The depth shall be 60, 60 shall the depth be, 61 is right out unless your AOW certified????

[frndrfoe]

When I got certified in the late 70's they put aluminum foil in our masks to blind us and swam around turning off air, flooding masks and knocking out regs. After that it was hard to not be relaxed in normal conditions.

 

[NAM001]

I'm not sure what qualifies as "early" but in my 1969 course we did a free ascent from about 35'. I did one on my own from about 50' just so I would know that I could do it.

I had to do one from about 100. ran low on air and shifted the J valve rod and it was already pullled. next thing it breathed real hard and up i went.

 

[Slow]

I very recently went through OW cert classes. I was less than impressed by the one-or-two-and-done approach with things like air sharing...especially because it was all so well announced in advance. At one point we were sitting on the bottom of a 12 ft. pool watching class mates demonstrating that they could remove/replace their BC so, unannounced, I gave my dive buddy OOA and Lets-share-air signals as a bit of extra practice. It took a long time for him to respond with anything other than a look of confusion. I was kind of hoping that later he'd surprise me with the same thing...he didn't.

Anyway, I mentioned this in another thread and have had a couple folks jump on me and say that was completely inappropriate behavior on my part and that they would be very angry with me if I did that to them.

So, if people are saying what I did is not OK(don't freak people out man!), I can't imagine that they would really support more a more rigorous training program...

FWIW, I remain unashamed of what I did...if someone did get mad at me, I wouldn't be annoyed by their response, but I sure would go find another partner.

 

[boulderjohn]

Just what is the reason that DM's learn to buddy breathe if only DM's know how? Not that it is a hard drill to learn or do but your post would seem to indicate the it is. So what is the purpose of A DM learning the drill? When would it be used and with whom another DM?

They are not learning it to use it in a real situation. it is part of an exercise they must complete in a pool--exchanging their gear while breathing from a single regulator. The purpose is not to teach buddy breathing, and they are not expected to do it again in the future. The purpose is to put them in a difficult situation in which they must problem solve a solution and demonstrate their comfort in solving those problems underwater.

 

[TMHeimer]

Just what is the reason that DM's learn to buddy breathe if only DM's know how? Not that it is a hard drill to learn or do but your post would seem to indicate the it is. So what is the purpose of A DM learning the drill? When would it be used and with whom another DM?

It wasn't hard to learn at all, nor was doing it during the equipment exchange. But I think it would be very confusing for a lot of people if they did it a time or two in OW course, never practised it, and found reason to have to do it 3 years later (if there is a reason).
The reason DMs still learn it? -- Other than boulderjohn's point of problem solving during the course, I have no idea.

 

[2airishuman]

unannounced, I gave my dive buddy OOA and Lets-share-air signals as a bit of extra practice. It took a long time for him to respond with anything other than a look of confusion. I was kind of hoping that later he'd surprise me with the same thing...he didn't.

Anyway, I mentioned this in another thread and have had a couple folks jump on me and say that was completely inappropriate behavior on my part and that they would be very angry with me if I did that to them.

So, if people are saying what I did is not OK(don't freak people out man!), I can't imagine that they would really support more a more rigorous training program...

The reason some of us expressed concern was twofold. First of all, that sort of thing requires advance consent. If you want to work with your buddy and do surprise OOA drills, that's fine -- but arrange it before the dive starts and be sure your buddy is OK with it. It can still come as a surprise since you can do it at any point in the dive.

The second part of the concern is that whenever you're doing drills that may be misinterpreted by other divers or bystanders as a possible emergency, it's courteous to let them know so that they do not attempt a rescue, contact emergency services, or otherwise refocus what they are doing to mitigate what they may perceive as an emergency.

Exactly where the line is drawn during instruction is debatable, but typically there's some sort of warning before the dive that the instructor will be doing an air sharing drill, or up to unspecified shenanigans, or whatever.

FWIW, I remain unashamed of what I did...if someone did get mad at me, I wouldn't be annoyed by their response, but I sure would go find another partner.

