Who has been in a reall OOA situation, whether you or your dive buddy?

[Adobo]

I've been out of gas on 2 occasions.


First check out dive, first time out of gas
On my first open water check out dive, I put my gear together as I was trained. I checked to make sure the regs were breathing properly and so on. I then set the gear aside while the instructor completed the dive briefing. I was afraid that the regulator would freeflow so I turned the tank valve off. After the dive briefing, we all donned our gear. As I was walking towards the water, I noticed that my SPG was reading less than 3000psi (200 bar). I thought, no biggie, just has a short fill. I inflate my bc and swim to about 6 or 7 feet of water. I put my reg in and descend, as I was descending, the reg went dry. Fortunately, I was not so overweighted that I was able to swim back to the surface and manually inflate my BC.

Root cause: tank valve was left on when I started the dive.


First time on a boat dive in a drysuit, second time out of gas
Took a short class on drysuits and then went boat diving. My buddy was a "DM". We descended to 85 feet. I sucked down all my gas so fast that within 15 minutes of the dive, I was below 1000psi. Having done the math for minimum gas, I knew I had to thumb the dive and fast. I gave my buddy the thumb but we did not ascend right away. Instead, he swam us to an area where there was some kelp so I could use that for a visual aid during the ascent. By the time we began our ascent, I was down to 300ish PSI. As we were ascending, I had an incredibly difficult time venting my drysuit. So much so that I was cling to kelp trying to not rocket to the surface. By the time we reached 30ft, I was out of gas.

My buddy gave me his primary reg. But I saw right away that he could not find his octo. So within 10 seconds of giving me his reg, he took it right back out of my mouth. I waited patiently for him to take a couple of breaths. Then I asked for his primary reg back. He gave it back and was subsequently able to locate his octo.

Root cause: Not proficient at drysuit usage, not checking gas soon enough, being in a dive that was well beyond my capabilities, with a buddy who did not recognize right away that he was diving with someone who was an accident waiting to happen.

Out of gas buddies
I've never been on a dive with a buddy who has run out of gas during a dive. I'd like to say that my dive buddies are that good. But also, I'd like to take the very tiniest bit of credit in that I try really hard not to let my buddies make the same mistakes I made (entering the water with valves turned off, diving in conditions that that are beyond their capabilities, etc.)

 

[Edward3c]

I have never had to donate gas to someone who was out. I have donated gas to someone who was very low on two occasions.

I have had two "out of gas" situations myself. One was a massive freeflow that occurred in about 35 feet of water. The tank was empty before we got to the surface, but I was breathing off my buddy's long hose, so it was not an issue except that I had to have the tank inspected.

The other is an embarrassing story, and was a lesson to me. I have written a lot of times about what a PITA I am about doing equipment checks. The one time I don't, is when I am diving with people whose accomplishment and experience are daunting to me, and THEY don't, and I don't want to offend them by insisting. (I have learned not to do this.). Anyway, we were starting a cave dive on stages, and we didn't do a team check, and I forgot to check my stage reg. I descended about six feet and ran out of gas (having used all the gas in the hose, and the stage being turned off). I was AMAZED at the huge adrenaline surge that came with sucking the reg dry, and my feet started bolting to the surface before my brain even processed what had happened. As soon as it did, I said to myself, "You idiot, turn the stage on!" That was the end of the issue, and I never did get to the surface, so obviously all of this happened very fast.

Putting two 'experienced' divers (especially instructors) together really show those that “do what they teach” and those that don't.

My view now is if you don't want to do a pre-dive check then I don't want to dive with you.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

Does accidentally grabbing the 2nd stage for my pony bottle count? Did that while on vacation in Maui. I was about 50' down at the time when I noticed it was getting more and more difficult to breath. Looked at my dive computer and it was full. Huh? Oh, stupid me. Grabbed the correct 2nd stage and carried on. Since then, I have different 2nd stages, different hoses, and other little changes so that could never happen again.

 

[boulderjohn]

I just remembered that I was indeed present for an OOA situation.

