Out of Air

[mikerault]

Let me quess...managing your buoyancy with the drysuit? I have found that putting in just enough to avoid squeeze and provide insulation is best then manage with your BC like normal. I realize that is not the PADI way but tough, it works for me.

Mike

 

[Tollie]

BMET,

I want to kick this up a notch.

Your description of this dive is terrifying.

What you described is a CF of the killing order of magnitude. You came very close to death on that dive.

From your description you had no gas management plan when in fact you ran out of gas. Do you know what SAC rates are? Do you know your own? Do you know what rock bottom is? What was it on this dive? Do you know what turn pressure is? Do you know what rule to apply in this dive? Do you know what your turn pressure was on this dive?

You have too few dives (too little experience) to be doing the dives you have done. No redundancy in gas source or safety gear. Inadequate training in the primary nav tool (reel). There are occasions when solo dives work in commercial diving but then you have topside safety and training built in. I’m not at all convinced that this dive you did could not have been executed far more safely as a team dive. It is quite possible to work as a team in near zero viz conditions… but it takes training.

So… stop what you are doing, immediately. Don’t do this again without significant changes in your own training and in the procedures your group uses.

 

[AndyA]

Let me quess...managing your buoyancy with the drysuit? I have found that putting in just enough to avoid squeeze and provide insulation is best then manage with your BC like normal. I realize that is not the PADI way but tough, it works for me.

Mike

I was taught the PADI way of Drysuit diving. After passing the Drysuit specialty course my instructor taught me his way. I perfer his way "putting in just enough to avoid squeeze and provide insulation is best then manage with your BC like normal".

AndyA

 

[BMETdiver]

I was using that the add enough to remove the squeeze and provide insulation but at the same time my bouyancy was still off for most of the dive causing me to increase my air consumption. Last year I did about 8 drysuit dives and by the 4-5 I was getting pretty comfortable. The last drysuit dive was in May though so I am still getting bouyancy down with it. As for the question of SAC I have calculated it with a wet suit and my turn around point was at 1200 psi when I started back to the upline. That should have left me 800 psi to start my ascent and then after a 3 minute safety stop I would be at the surface around 500 psi. For the question of entaglement I do carry a set of shears and a knife. And yes I realize just how lucky I was to not get a DCI or even drown. I posted this because when I started diving I found this website and have read several of the accident and incident posts. I hope that my incident may help someone else. Thanks for all the input.

 

[vablackwater]

First drysuit dive (for buoyancy??) of the season without a buddy at 70 feet intentionally near entaglements/ obstructions with limited visibility, solo and without redundancy while having little dive experiance.

Diving has inherent risk, but there are ways to minimize said risks and plan for contingencies.

This is not meant to be a bash, but i think you should get the recurring theme of warning coming off posts here. My contact info is on my profile, please send me an im or email and i will be happy to talk about it further privately.

 

[mattroz]

I was using that the add enough to remove the squeeze and provide insulation but at the same time my bouyancy was still off for most of the dive causing me to increase my air consumption. Last year I did about 8 drysuit dives and by the 4-5 I was getting pretty comfortable. The last drysuit dive was in May though so I am still getting bouyancy down with it. As for the question of SAC I have calculated it with a wet suit and my turn around point was at 1200 psi when I started back to the upline. That should have left me 800 psi to start my ascent and then after a 3 minute safety stop I would be at the surface around 500 psi. For the question of entaglement I do carry a set of shears and a knife. And yes I realize just how lucky I was to not get a DCI or even drown. I posted this because when I started diving I found this website and have read several of the accident and incident posts. I hope that my incident may help someone else. Thanks for all the input.

why do you think it would only take you 300psi to go up when it took you 900psi to go down.... you can go down a lot faster than up... Go buy yourself a loto ticket you're one lucky guy.

 

[ageddiver]

I see people screw up reels all the time - I don't care how much training you have. The trouble is it takes all your concentration to straighten it out underwater, and that's when you lose all track of time, gas and everything else. Best advice is to simply wind up the remaining line over the reel itself and forget trying to work on it. You lose no time, continue to follow your line back to the upline, and simply look stupid when you get on the boat with a big nest clipped to you.

Thanks for posting so others can learn - at the risk of all the inevitable bashing one takes. If you've never had an "oh sh**" moment underwater, then you surely haven't been diving much.

 

[Hoyden]

That is a lot of task loading for a diver with so few dives. As has been suggested above, solo diving without adequate training/experience, not to mention a redundant gas supply is a bad idea. Not monitoring your gas supply is an even worse idea, but it is easy to pick a part someone else's mistakes after the fact. Constructive suggestion - skip these types of dives until you get in more practice time in the water. You need dry suit experince, reel practice and practice in low vis. Dry land reel practice can help, but it does not replace in-water practice - you won't get the same bird's nest effect without the water. You can quarry dive all winter and/or get some pool time. Most local shops will allow you (for a fee) to use a section of the pool while they are teaching other classes. If your local shop won't, pm me and I can help you out with this if you don't mind driving a little. Don't let an experience like this do anything but motivate you to become a better diver.

JMO,

Jackie