Contingency planning in OW training?

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Esprise Me

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I've seen a few folks here get dragged for "not following [their] training" in the wake of accidents or near misses, particularly in cases where a buddy or even a DM/guide ignored their "low air" signal or offered their octopus instead of ascending. I've reviewed my PADI OW manual (version 3.02) and it doesn't address this specific scenario. It does say not to risk running out of air underwater, but it certainly doesn't say not to share air in order to avoid that outcome; in fact, it teaches that sharing air is the preferred way to deal with an OOA situation, if possible. It also teaches that the first step in ascending is to signal your buddy. It emphasizes that avoiding buddy separation is YOUR responsibility. It teaches that, if you and your buddy become separated, the normal procedure, unless agreed otherwise with your buddy, is to search for each other underwater for a full minute before surfacing to try to find them there. (It also doesn't go into what to do then if your buddy doesn't surface.)

So I'm curious. Are there other training agencies that do explicitly teach that you should ascend alone once you reach a certain tank pressure even if your buddy refuses to come along? Do they get into exceptions (like areas with heavy boat traffic where that might not be safe?) Or do people think that should be inferred from the lessons PADI imparts as summarized above?

Are there other "Plan B" (or "Plan C") scenarios that get more attention in some OW courses than others? For example, running just slightly low on air, such that you can either surface with 500 psi or do a safety stop but not both, getting lost underwater, dealing with nausea/vertigo and vomiting underwater, etc. Not looking for answers as to what to do in those situations (though I anticipate that people will end up discussing those things); my question is what, if anything, do the major training agencies teach about these things in their OW courses?
 
I've seen a few folks here get dragged for "not following [their] training" in the wake of accidents or near misses, particularly in cases where a buddy or even a DM/guide ignored their "low air" signal or offered their octopus instead of ascending. I've reviewed my PADI OW manual (version 3.02) and it doesn't address this specific scenario.

This is incorrect, the open water video and the book covers it. In fact, it is a question on the chapter three quiz (#9) and on the final exam (#35). A lot of students read the question as "out of air" rather than "low on air", which is how it is phrased. Some students find the question a little challenging to answer because of the way it is asked on the quiz and exam.

Plan B, for such an issue, is what you and your buddy discuss and practice, via a dry run, prior to the dive. Sadly, I rarely see people discussing this prior to a dive.
 
@shurite7 You must have a different edition than I do. My book has sections, rather than chapters. Question 9 of the cumulative knowledge review for section 3 asks about preventing injuries by aquatic life. There is a question that's somewhat similar, #23, but it asks how to handle being out of air when your buddy is too far away for you to share air. That's an entirely different scenario than your buddy being right there and giving you his octo, but then refusing to ascend immediately. Can you quote the exact question you're seeing in your version?
 
The question is on the quiz, not the end of the chapter knowledge review. I forget the exact phrasing (I don't have a quiz in front of me), but it does specifically state "low on air", not "out of air". The only reason I can state which question and chapter it is from is because many students miss it and I've had to review it several times. A few years ago, I started going over the what the question asks, with out teaching to the test, to prevent confusion. The order of preference for the answer is 1 - normal ascent, 2 - donate, 3 - CESA, 4 - buoyant ascent (ditch weights).
 
Edit: not going to speculate. LMK when you have the actual question.
 
@Esprise Me

I'm looking at starting on page 82 of the hardcopy of the SDI OW manual where it discusses ascents. The only time it mentions ascending without one's buddy is if one is OOG and the surface is closer than the buddy.

There is no explicit language for ascending when low on air without one's buddy. When it comes to normal ascents, the manual states that one diver signals the buddy/group to ascend in which they respond with the ok or ascend sign.

I have two versions of the PADI OW manual that I could look up, but my guess is that others have already.

I don't think any agencies teach the scenario of unwilling dive buddy. Anyone can terminate a dive at any time for any reason and that must be respected is something that is taught by all agencies of which I'm aware.