I was conducting a Scuba Review class for a couple who were about to take a dive trip after a relatively short absence from diving. We picked up some tanks from the lot sent by the shop for all the classwork being done that day and set up the gear by the side of the pool. We did our pre-dive safety check prior to entering the pool. When I talked about the part where you check your air supply, I emphasized the importance of looking at the SPG while breathing off the reg, telling them that if the tank is shut off or only cracked slightly open, the needle will move when they take those test breaths. "So if the needle doesn't move when you breathe, it's OK?" the wife asked.

"It means the tank valve is open," I carefully said.

So we got in the water and started to do the review exercises. After only a couple of minutes, the wife got panicky and headed for the surface. I caught her on the way up, and when we got to the surface I realized her tank was dead empty. "When you checked your air," I asked, "how much was in the tank?"

"The needle was down in the red part," she replied, "but it wasn't moving, so I figured it must be OK."

 

[dumpsterDiver]

Does staying down until it gets hard to inhale and then having to gently sip the air on ascent count as "out of air"?

 

[Maverick17]

My 17-20th dives were in Tulamben, Bali. The first morning a small group of us did the Liberty wreck. Near the end of the dive, we noticed what felt like a strong current suddenly arrive after nothing on entry.

Second dive after SI was just me and the guide. We went to the dropoff dive site, swimming with the current (the guide said it was surge, not current) to get there. I did my normal sucking of air and notified the guide when I was at 100 bar, and we had been continually going away from entry still. I am very cognizant of my air, checking often as I know I use more than some people. I was a bit surprised we didn't head back immediately after I signaled, given that it was a decent swim to where we entered and I knew that usually you want to go into the current on entry and with the current going back (but I had never done shore dives; didn't seem possible to do it any other way in this case). Didn't worry too much, figured he knew what he was doing, but I did keep watching and told him at 80 bar and 50 bar again the exact number I had left. We finally got to the shallows when that surge/current hit again and I used much of my remaining air quickly. I did know I was only at shallow depth at the end and could have surfaced easily, and didn't panic, and never did get fully OOA. But it was not a pleasant experience. I think I finished with 10 bar or something similar.

 

[Nemrod]

It was I think 1982. I was drift diving down in SFla with my wife as my buddy. I was given the buoy to tow and a third buddy was assigned to me and my wife. We were drifting around 80 feet give or take on one of the deeper reef breaks and there was a good current running. The insta-buddy immediately began swimming against the current at every opportunity. This caused me to have to hold or even swim against the current upstream to maintain visual on our buddy. This was made worse by my carrying my Nikonos III camera with dual strobes. Back then, I ran marathons, and was really into the then new sport of triathlon. Not only was my SAC rate exceeding low then (and still is) but I could also hit the gas pedal and the four barrel would open up (now not so much ), which apparently I was doing, over and over, trying to keep our insta-buddy close. I finally, frustrated and now completely fixated on the errant insta-buddy, signaled my wife to go get him, which she did. About the time she was a good fifty feet away and heading away from me, the regulator provided it's last breath of air. I recall exhaling only to get nothing. Well, I was also a good free diver in that era. So, for a moment, I kinda was stunned, looked at my spg and realized it was stone cold empty! My wife turned around, giving up on the insta-buddy and she saw me and I signaled her, out of air. She headed straight away to me while I continued to swim against the current with buoy and Nikonos. I was about to do a free ascent, now about a minute into the OOA situation but not wanting to head up until at least my wife knew where I was going, me not wanting to leave her, chasing the idiot-buddy. She hit me like a bull shark attack and handed me her regulator (yep, pre-octopus) and I took a couple of breaths, not satisfied but handed it back, her turn. I had dropped the buoy by now but had my camera and had risen to about 60 feet when I took another breath from her reg and signaled to her I was going up and for her to follow along. So, I had looked, she was below 500 psi. So, I made a leisurely 60fpm (the then standard rate of ascent) free ascent to the surface. She came to the surface about 30 seconds behind me. The insta-buddy, also apparently went OOA during his ascent.

