Equipment If you can't drop your weights and you are sinking

[Blackcrusader]

Backplate and wing instead of a jacket BCD

I have a Scuba Pro Black BCD using inserts that never come out.
I've dived with people using backplate and wings who have dropped weights accidently.

 

[Wibble]

Diving overweighted kills.

Doing a weight check is essential.

You only need enough additional weight to compensate for buoyancy lost by consuming gas or your SMB reel.

Am astounded at how grossly overweighted many divers are.

These are the most basic scuba diving skills.

 

[Blackcrusader]

The scariest thing is jumping off a boat and sinking with all the kit at the beginning of the dive.

Required for back roll negative entry on dive sites with fast currents and washing machine type foamy ocean water such as the Magnet in South Lombok. The last place you want to be at this site is on the surface being carried onto the rocks by currents.

 

[DiveLikeAMuppet]

Required for back roll negative entry on dive sites with fast currents and washing machine type foamy ocean water such as the Magnet in South Lombok. The last place you want to be at this site is on the surface being carried onto the rocks by currents.

View attachment 917339

Sinking uncontrollably. Planned negative entry is fine obviously. Cool dive site.

 

[Blackcrusader]

I dive sidemount, so my weights are in dorsal pockets and not ditchable. Many technical divers won’t use droppable weights at all, since losing them can actually be more dangerous if it causes an uncontrolled ascent.

If you’re properly weighted, it should be possible to fin against the negative buoyancy until you regain control. The real issue is that a lot of divers dive overweighted, which makes that almost impossible.

In an emergency descent, ditching weights wouldn’t be the instructor’s first response. The priority is to add gas to the student’s BCD and/or drysuit to establish neutral buoyancy. If for some reason the student’s system isn’t functioning, the instructor still has plenty of lift available through their own BCD and/or drysuit to help stabilize and bring the student up.

Well two divers in Philippines caught in a strong down current to 90m depth. The guide and another diver managed to get to a wall and hang on for dear life. Divers should be taught to use smb / dsmb for additional lift in an emergency.

 

[Blackcrusader]

Sinking uncontrollably. Planned negative entry is fine obviously. Cool dive site.

South Lombok near Bali. Fantastic place for extreme current diving. Some people who think they are experienced current divers find this place difficult. We had one such diver panic on the first dive and head for the surface. But he was a DM in training. I told him he should stay here and finish his DM training here.

Wild Scuba Indonesia a very apt name. Jay the owner has a video of me where my bubble trails go horizontal then down into the depths. This video of one of the lesser currents..

About Us

Wild Scuba Indonesia is a dive operator offering adventure diving in a Belongas to experienced divers and diving in South 'Secret' Gilis to divers of all levels of experience

www.wildscubaindonesia.com

 

[Wibble]

Required for back roll negative entry on dive sites with fast currents and washing machine type foamy ocean water such as the Magnet in South Lombok. The last place you want to be at this site is on the surface being carried onto the rocks by currents.

View attachment 917339

Looks like a great advanced dive requiring plenty of experience and being “dived up”, not somewhere for a complete novice, nor the first dive in those conditions.

 

[Edward3c]

An analysis of the BSAC incident reports in the early 2000’s revealed that a number of fatalities were attributed to divers who had surfaced, but subsequently sank and drowned as a result on not ditching their weight belts on the surface. As such a drill was introduced at all dived grades where students dump their weights - to remind divers it was an option.

In the days of ABLJs it was normal practice to put the weight belt on last, thereby ensuring it wouldn’t be trapped by crotch straps. Whilst the diver might be able to sort out a snagged weight belt. In an emergency a rescuer is unlikely to figure it out quickly enough. I see enough confusion in rescue skills because of the variety of kit configurations (even after a detailed buddy check before the lesson), that adding a snagged weight belt to the mix could be enough to prevent a successful outcome.

As for diving without ditchable weights, that’s a personal choice based on risk tolerance.

 

[Divin'Papaw]

So you would have been fumbling with a DSMB as this woman sank even deeper in the lake?

The drysuit should have been the supplemental buoyancy. I thought that was obvious. Plus the diver was significantly overweighted.

My reference to a DSMB was as another example of supplemental buoyancy.

 

[Divin'Papaw]

I have a Scuba Pro Black BCD using inserts that never come out.
I've dived with people using backplate and wings who have dropped weights accidently.

That is another example of non-ditchable weights.

Some BP/W divers also have ditchable weights on their harness, most do not.