CESA over Shared Air Ascent: Which is Best

[MauiScubaSteve]

Despite how the training agencies define or differentiate, there's no difference between a CESA and a Buoyant ascent, since the former will likely turn into the latter. There's absolutely no guarantee that a diver will make it to the surface on a single breath hold, thus option of last resort.

The PADI OW books I have in stock are '99 ver 2.0, which state "CESA is one option if you lose your air supply at 10-12m/30-40' or less, and your buddy is too far away to provide an alternate air source."

The CESA section closes with this paragraph; "Perhaps the greatest value of CESA training is knowing you can do it. When you realize you can reach the surface without difficulty, even if you suddenly lose your air supply, you can relax and enjoy diving more. But watch your SPG and stay close to your buddy so you never need to."

As I stated before, there is evidently some bad training going on. Buoyant Emergency Ascent is when you drop your weights and don't vent your BC, taking the elevator/rocket chair to breach like a whale giving people on the surface the chance to save you. The only similarity in my mind is continuous exhalation if you have air in your lungs.

There are no guarantees in life, but I'd give myself really good odds of no injury from a 60' dive. In your case, either would result in lung expansion injury, because neither is properly done on a single breath hold!

 

[Thalassamania]

The PADI OW books I have in stock are '99 ver 2.0, which state "CESA is one option if you lose your air supply at 10-12m/30-40' or less, and your buddy is too far away to provide an alternate air source."

Teaching (or learning) decent buddy skills make this a non-problem.

The CESA section closes with this paragraph; "Perhaps the greatest value of CESA training is knowing you can do it. When you realize you can reach the surface without difficulty, even if you suddenly lose your air supply, you can relax and enjoy diving more. But watch your SPG and stay close to your buddy so you never need to."

Agreed, but doing it once hardly accomplishes that mission.

As I stated before, there is evidently some bad training going on. Buoyant Emergency Ascent is when you drop your weights and don't vent your BC, taking the elevator/rocket chair to breach like a whale giving people on the surface the chance to save you. The only similarity in my mind is continuous exhalation if you have air in your lungs.

That is not how a buoyant ascent is done. You drop your belt, flair and dump your BC. When I do that I ascend at slightly less that 60FPM. Once again ... this is not a skill you can gain by trying it once.

There are no guarantees in life, but I'd give myself really good odds of no injury from a 60' dive. In your case, either would result in lung expansion injury, because neither is properly done on a single breath hold!

In the old days we had to do a free ascent from the depth of our institutional endorsement. When I got my 60 ft car, my 100 ft card, my 130, and my 150 ... I performed a free ascent from those depths. Incidentally, in the years of eveyone doing those ascents there was never a single injury.

It's kind of interesting how the C.E.S.A (Continuously Exhaling Swimming Ascent) has transubstantiated into a Controlled Emergency Swimming Ascent.