CESA over Shared Air Ascent: Which is Best

[Darnold9999]

Why would you be out of air?

To me the answer to this question is always situational. It depends, and I always carry a pony so I don't have to worry about it.

Assuming some kind of hardware failure, I would switch to the pony while heading toward buddy (if I was buddy diving) to call the dive.

If the pony fails at 25' probably going to the surface not going to even bother to make an air share work. I know the surface has air and is willing and able to share at a moments notice and at 25 feet the risk of DCS in most situations is negligable. Can't always say that about a buddy.

Deeper it would depend on the situation. If my buddy was nearby then share air, otherwise CESA. The problem is that if you have taken the time to try to switch to the pony and it has failed you are likely in a heap of trouble and neither is going to be successful because you will be just that much closer to panic.

 

[ryanpublic]

Okay this is interesting. I would vote for Alt Air source (share air) no question. I would also expect if I was diving that I could probably manage to buddy breath (share air) well enough and that would be safer than a CESA.

However, Padi puts them in this order (1 most preferred to 4 Least perferred)
1. Normal ascent (assuming you are not truly out of air completely)
2. Alternate Air Source (Share Air)
3. CESA
4. Buddy Breath (Share Air)
5. Buoyant Emergency Swimming ascent
(drop weights so they find your corpse on the surface I guess). -- completely toungue in cheek here

I don't know if I really understand why CESA's are ranked above Buddy Breathing but the answer I've been told (and told to give) is that Buddy Breathing can put more stress on the other diver and lead to another victim. It kind of makes sense but I still believe most of my buddys could manage it fine. (Maybe even most of my students).

Sorry Halimano I didn't read your post before I did this.

 

[Web Monkey]

I don't know if I really understand why CESA's are ranked above Buddy Breathing but the answer I've been told (and told to give) is that Buddy Breathing can put more

Buddy breathing is no longer part of the requirements for certification and there is no way to know if an unknown doner (or possibly even your buddy) has any idea how to do it without prior discussion.

At least with a CESA, fatalites/injuries are restricted to the OOA diver, and not the OOA diver and the guy he's trying to buddy-breathe with.

Terry

 

[trtldvr]

"Shared air" needs to be defined. If "shared air" = alternate air, then it would be preferred over CESA, but if "shared air" = buddy breathing go with the CESA. If buddy breathing is not practiced it can quickly lead to 2 people being injured. For the most part the only people that practice BB is instructors, because we teach it, and that even depends on which organization that we are teaching for. The best choice is to watch your #@!& gauges. Running out of air is a mortal sin

safe dives
trtldvr
Florida Keys Safe Diving Initiative

 

[captain]

I go with the CESA. If I am with a buddy I would quickly try and signal my situation to him and begin the CSEA. Hopefully if he sees my signal he will follow me up.

 

[Al Mialkovsky]

OK clue me in here. Why would anyone do a cesa if there is air available? You aren't doing a safety stop with a cesa. You're swimming for the surface blowing bubbles. I can't imagine doing anything other than sharing air, even if a shared air breaks down you've most likely gotten a breath or two of air, and you're closer to the surface.

Better than sharing air? Oh my.

 

[TSandM]

If I were at 25 feet with an unknown and/or inattentive or new diver buddy, I might consider a CESA. With my regular buddies, air-sharing is a routine procedure, and we even throw OOAs at each other in midwater on ascents quite often, to make sure we're all good with the drill. So I know that signaling out of air at 25 feet will get a reg stuffed in my mouth promptly and without fuss, and that we can then finish our controlled ascent and deco as planned, and I will feel much better afterward.

 

[String]

Shared air.

CESA is a pointless relic that under no possible situation should ever be needed on a modern dive. To get to CESA you've done at least 3 things wrong any of which should have been dive aborted.

If you need to CESA you need to stop diving before you kill yourself.

To have a CESA you need to be
(i) OOA - ok this COULD be a freeflow not just stupidity
(ii) Have no independent air source - that is stupidity
(iii) Have separated from buddy - thats bad dive practice and shouold have aborted
or (iiib) Buddy has no octopus and cant for some reason buddy breathe - see above.

ALL those need to happen at the same time and any one of those should be immediate abort of the dive.

 

[Rec Diver]

To have a CESA you need to be
(i) OOA - ok this COULD be a freeflow not just stupidity
(ii) Have no independent air source - that is stupidity
(iii) Have separated from buddy - thats bad dive practice and shouold have aborted
or (iiib) Buddy has no octopus and cant for some reason buddy breathe - see above.

I am pretty sure it was Sheck Exley who stated at one of his seminars; "**** Happens"!

 

[String]

To require a CESA you'd need s**t happening while s**t had happened all at the same time as s**t had already happened.
In short if you have any idea at all how to plan or conduct a dive you'd be well out of there before that would be required.