Buddy near OOA heavy current

[Boarderguy]

What would the plan be if the scooter died? Just asking.....

Kick hard south and let the current sweep us past the landing and take advantage of the eddy affect. Shoot out DSMBs and surface. It would have been a longer surface swim but out of the channel. Just like our lights, the scooter only gets wet with fresh batteries.

 

[noserider]

Slack tide was around 0730-0800 of I remember correctly. The dive SHOULD have been done then but my buddy had dove it before with no scooter and had no issues. Maybe he was lucky before. Today dive briefing and buddy trust prevailed.

So your dive was probably in the time when tides where strongest, you also need to consider the phase of the moon as this will also affect the strength of the tide, new moons, full moons etc all affect tide strength.

To reference a previous post on another thread about surfers being good waterman, this concept is something surfers understand really well at their local breaks but many other waterman tend to be less aware of it.

If you regularly surf one particular break or coast line, you know which tide it works best at which particular break and how tides affect each location, and as you build experience you also understand the influence of the lunar cycle as an additional layer and then on top of that you consider local water conditions and both local swell direction / period and longer distance swell direction / period. I have never seen these kinds of oceanic conditions discussed by scuba divers.

 

[Boarderguy]

So your dive was probably in the time when tides where strongest, you also need to consider the phase of the moon as this will also affect the strength of the tide, new moons, full moons etc all affect tide strength.

To reference a previous post on another thread about surfers being good waterman, this concept is something surfers understand really well at their local breaks but many other waterman tend to be less aware of it.

If you regularly surf one particular break or coast line, you know which tide it works best at which particular break and how tides affect each location, and as you build experience you also understand the influence of the lunar cycle as an additional layer and then on top of that you consider local water conditions and both local swell direction / period and longer distance swell direction / period. I have never seen these kinds of oceanic conditions discussed by scuba divers.

The highest flow through the bridge was at 1145. We got out at 1035. We def missed the good window as I stated, but was an error on my part for not insisting on an earlier splash. We have king tides (?) In the next week and it is likely affecting today's as well. Thank you for your advice. I do enjoy learning more about water movement and how it's affected at different times.

 

[Wibble]

Time and tide wait for no man.

You got out. Pain about the light but it's only money. Learned a lot?
Sharing it on here so that we can all learn from this.

All good.

 

[SlugLife]

He shows 600 psi on his DC and I'm still at 1700. I tell him at 300 you go on my long hose.

IMO, you should have immediately started air-share at this stage. If anything goes wrong, and you get separated, better that he has some air-remaining.

He knew my pony is turned off and wouldn't be of use of he hadn't signaled low air.

I'd recommend a transfill whip. You can build one for about $40 including shipping using 2 parts ordered from china. Unfortunately, I don't have direct-links to the exact parts I ordered, but you should be able to find equivalents on AliExpress. I also recommend shorter hoses; the longer the hose, the more air you waste.

What would the plan be if the scooter died? Just asking.....

I had the same thought.

During debrief he told me his reg wasn't fully closing on exhale in the current.

Hey, I found a use-case for those inline shutoff-valves! (to be clear, I'm not actually recommending one)

First time in 21 years of diving where I had to donate/share air. Surface wasn't an option due to boat traffic

If surfacing is really not an option, then I'd suggest treating dives somewhat like penetration dives (cave, wreck, etc), and following rule-of-thirds. It sounds like you were equipped for that with the pony-bottle. However, it sounds like your buddy might also need to "pony up" for his own redundant air-supply, given the locations your dive and that he's been doing this a while.

Here's how I think of it: You probably pay hundreds of dollars per month for health insurance. What's a one-time purchase of a pony-bottle and some old regulators cost by comparison? Look at it like an insurance policy you pay for once, with low overhead costs. (especially if you transfilling & don't pay for hydro-VIP-fills, etc).

[rant] I can't convince my regular dive-buddy to carry a pony, even though I have a second 19cu, full, regulators, rigged, etc ready to go. Hell, he could carry one of my 6cus if he preferred. I won't lecture him on it, but it does annoy me. [/rant]

 

[Boarderguy]

IMO, you should have immediately started air-share at this stage. If anything goes wrong, and you get separated, better that he has some air-remaining.

I'd recommend a transfill whip. You can build one for about $40 including shipping using 2 parts ordered from china. Unfortunately, I don't have direct-links to the exact parts I ordered, but you should be able to find equivalents on AliExpress. I also recommend shorter hoses; the longer the hose, the more air you waste.

Hindsight is always better.

We were followings thirds for this one. Turned at 2000 for a mostly direct shot back (plan blown out obviously)

He was holding onto the tow leash attached to my plate and had a hand on my tank at that point. He wasn't getting away from me. During the share he moved up slightly and rode my right hip. While again maintaining the leash and hold on my tank.

I had an HP AL 100 with an H valve and used the whip with pony. It's a sht setup compared to dedicated regs. I have the whip and use it to top off my pony when it's down a few hundred psi. Beyond that I'm not sure what the point of recommending a whip would be.

You can see the leash in the 2nd pic. 1st pic shows my disobedient pony line over my arm instead of under. 3rd is my whip.

 

[Curious_George]

at 1500 I go to my air2

A “real” octo would have made me feel much better in that situation.

 

[Boarderguy]

A “real” octo would have made me feel much better in that situation.

My 5th gen SP breathes great and is on a 22" corrugated hose so it doesn't restrict anything. I also just had it rebuilt last month after quite a few years of abuse. It also reduces unnecessary hoses... gotta practice with what you use and I do that regularly. Today it paid off as we were able to get out safely without hiccups.

 

[SlugLife]

Ignore what I said about the whip - I assumed your pony was off to conserve air, but it seems you have other reasons.

As far as dedicated regs, if it's mostly budget-considerations, I might suggest something like a SP MK10 + G250 off the used-market. Lots of people on SB know how to service them, and where to get parts, and they're not that expensive usually (if they are, I probably have some spares I need to sell off).

A “real” octo would have made me feel much better in that situation.

The problem with Air2s is usually practice. If you practice with them, there's nothing wrong with an Air2. I'd imagine Boarderguy has seen all the Air2 debates.

When I dive with redundant-air, I ditch the octo, because I have 2 regs.

 

[Boarderguy]

Ignore what I said about the whip - I assumed your pony was off to conserve air, but it seems you have other reasons.

My pony is upside down and off (ever so slightly on to keep line pressure as I descend) to prevent air loss. The valve is at my kidney so is an easy reach back to turn on when the situation arises as it did today. That was actually the first thing I did when he signaled low and was purely muscle memory reaction.

I have a sherwood octo with 36" yellow hose setup on mine. They're bulletproof and I haven't had any issues with it. No idea on model and I'm not in the mood or dressed enough to go downstairs to the garage and find out right now.

My buddy is now considering a pony after today. That was part of our debrief after he realized how quickly things happen and how my little 13 likely saved us ascending into traffic. The problem is he's a retired army ranger combat diver and his body is old lol. He can ditch lead as he moves to 100s and maybe a pony. Just need to keep pushing him in the right direction. We both dive in a self reliant fashion but today a buddy was needed and his own pony would have helped him more than my back gas.