Backup System for Shallow Shore Dives

[certainmisuse]

David. Is your profile page correct? Are you 15?

Haha, I wish. Good catch, I'll update.

 

[certainmisuse]

I use a 6 cf pony. I've tried and I can make it up slow enough and have a 3 minute safety stop from 130'. Would I want to in an emergency - nope. But then, I do my best to avoid any chance of an emergency. To me that's more important than how big my pony is.

A couple of things that I consider. First, I maintain all my equipment myself. I wouldn't let anyone else pack a parachute for me if I was into that (I'm definitely not). Second, I'm almost always at 60 feet or less. The 130' test was just to make me more comfortable at 60'.

Do I go below 60' with a 6 cf pony - yep. Do I stay long - nope. Would I go anywhere that I don't have a direct path to the surface - nope, Nope, and NOPE.

There are people who will tell you that you need a 30 cf or 40 cf and some will tell you that anything less than an 80 cf will kill you. SOme of that is based on supplying your buddy. I don't buddy. I dive solo so no buddy to go OOA and need my pony.

I plan for what is vanishingly likely - it could happen, but it's far more likely that I'll get hit by lightning while being run over by a bus. For me, 6 cf is fine. I used to carry a 13 cf but decided for the diving I do that a 6 cf was plenty and much easier to deal with logistically and while underwater.

Yeah, 10 years ago when I posed this question, most of the responses were exactly that: >=30 cf. Considering people are talking about CESAs, < 30 cf seems reasonable.

 

[certainmisuse]

If you can safely solo dive, then you can probably make it up from 30 feet by swimming and exhaling. If you must carry a back up, a spare air or 6 ft pony bottle should work. If you are worried about boat traffic, an emergency supply may make sense.

Fully agree.

 

[MaxBottomtime]

I just assumed you were making deep dives with a 30cu ft tank when you were five.

 

[certainmisuse]

I just assumed you were making deep dives with a 30cu ft tank when you were five.

Haha, nice! Now that would be something to talk about.

 

[aquacat8]

I went through all this: getting an extra regulator and obsessing on what size pony I might need, and then finally I went solo shore diving, without the pony. In California some of the beaches get deep fast, but here on the East Coast where I am diving (BHB, LDBS) you have to swim out so far before it would even get to 25 feet, I found that my shore dive In Lauderdale by the Sea was very satisfying and pretty and far enough off shore that I didn’t want to go farther in case current or weather picked up, and I was in 18 feet of water.

 

[aquacat8]

At that depth I was diving for 73 minutes and could not suck dry my high pressure steel 80: if I ever get around to diving side mount I could probably do those dives with a pair of 30s or 40s

 

[aquacat8]

Clipping a water bottle to a dive flag float is a good idea… I do it when I’m free diving for a long time, and it probably would’ve been nice to have on those long Scuba dives Especially if you surface to see where you are and plan your swim back.

 

[rjack321]

Haha, I think your response is completely fair considering <30 ft; however, I still want a small tank for extenuating, albeit unlikely, circumstances.

And what is that circumstance? If you are in a semi-hard overhead like a bridge & boat channel then a tiny pony isn't going to be adequate. If you are getting snagged by fishing line or something like that and going OOA at the same time, there's also a finite and tiny supply in a 6cf bottle or spare air. I think you need to identify the contingency you are trying to solve vs just adding "stuff" that makes you feel safer but is probably just more drag and delay.

You can breathe from a frozen free-flowing reg for the 1min its going to take you to ascend from <30ft. If you are afraid of a CESA you could think about taking free diving course to give you some supervised confidence that you really can just swim up (and down) from 30ft. Being solo and going OOA in less than 30ft is totally survivable - but think really hard about your weighting and the ditchability of that, because the OOA part isn't the issue as much as staying safe on the surface afterwards.

 

[certainmisuse]

And what is that circumstance? If you are in a semi-hard overhead like a bridge & boat channel then a tiny pony isn't going to be adequate. If you are getting snagged by fishing line or something like that and going OOA at the same time, there's also a finite and tiny supply in a 6cf bottle or spare air. I think you need to identify the contingency you are trying to solve vs just adding "stuff" that makes you feel safer but is probably just more drag and delay.

You can breathe from a frozen free-flowing reg for the 1min its going to take you to ascend from <30ft. If you are afraid of a CESA you could think about taking free diving course to give you some supervised confidence that you really can just swim up (and down) from 30ft. Being solo and going OOA in less than 30ft is totally survivable - but think really hard about your weighting and the ditchability of that, because the OOA part isn't the issue as much as staying safe on the surface afterwards.

Appreciate the advice. I'm fine performing the CESA, but I suppose I would simply rather perform an immediate accent with air if possible. I should give more thought to contingency, starting with working out SAC/RMV for various scenarios and tanks. Thanks.