Ditching weights if you have no weights

[StSomewhere]

As always, it helps to discuss these incidents if everyone works from the same set of facts.

What apparently caused him to lose air was trying to pump up the BC or wing and not realizing the air was just dumping out the back of his wing/backinflate. According to the article, this was a meet-me-at-depth dive, yet another reason to descend together IMO, YMMV.

Anyway apparently he died trying to get his weights dropped but for whatever reason ran out of air first. Apparently by the time the guy started to figure out his problem his air was already desperately low. In any case, shooting to the surface might have meant surviving, obviously being stuck on a wall at depth meant the guy didn't make it. Hardly equal choices. The problem IMO was not recognizing the problem in time to deal with it.

As far as having weights to drop, being able to ditch the right amount of weight is key IMO. Having some middle ground between dropping 10 pounds and having nothing to drop. Remember this wasn't supposed to be a deep dive, but having unplanned bouyancy problems on a wall turned it into one.

 

[MikeFerrara]

As always, it helps to discuss these incidents if everyone works from the same set of facts.

What apparently caused him to lose air was trying to pump up the BC or wing and not realizing the air was just dumping out the back of his wing/backinflate. According to the article, this was a meet-me-at-depth dive, yet another reason to descend together IMO, YMMV.

Anyway apparently he died trying to get his weights dropped but for whatever reason ran out of air first. Apparently by the time the guy started to figure out his problem his air was already desperately low. In any case, shooting to the surface might have meant surviving, obviously being stuck on a wall at depth meant the guy didn't make it. Hardly equal choices. The problem IMO was not recognizing the problem in time to deal with it.

As far as having weights to drop, being able to ditch the right amount of weight is key IMO. Having some middle ground between dropping 10 pounds and having nothing to drop. Remember this wasn't supposed to be a deep dive, but having unplanned bouyancy problems on a wall turned it into one.

You bring up some good points. The key to weighting is having the right amount and balanced...meaning that the right amount is ditcheable. A diver, especially a recreational diver, just shouldn't ever be so heavy that they can't get to the surface under their own power...NEVER.

Another thing you point out and something that's often glossed over (at best) in training and accident analysis is goor buddy diving practices especially during ascents and descents. Those are dynamic portions of the dive and, as such, where problems are most likely to happen. Looking through acident reports you see how many happen during ascents or descents and how often buddies are seperated at the time. This "we'll meet at the bottom" stuff, IMO, is a real killer, literally.

 

[underboats]

At times we work big time overweighted to stay still on the bottom and it does get you nervous when in zero vis. and no easy way to ditch. I have seen frequently workers use self inflating vests attached to back of BC. They are another cheap way for an additional lifting source and you won't loose your weights or kill the guy under you.

 

[Vicente]

With every choice of gear setup, some thinking has to go into what-if's.

For example, what about backup lift capability?

Some possibilities:

1) double bladders stuffed into wing shells.
2) dry-suit
3) SMB
4) lift-bag (I have one clipped off at bottom of my backplate)

A much more important point to me, is consistently testing your equipment before hitting the water. I have long had a habit of taking 3-4 deep breaths off each 2nd stage after I am encumbered, to check air is fully on and both regs function.

HOWEVER, I realized on my 1st dive last Saturday I have become lazy about checking certain other aspects. I usually hit my inflator so my wings are inflated and I hit the water positive. I didn't do this. I also had somehow forgotten to hook up the LPI! So I was quite negative at the surface. After a couple of hits of the power-inflator and no answering whoosh I realized my mistake. I asked my buddy to hook up the inflator line, found out later in the dive it was hooked up in a way that entrapped my SPG line, a bit awkward.

A fair number of "valve was off" or "diver drowned" kind of deaths are due to pre-dive checks that were skipped. Everyone will at some point screw one up, hopefully it's not something critical and not combined with some other catastrophe and you live and learn from it. In the meanwhile it's fruitful to try and find the worst combinations of 2 and 3 things going wrong and have procedures to counter them.

 

[Jackie]

The O/P has a legit concern. The problem is that the Farber 120's are so excessively negatively bouyant (18lbs) at the beginning of the dive and -9 at the end of the dive .. So effectively, he is loosing 9lbs of weight during his dive .He needs to compensate for it so he is properly weighted at the end of the dive. Of course if he is really overweighted at the beginning of the dive, this is avoided, but who wants to drop like a stone.
At this point, in order to do a controlled ascent and a safety stop, he still needs to be properly weighted - more than the 4 lbs (which he is carrying as ditchable weight)..
The fact that the diver is diving wet, means for more suit compression at depth, making him heavier, As he ascends, he is going to be more bouyant as the air cells in the wet suit become less compressed. (A dry suit somewhat mitigates this problem as it can be vented on the ascent. )
My other concern is that there is no redundant air source. For the kind of diving the OP is doing, I think it is important.
While I always buddy dive, it is certainly possible to loose the person in poor viz conditions. Being self sufficient is an important consideration.
I have had to struggle with all these issues as well, as I do similar diving, only in NY/NE. At this point I could open up a store with stuff I have bought and not been very suitable.