the skill. I suppose keeping the rig close to you sees to that--you have to keep it close during the skill anyway. If somehow you managed to get separated a bit from it, then it has to do with what you have on you (including your own body buoyancy) that's positively or negatively buoyant. I've never heard of the skill causing anyone to bolt.

 

[Darya3018]

Okay that makes sense. Thank you for the replies!

 

[Zef]

It all depends on how buoyant you are without your BC on. If you wear your weight on a belt you most likely will not have much to be concerned about, but if you have a weight integrated BC and thick wetsuit (7mm for instance) then you may find yourself really buoyant without the BC on but you can use the BC to hold you down just by keeping a grasp on it. Another factor is how deep you are, remember the top 33 feet/10 meters of the water column have the greatest change in pressure and therefore buoyance...below 33 feet/10 meters your wetsuit will compress/expand less per foot. Typically, at depth one will chooch some air into their BC to counter the weight of the water column above as well as the decreasing buoyancy of their wetsuit due to compression....so taking your BC at depth will probably not cause as big a surprise in buoyancy as you think it will.

Also, it would be foolish to think that the reasons/chance to remove a BC during an open water dive is slim outside of a training environment. There are plenty of reasons such as adjusting how high or low your tank is held by the cam strap, perhaps your tank is slipping and the cam strap needs tightened and your dive partner does not understand your signal to help with it, perhaps you hear bubbles coming from a hose or your first stage and you want to visually inspect, perhaps your dive partner nor you caught that you had a strap that was hella twisted and you decide to fix it. See, there are reasons other than entanglement.

It is hard to simulate an actual response to the s&*t hitting the fan. The more time you have underwater and the more experience you gain will increase your confidence...as long as remain reflective and objective about your experience (try to learn something from every dive) and not become overconfident (such as diving beyond your ability) then you should be relatively ok during a stressful situation.

When things go south under the surface remember the following: Breathe, stop, breathe, think, breathe, act, breathe.

-Z

 

[divad]

...........

 

[TMHeimer]

Zef, I agree with all you say except (at least in my case) I do think the chances of having to remove it are slim. No times in over 700 dives for me is slim. But, as you say, there are many reasons other than entanglement that could happen.

 

[Littlerayray]

I've practiced donning and doffing my gear weight belt included the trick is don't let go or you will become buoyant and have to fight to get to the bottom again

 

[Zef]

Zef, I agree with all you say except (at least in my case) I do think the chances of having to remove it are slim. No times in over 700 dives for me is slim. But, as you say, there are many reasons other than entanglement that could happen.

I don't disagree with your or Divad, I was not meaning to make the point that a diver, especially a recreation diver, will have a reason to frequently remove their BC, I was just trying to give credence to why the skill of doffing/donning a BC underwater is taught in response to the OP's comment "I know the chances of actually needing to perform this skill in real life are slim" which to me came across as this is not a really important skill because it is unlikely to be used with any regularity.

-Z