Obviously you have made a decision about what the community standards are. Perhaps they are different among the people you dive with, than they are among the people I dive with.

 

[Bob DBF]

Well, having learned to buddy breathe on a double hose regulator, and doing it for real with a single hose regulator, I find drinking beer much more fun and bonding

Having done the same I'll buy the beer.

Bob

 

[JamesBon92007]

I very recently went through OW cert classes. I was less than impressed by the one-or-two-and-done approach with things like air sharing...especially because it was all so well announced in advance. At one point we were sitting on the bottom of a 12 ft. pool watching class mates demonstrating that they could remove/replace their BC so, unannounced, I gave my dive buddy OOA and Lets-share-air signals as a bit of extra practice. It took a long time for him to respond with anything other than a look of confusion. I was kind of hoping that later he'd surprise me with the same thing...he didn't.

Anyway, I mentioned this in another thread and have had a couple folks jump on me and say that was completely inappropriate behavior on my part and that they would be very angry with me if I did that to them.

So, if people are saying what I did is not OK(don't freak people out man!), I can't imagine that they would really support more a more rigorous training program...

FWIW, I remain unashamed of what I did...if someone did get mad at me, I wouldn't be annoyed by their response, but I sure would go find another partner.

Unless I'm missing something I'd go along with your thinking. Apparently you had already been instructed in the procedure and the signals so I do not see why it would be inappropriate. How much more instruction did they give you after that? Little or none? If so, that would indicate to me that if he did not respond at this time he might not in a real situation. When I first started diving I assumed that everyone had the same training that I did because they had a C-Card. I found out otherwise. Eventually I became very selective about my dive buddies. One was ex Navy Seal and the other was my ex-wife and I went through the course with her to make sure they didn't leave anything out. At least you were both taught the same hand signals. Recently an instructor was going over the signals with his students and he did a well-known signal but applied a different meaning to it. My response was "everyone knows that means moray eel."

 

[AdivingBel]

At one point we were sitting on the bottom of a 12 ft. pool watching class mates demonstrating that they could remove/replace their BC so, unannounced, I gave my dive buddy OOA and Lets-share-air signals as a bit of extra practice...
...Anyway, I mentioned this in another thread and have had a couple folks jump on me and say that was completely inappropriate behavior on my part and that they would be very angry with me if I did that to them.

When you posted about this incident in the other thread you didn't mention you were training in a pool. You said you only dive with insta-buddies and you decided to "test" your insta-buddy during a dive. Doing a fake OOA in a pool during training is a far cry from pulling it on an insta-buddy in open water without a discussion prior to splashing. That might be why you received some negative feedback.

 

[NAM001]

I very recently went through OW cert classes. I was less than impressed by the one-or-two-and-done approach with things like air sharing...especially because it was all so well announced in advance. At one point we were sitting on the bottom of a 12 ft. pool watching class mates demonstrating that they could remove/replace their BC so, unannounced, I gave my dive buddy OOA and Lets-share-air signals as a bit of extra practice. It took a long time for him to respond with anything other than a look of confusion. I was kind of hoping that later he'd surprise me with the same thing...he didn't.

Anyway, I mentioned this in another thread and have had a couple folks jump on me and say that was completely inappropriate behavior on my part and that they would be very angry with me if I did that to them.

So, if people are saying what I did is not OK(don't freak people out man!), I can't imagine that they would really support more a more rigorous training program...

FWIW, I remain unashamed of what I did...if someone did get mad at me, I wouldn't be annoyed by their response, but I sure would go find another partner.

This is something that has always bothered me. I am fortunate to have a wife to dive with and when ever we go out we take time to practice a skill or two. For those that do not have a steady buddy, you never know what you have for a buddy. When my wife finished her OW class. we went out and started allover and spent the time needed to semi master the skills. took her a few weeks to remove, replace and clear her mask. Now she doesn't think about it, clearing is natural for her. It takes time, and having a newby at 100 ft kinda scares me. They truly don't know what they don't know.