One of those days when you shouldn't have gotten out of bed.

[PvilleStang]

Well, I think I could answer that one, and I wasn't even there... The stairwell has a handrail on his right side facing away from the bank... he does a roll to end up face up, and next thing you know, he has pinned his first stage under the handrail, and can't perform an armsweep...

 

[O2BBubbleFree]

Well, I think I could answer that one, and I wasn't even there... The stairwell has a handrail on his right side facing away from the bank... he does a roll to end up face up, and next thing you know, he has pinned his first stage under the handrail, and can't perform an armsweep...

Exactly. Well, almost We were not on the stairs, but beside them. The submerged handrail was behind me when he demonstrated the technique for getting behind the panicked diver. We just didn't think about being so close to the submerged handrail.

He was nearly supine, with most of his body just under the surface, and was keeping his mouth out of the water.

His octo was still where it should have been, and available. He was fine with holding his breath while I shoved him under, it's just in hindsight that I thought maybe I should have given him something to breath before shoving him under the water.

 

[Willie]

His octo was still where it should have been, and available. He was fine with holding his breath while I shoved him under, it's just in hindsight that I thought maybe I should have given him something to breath before shoving him under the water.

I think it was a good plan and worked well. It is always easy (and probably advisable) to evaluate a situation after the fact.

I always replay a dive in my mind in the days afterward to think of things that might have gone wrong and how I would have responded or, for that matter, how the original plan could have been improved to add to the enjoyment of the dive. It works even for great dives.

What was that quote by Patton? Something like "a good plan well executed today, beats a better plan executed tomorrow."

Willie

 

[O2BBubbleFree]

Sounds like your instructor needs to take some more classes. Buddy or not, he sounds like an accident waiting to happen. Poor judgment, poor decisions, poor equipment, poor skills.

While I have yet to find any diver who’s perfect, this instructor has impressed me more than most of the others I’ve met. You’ve jumped to some erroneous conclusions.

You don't have to go to 100' for AOW. In such poor viz, there's no need to go any deeper than necessary. BTW, did you have lights? Surely it was dark.

WRT depth, I’m not sure exactly what the YMCA standards say qualifies as your ‘deep’ dive. I’ll check later. The instructor suggested 100’, and I was comfortable with that. I certainly don’t mind that my first 100’ low-vis dive was beside my instructor.

WRT lights, yes, we did. And chemical lightsticks.

WRT going deeper than necessary, the vis was as bad at 60’ as it was at 100’. The incident could have happened just as easily at 60’.

I would never carry so much weight on one belt, where losing it means you rocket to the surface.

As you know it’s not uncommon to have all your weight in one place, be it BC or belt. I’m mulling this over myself, and have read the arguments.

So, give me your opinion. If you were planning a freshwater dive to 100’ in a neoprene drysuit, how much lead would you carry, and where?

 

[RumBum]

IMO, I don't like integrated weights, I have heard alot that they have a bad habit of falling out. I like my weight belt, I have a metal spring buckle. I also have hips to help hold the belt on, though. I do like to carry a couple lbs in my bc pockets.
I have not been to 100' in Travis, the deepest I have been there was 75'. With that pecan grove down there, I have definately decided to get a pony before going that deep there. A lot of divers around here have stories about the vicious trees in Lake Travis.
Sounds like you think real quick on your feet. Kudos!

 

[BrianV]

Out of curiousity, what dive shop was giving the class? Sounds like a scary day.

 

[O2BBubbleFree]

IMO, I don't like integrated weights, I have heard alot that they have a bad habit of falling out. I like my weight belt, I have a metal spring buckle. I also have hips to help hold the belt on, though. I do like to carry a couple lbs in my bc pockets.

I've seen a lot of WI BCs that depend on velcro to hold the weights in, and velcro wears out in short time, especially in the presence of sand. My belief is that the 'weight integrated BC' problems we hear about are really 'weight held by velcro' problems. I use a Zeagle Ranger. The weights are put in from the top, and the pocket closes with a heavy duty zipper. There is a 'rip cord' that laces through the bottom of the pockets, should you need to dump the weight in an emergency. It really is quite secure. Even if I forgot to zip the pockets, I'd be surprised if the weights fell out.

(Added later) I also don't like the WI BCS that use a delrin/fastex buckle. It's too easy to mis-align the buckle and think its secure when its not.

Sounds like you think real quick on your feet. Kudos!

Thanks!

 

[O2BBubbleFree]

Out of curiousity, what dive shop was giving the class? Sounds like a scary day.

Wasn't through a local shop. Please see my following thread:

 

[O2BBubbleFree]

Folks,

In all fairness to my instructor, I think I need to explain that the dive site was my choice, and I didn't do enough research. I didn't know about the pecan orchard that has such a local reputation until I started sharing my story. I obviously should have done more research before I chose the site, knowing that we would be doing at least one deep dive. I chose the site primarily because they have a compressor and I didn't want to rent more than two tanks (not because of the price, rather because I didn't want to haul more than two).

The instructor is not local, and is not familiar with Travis. As I mentioned, he's not perfect, but I'm not going to condemn him. I've had bad instructors on my previous certs (OW and Altitude), and am fairly discriminating.

So I'll add:

Lesson Learned: Research the dive site in light of the dive profiles you have in mind.

 

[ebj]

I have found that a DUI weight belt/harness is great for diving a 7mm wetsuit. I use mine for diving in the winter months here. It works equally well when using a BC, a BPW, or even a horsecollar vest. With its shoulder straps secure, you just can't lose all your weight. It's one less thing to worry about. Even if the buckle comes undone, the weights stay in place.