I did thumb a dive at 55 meters/180 feet as we were on air and my buddy was narced out of his freaking mind, as was I (I could feel how impaired I was). The third member of our team (on a rebreather) said no. Never went on a dive with those guys again, and won't dive air past 100 feet, but that's another discussion. The point is, if people don't respect someone ending a dive, they must never dive with them again. I would hope that instructors do teach to not dive with people who ignore the rules, as the rules exist for a reason: safety.
 
@wetb4igetinthewater Thanks. That's what I've seen too, and that's obviously distinct from the scenario where your buddy/guide is right there and the surface is not. Do you think that situation is worth discussing with OW students? It seems like we've heard a few stories now of guides sharing air with the first person to run low, in order to continue the dive, rather than ascending.
 
In the times I have seen the DM air share it was midway through the dive before a diver was actually low on air. They would share for 10 or 15 minutes then put the diver back on their own air to finish out the dive. I have also done the reverse where a private DM/Guide grabbed a not full tank and underestimated how I would do on air. So she borrowed some of mine on a night shore dive in Greece.
 
@wetb4igetinthewater Thanks. That's what I've seen too, and that's obviously distinct from the scenario where your buddy/guide is right there and the surface is not. Do you think that situation is worth discussing with OW students? It seems like we've heard a few stories now of guides sharing air with the first person to run low, in order to continue the dive, rather than ascending.

Let's remember that guides want tips, so they are going to take steps to ensure that everyone is as happy as possible. That means following practices that are normalizations of deviance: sharing gas to prolong a dive is one of them. I don't blame them, as they are so poorly paid typically. That's the reality of the industry. But I have noted that dive guides who have thousands of dives barely move, just watch their customers, so they really do sip air. They'll finish each dive with over half a tank (one guide I had off Isla Mujeres never went below 1600 psi on an AL80).

I do talk to my students about all sorts of things: getting kicked in the face when diving from a cattle boat. Instabuddies that are same ocean divers. Group diving where no one is responsible for anyone (we had a death in my area from this situation: some divers from Oregon group diving at Les Davis in Tacoma. One diver had issues and no one noticed).

Like many, but not all, instructors, I teach min gas in open water. There is no question about when to ascend. Overhead boat traffic is something that must be addressed in the dive plan/briefing, and extra conservatism must be included for the case of sharing gas and not being able to go to the surface. The reality is that jet skis and boats sometimes see DSMBs as part of an obstacle course. Though one friend of mine got pulled up by a jet ski, and when he surfaced, the guy on the jet ski yelled at him to let go of the thing he just found floating in the water. So there is some crazy kaka that goes on out there. Like my Greek uncle advised me for driving (not diving) in Greece "You must expect the unexpected. If there is no reason for someone to do something, you must be prepared for it." That advice has helped me avoid a few accidents.

Did I answer/address your question?
 
I get that the safety question for guides is a bit nuanced, but I'd still like to know whether you think this is something OW courses should address more explicitly.

Here are two threads about variations on this scenario: OWN your Dive

Time to hang up my wetsuit after near death on NYE

And a more general discussion on what to do if your buddy ignores your thumb: Fatality in the Vandenberg Wreck, Key West Florida

People in the first two threads chastised the OPs for not following their training. So my original question was whether any agency's training actually covers this situation, either explicitly or implicitly. One person said it did, explicitly, though I'm skeptical. You've said SDI and probably PADI don't specifically cover it. You also said you teach about SOBs, buddyless group dives, and gas planning (and you've previously mentioned going beyond your agency's curriculum by creating additional materials), so is your answer that this sort of thing should be up to the instructor rather than the agency that prepares the course? Or just that there are too many contingencies to realistically try to cover? And if so, do you think it's unfair to criticize a diver in such a situation for not following their training? Or should the general principles they do learn be enough for them to make the right decision in that situation?
 

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