Out of gas - what happens next?

[Edward3c]

Hi,

In another thread, we were discussing strategies for donating gas, and the question came up of what happens in real out of gas situations. I have frequently heard that an OOG diver will grab another diver's primary reg, but other instructors have said that they have experienced divers more calmly taking an octo (invited or not).

Does anyone have any actual experience with this situation? What do real OOG divers actually do?

The grabbing of someone's reg out of their mouth is one of the most widely cited myths. The UK HSE did an extensive study and found divers do what they were trained to do, even 20 years later. So the only OOG diver who'll take your reg is one who was trained that way.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Reaction is going to depend on the diver, frankly. I would expect that an inexperienced diver ... or one who has never practiced OOA responses post-OW ... is more likely to simply go for the first available air source in a moment of near-panic, while a diver who is more experienced or has regularly practiced their emergency skills will respond more calmly and more like what their training taught them to do. Personality will also play into it ... some people are natural problem-solvers, while for others the least inconvenience gets treated like an emergency.

That said, I've had to deal with four OOA emergencies over the years (two by the same person), and in all four cases the person swam toward me slashing hand across throat. They accepted the reg I held out for them ... and that's the takeaway, really. Don't wait to see how a person's going to respond ... you, as the donor, want to be the person who's controlling which second stage the person gets. You do that by holding it out at arm's length ... so it's the first one they can get to. I assure you, if you hold it out in front of you they won't swim past it attempting to get at the one you're breathing from ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[doctormike]

Also, don't be a doofus, like I was on one dive, and turn the exhaust valve all the closed when you thought you were opening it all the way. Then spend your safety/deco stop upside down and hanging onto the anchor line to keep from corking.

I think that you guys are mixing up some dry suit thread with this OOG thread.... unless there is a PADI cert for using your dry suit as a redundant gas source!

 

[stuartv]

I think that you guys are mixing up some dry suit thread with this OOG thread.... unless there is a PADI cert for using your dry suit as a redundant gas source!

Oops! Sorry!

And, take my word for it on this, you do NOT want to breathe the gas that is inside my drysuit!

 

[RainPilot]

Oops! Sorry!

And, take my word for it on this, you do NOT want to breathe the gas that is inside my drysuit!

Only time you ever wished to be out of gas?

 

[doctormike]

Oops! Sorry!

And, take my word for it on this, you do NOT want to breathe the gas that is inside my drysuit!

 

[TrimixToo]

A slightly different twist on this. As a technical diver, I tell recreationally-trained buddies to take the regulator out of my mouth if I don't notice them approaching (e.g, from the side, or from behind, with no time to get in front of me and signal). It's the only gas they know can be used safely. I'll cope, since I know what I'm carrying that's safe to breathe and where to grab it. We can sort it out afterward if there's more than one option.

It's a discussion you should have if you are diving with a "mismatched buddy" or in a mismatched group. For example, I know what to donate to a CCR diver at need, but not which bailout gas to grab for if time is of the essence unless I have asked in advance. There are other reasons to ask, too. Are the regs charged and parked with the valves off? Are there inline shutoffs on the 2nd stage hoses?

Just a couple of things to think about.

John

 

[Kevo88]

I'm watching this thread, it should be a really good read.

I haven't experienced an OOA incident yet, and wouldn't be upset if I never have to outside of running drills. This has made me think about some other training and intense situations outside of scuba that I've been a part of though. I do some practical and defensive firearms classes, and I was also an emt for a short time. One thing I can think back to in those classes, as well as some experiences I've had on the ambulance, is that what the s is hitting the fan and adrenaline is dumping, a person usually reverts to their most fundamental training. A military buddy once told me "nobody rises to the occasion, they fall to their basics".

So my thinking along those lines is that if a diver is taught that the backup second stage is where you go for air, and then drilled on it even a few times, that is where they will most likely go. The higher functions of hand signals and communication will go out the window, but that subconscious connection made during ow class of "if I can't breathe, reg on buddy's shoulder" should kick in, right? Not sure, I may be off base, but I hope that's what I'd do in then event of some kind of faliure.

 

[northernone]

Had 3 OOG divers mug me now.

One was an OW student separated from his group. Came up from behind, waiting to reach my shoulder to tap me, did a perfect padi out if air, please share, we shared I signaled my group and we ascended together... he was a medical doctor, entirely out of air and perfectly calb. Executed his training flawlessly.

Alternatively I've had a guy come at me clawing, clipped my mask before latching on to my primary out of my mouth

Sharing a pool I had a medium desperate guy mug me too, a signal before reaching with determination for my secondary which I deployed.

I've gone out of gas myself on an al80 doing my AOW class to allow a paying customer finish his al100 while I breathed off the instructor's al100. Signaled at 500, 100 and after the reg breathed hard we finally did the gas switch. That was very calm as it was expected. As a kid I've breathed atanks down in the shallows to reg draws hard and just swam up. Air fills were difficult and we didn't 'waste air' no issue as a freediver.

Well that's all I've got so far.
Regards,
Cameron

 

[3D diver]

The only time I, personally, have had an out of air experience I just surfaced---I was in my parent's pool and my friend had shut off my tank without me noticing!!!! I learned how urgent a true OOA is...you don't notice until you are inhaling. Think about that.

More to the point of this thread, I had a buddy burn through his air kicking like a maniac on a 100 foot-ish dive to a North Carolina wreck. He still had air when he realized he was low. I still had half a tank and we were well within our NDL. I got a firm grip on his BC, gave him my octopus, dumped the air from his BC so he wouldn't bolt to the surface, and dragged us over to the third diver in our team. He presented his octo and we began our ascent. The boat captain, cruising above everyone as a safety diver, noticed us, offered his octo and accompanied us to the surface.