Sucking straight from the bottle

[boulderjohn]

You're suggesting that on a dive charter there are only two divers (or nobody else has a reg) and there is no spare reg on board. That does NOT sound like a typical charter to me.

Also, you're suggesting that there is wreck penetration occurring with recreational-only divers (no longhose) diving with no safety bottles, and in an area where you can slide a 7" diameter tank but not a person or a reg? Seriously, at what point does Thor tell Zeus to release the Kraken?

You forgot to mention that the new tank arrives just as the diver has finished off the old one, so he does not have time to switch any equipment.

---------- Post added November 6th, 2014 at 02:34 PM ----------

To give you idea about what it takes to switch regulators, let me describe an experience I once had.

I was diving in Cozumel when the DM had an explosion of air from his first stage. I got to him in seconds as he pulled off his BCD and swung it around in front of him. I saw him shut off his air, so I offered an alternate. He didn't take it. He opened up the regulator first stage and saw that the O ring was extruded. He replaced it, which took a while. He was just about to complete the reassembly when he decided to take a single hit from my alternate. He then finished reassembling the first stage and went back to breathing from his own regulator. It took him a little more than one comfortable breath. He could have done without my help, but it would not have been comfortable.

 

[victorzamora]

You forgot to mention that the new tank arrives just as the diver has finished off the old one, so he does not have time to switch any equipment.

You're right.....AND that the tank-delivering-diver didn't have an octo so that the receiving diver could breathe for the minute it took him to switch his/her regs over. And that there was even enough light for these short-hosed, rec-only, single-tank, wreck-penetration divers to be communicating.

The OP mentioned learning a new skill as it related to sidemount, and how it could be applied practically. Nothing in the scenario posted is even REMOTELY plausible in proper SM config (not like it's plausible in ANY config). My point has been and will continue to be, it's a TON of fun to learn and play with....but that's the extent of its use.

 

[lowviz]

...//... My point has been and will continue to be, it's a TON of fun to learn and play with....but that's the extent of its use.

That and a bit of rational desensitization to: The slightest aberration from "Only that what is accepted as being right" will kill you. Survival skills continue to exist "outside of the box".

This is the "Advanced" not Basics forum, so I will post. IMHO, true survival skills have retreated to the tech world. Sidemount Diving | Course Notes | Advanced Scuba . Scroll down to "Safety".

 

[Andyoak]

And for anybody who has not seen this before and is thinking of breathing off their wing, even just "for fun or practice"

This has been posted plenty of times before but it can't hurt to post again
http://www.divernet.com/other_divin...7/think_twice_before_breathing_off_a_bag.html

Mike Firth is a housebound invalid, waiting for a lung transplant, and his life changed because he took two deep breaths off his wing.

 

[lowviz]

I practice that quite often. The bottom line is: Brain-Eating Amoeba (Naegleria Fowleri): Causes and Symptoms stay the hell away from water.

 

[decompression]

My friend Bil has a video on YouTube showing the skill
http://youtu.be/0vU3yt6esjY




Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[John C. Ratliff]

My friend Bil has a video on YouTube showing the skill
Breathe from your BCD - YouTube

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Andyoak has a good point; breathe off the BCD only if you have thoroughly cleaned and disinfected it. This is the same advise that has been given for half a century concerning double hose regulator hoses. I use a bottle brush with the hoses of my double hose regulators, and a disinfectant soap for the cleaning. A 1:10 solution of bleach will also kill the organisms if any are noted upon inspection. The same solution could be used for the BCD bladder, but may have an impact on the life of the unit.

SeaRat

 

[lowviz]

... breathe off the BCD only if you have thoroughly cleaned and disinfected it. ...

Yeah, I have to agree with that. Here is what I use: