Bogged down by BC

[Seabear70]

I leave my steel tanks at home if I am diving without a wetsuit. I have not done that (outside of some pool training) since I switched to a backplate and wing, so I have not had to spring for the aluminum plate.

Even with aluminum, I might have to wear a little neoprene to be a little positive.

I dive with twin aluminum 80's, I lke my air, and I like knowing that if someone else runs out of air, or if I have to go get someone and wind up deeper or down longer than intended, I have a healthy reserve to help deal with the situation.

As far as neoprene, I'm one of those wierd people who likes cold water and does not feel the chill till I come out. What most people think is 7mm farmer john and jacket weather, I like a shorty for.

 

[fmw625]

I'm negative in bouyancy with full gear and a 0.5mm dive skin. I usually dive with only 4 pounds od weight in fresh water 2 pounds of which I can't ditch since I use them in BCD pockets for trim. I can get down fine with no lead in fresh water, the 4 pounds help me with bouyancy control with 500 to 700 psig in my tanks during safety stop. Wonder if I should go to a 2/3 mm wet suit for more bouyancy for my own safety?

 

[wolf eel]

The question of the day would be what was she wearing when this happened?.

And I still do not understand the lack of air in the BC as it was the lower valve the entire top half should have filled with air. :karate:

After dumping your weight you should have like another person said floated like a cork and had no troubles.

I have to ask did you not realize that your reg was free flowing from all the bubbles or why did your husband and friend not notice?. How much weight did you have on.?

happy dives
Derek

 

[Seabear70]

Ya know, maybe the life vest is a solution of sorts... perhaps, if I made say a half inch thick neoprene horse collar figure 4-6" wide and wore it under my BCD, that might give me some basic boyancy. It might not be enough though, as I really do not need weight with the 3mm shorty, I just use it because it makes me feel better.

 

[Dryglove]

I have dove that same spot a few times and it is crazy to wear anything less than a 7mm wetsuit in monterey. Many divers either wear a drysuit or a 7mm with another 5mm layer over the top of that. I'll personally stick to a drysuit.

 

[Sideband]

And even if there was sand in the bottom dump valve,
as long as that valve is at the bottom, you should be
able to put air in the BC.

Chuck

That's a very good point. As long as the open valve wasn't the highest point there should have been no problem getting enough air in it to be buoyant. If I'm upright in the water, like at the surface, I can pull my bottom right dump all day and not loose any air. It's like trying to dump air from your inflator hose without lifting it up.

Joe

 

[Chuck Tribolet]

mind you, I was a good 3/4 mile out from beach and no boat was around...

I know it SEEMED like a long way, but I doubt you were 3/4
of a mile out. Ball Buster, the last site with recreational
depths, is 0.531 nm from the Beach at Coral Street. After
that, it gets deeper than recreational depths. The
outside of the kelp bed is about .2 nm from the beach

 

[Henryville]

Is it possible you were wearing a weight integrated BC with non-ditchable weight or a (steel?) backplate and wings? Either of these might explain the seemingly nonsensical negative buoyancy with 7mm and empty cylinder. Seems to me either that or just the panic talking.

For those asking, don't try to be positive at the end of a dive - you should be neutral. Imagine heading for the surface, going positive as the wetsuit decompresses, and finding a boat bearing down on you (see recent Hawaii incident.) Or "accidentally" incurring a deco obligation and trying to hold at 10' while you are actually buoyant.

Right is right. Cheating in either direction is wrong.

Be safe

Dev

 

[Mike Newman]

This is a very odd situation. It seems to me - and many others judging by the comments - that it should not be a problem at all to have maintained good positive buoyancy after letting weight go, whatever the state of the BC.

One piece of advice though - it's always a great idea to carry a safety sausage or orange lift bag to act as a marker in emergency. In this circumstance, a sausage (orally inflated) could also have proved to be an excellent float wrapped around the body under the arms!

 

[jagfish]

And even if there was sand in the bottom dump valve, as long as that valve is at the bottom, you should be able to put air in the BC.Chuck

I was thinking the same thing...

If the bottom purge of a BC were stuck open and you were vertical, your inflator (inflates form top of BC) should be able to basically clear the whole bladder of water until the air reached the open valve at the bottom, right?