The captain was all in a fuss, I explained to him that the insta-buddy they assigned me was a horrid diver, not the pro they had told us and that he apparently did not have the concept of DRIFT diving in his brain cells. I should have left the insta-buddy but I have this thing, to this day, about staying with my buddy once I accept a buddy. So our inexperienced buddy, who we did not know, my fixation on attempting to stay with him, the drag of the buoy and my camera rig and my high level of fitness which allowed me to burn air at a prodigious rate without any effort or fatigue, my further preoccupation with my camera and increasing aggravation level all snowballed.

I was banned from Florida for the first time! Well, okay, just that operator. I am now an ace now!

Okay, so then about ten years ago, diving from my Boston Whaler out of Destin on that liberty ship, I was solo, again shooting photos, my usual camera infatuation. There were hundreds of pink urchins below the stern piled like tumbleweeds and I just could not get enough. The bottom there is about 90 feet maybe a little less. My wife was up top on the boat. I was tied in on the bow with a new anchor rode. I was back at the stern. So I checked my spg and saw it was more than time I should head back to the bow, so I headed that way, dang, a school of amberjack got my attention as they swarmed around me like a fish tornado, worthy of several photos and some more air burned. Okay, on to the bow, hey, that spg looks a little depressed there buddy! So, about then, I saw a brand new anchor, one of those expensive aluminum Danforth jobs instead of my junky galvanized anchor. Hmmmmm, so I set my camera down on a piece of metal on the liberty ship and went to get me that new anchor. N-I-C-E!!!!! Still had the price tag on it. So, now I had to put some air into my BC to lift the thing when I noticed that the inflation was rather slow. Hmmmmmm! So, now I was thinking, where is that dang camera. Oh, yeah, over there. So it was about then I got my last breath. Hmmmm. Drop my new anchor, nope. Leave my camera, nope. Oh, and I needed to unhook cuz I ain't leaving my new rode either. So, I swam over and got my camera, then went over and got my anchor off and dropped it clear. Then headed up. Free ascent. OOA. About 40 feet, I got a breath, hit 20 feet, got a couple of more and managed a 30 second safety stop to boot. Not from that particular day, but this is the place and you can see my wife in the distance here and those stupid urchins that caught my attention!

It is what it is. Oh, yeah, the captain fussed at me and then cried and then fussed some more and then banned me from diving. Oh, that aluminum Danforth, well, the rest of the story, it rides in the Whaler's anchor locker, sweet!

N

 

[LindaSSF]

I certified in the 1970s. The rental gear I used in the beginning had a J valve, and SPGs were keen, futuristic pieces of equipment. I can't tell you how many CESAs I ended up doing when the breathing got hard, I reached back to flip the valve for reserve, only to find it had already flipped into reserve for some reason or another.

As you did a CESA then, you kept the reg in your mouth because you might still get a little air as you got shallower. Imagine my surprise during a refresher course a few years ago when the instructor wanted me to drop my reg while I demonstrated CESA!

It wasn't unusual to air share off one reg since Octo rigs weren't used then, either. Those who have said it can be a long wait while your buddy has the reg - boy are you right! I've had one diver panic & refuse to return it. I was fortunate we were only about 20 ft under then. Ascent was the only option. I wouldn't dive with him again, though.


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[kafkaland]

Not really OOA, but it felt like it for a microsecond. An easy intro-level cave dive in sidemount. I was on my long hose, and all of a sudden no air! I switched immediately to the other reg, and it took just seconds to figure out that the right tank valve had rolled off. No panic, but a bit of a WTF moment. I knew that the tank was still much more than half full. Overall, it felt a bit like a surprise valve drill. Only regret - I didn't signal my buddy. I sorted everything out quickly, but thinking back I should have signaled him so that his long hose was available had I needed it.

 

[NAM001]

In this century I have had only one instance of ooa. diving single tank and the valve got rolled off in a cavern. No biggy however I dive with h valves. switched to the necklace and exited. It was my fault. I cracked the valve to check for leaks and did not turn it all the way on. I got distracted. I love H valves.