a spin off to the dying a hero thread...

[cerich]

Please post Tom's cell number so we can all call to verify your story.

I'm not going to publicly post his cell number. come on.

call me at 404-579-7631 if you wish to discuss.

 

[TSandM]

Sas, I had the interesting experience of turning all my own gas off during a valve drill -- once I realized what I had done, I looked at my buddy, and found him facing away from me and completely unaware. I had to make a quick decision about whether I was going to be better off trying to get his attention and get him to donate, or to turn my own gas back on (this was in the days when I had a dry suit that made life difficult, so it really WAS a decision). Since I did not know this person very well, I opted for the latter. It was a while before I got the gas back on. I was fine.

In my Cave 1 class, we had to do an exercise where we took our masks off, spat out our reg and swam about 50' or so to a buddy, also maskless, who had his back to us. We had to get to him, get a reg, and then turn around and swim the course back in touch contact. I had no problem at all reaching my buddy, although I have to admit I was happy to get gas when I got there.

You have more time than you think. I think it's important to know that, but I don't think surprising someone with shutting off their tank teaches it any better than the exercise I described.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

And I have never had the supply I was breathing shut off, but I HAVE had an instructor shut down my left post, so that I donated and went to a dry regulator. The idea was to simulate a rolloff, and I had the entirely appropriate response of reaching up to turn on the gas. It was an adrenaline spurt, for sure, but didn't override the rational reaction.

I had a reg I was breathing shut off on me at Ginnie ... in the Lips ... and it wasn't a planned part of the exercise. My instructor was on my primary, in front of me, and kicking furiously for the exit to make the point that an OOA diver isn't always going to be the calm, relaxed person you'd like him to be. I was trying hard to keep up and maintain some physical contact when suddenly the reg in my mouth went dead. So I reached back and turned the post back on. No big whoop. If it had been, I probably didn't belong there.

The lesson I learned from it was that when in a restriction, it's better to be dragging your tummy on the bottom than to be dragging your tank valves along the ceiling ... after that I paid more attention to where I was relative to the hole I was trying to get through ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[cerich]

Sas, I had the interesting experience of turning all my own gas off during a valve drill -- once I realized what I had done, I looked at my buddy, and found him facing away from me and completely unaware. I had to make a quick decision about whether I was going to be better off trying to get his attention and get him to donate, or to turn my own gas back on (this was in the days when I had a dry suit that made life difficult, so it really WAS a decision). Since I did not know this person very well, I opted for the latter. It was a while before I got the gas back on. I was fine.

In my Cave 1 class, we had to do an exercise where we took our masks off, spat out our reg and swam about 50' or so to a buddy, also maskless, who had his back to us. We had to get to him, get a reg, and then turn around and swim the course back in touch contact. I had no problem at all reaching my buddy, although I have to admit I was happy to get gas when I got there.

You have more time than you think. I think it's important to know that, but I don't think surprising someone with shutting off their tank teaches it any better than the exercise I described.

it doesn't. I also have my tech students practice breath holding, once my students can hold their breath for a full minute comfortably it is amazing how many new options are available to them.

 

[Wormil]

I'm not going to publicly post his cell number. come on.

call me at 404-579-7631 if you wish to discuss.

Inc. A wild Wormil appears!

 

[Kevin Carlisle]

it doesn't. I also have my tech students practice breath holding, once my students can hold their breath for a full minute comfortably it is amazing how many new options are available to them.

I learned a valuable lesson with that tho, I can hold my breath a lot longer at 20ft than I could at 95ft. After that I practiced at depth.

 

[cerich]

I learned a valuable lesson with that tho, I can hold my breath a lot longer at 20ft than I could at 95ft. After that I practiced at depth.

yeah, but getting better, shallow or deep, is the goal! Just please remember to always practice breath hold with a safety diver.

 

[Wormil]

I got voicemail D: How can Wormil call if you don't have any pudding?

 

[manni-yunk]

How can Wormil call if you don't have any pudding?

Some of your posts in this thread have made me literally laugh out loud........Love the Floyd ref.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

And if anyone gets deprived of gas for a decent amount of time, they will start to struggle. Anyone who thinks otherwise, really needs to be put in that situation.

Well, the one time I found myself in that situation, that's not how it turned out. I was deprived of gas suddenly and unexpectedly ... and nobody could help me. My windpipe has spasmed shut, and although I had plenty of gas on my back I couldn't get any of it into my lungs. What got me through it was knowing that the best way to go a long period of time without breathing was to remain calm and not move around. The longer the spasm lasted, the harder I had to concentrate on doing it ... but at no point did I feel the urge to struggle ... as bad as I felt, I knew that would only make it worse.

Strangely, what taught me that lesson was a skin, ditch and recovery exercise I had to do several years earlier when I became an instructor. At the time I thought it was the dumbest exercise in the whole program ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)