DiveMaster/LDS conflict

[CD_in_Chitown]

El Orans once bubbled...

her instinctive reaction was to grab my primary regulator.

My wife has the same instincts some times, I've never seen it related to her primary regulator in anyway though.

 

[Atticus]

El Orans once bubbled...
...She recovered a few seconds later and grabbed her octopus which is always located on the left hip. Problem solved.

Umm.. left hip? Did you mean right hip or is this a gear configuration that I haven't heard of?

Speaking of octo's on hips - I've always prefered to see them a little higher and closer to center - near the lower rib on the right side.

 

[El Orans]

Atticus once bubbled...
Umm.. left hip? Did you mean right hip or is this a gear configuration that I haven't heard of?

Speaking of octo's on hips - I've always prefered to see them a little higher and closer to center - near the lower rib on the right side.

Yes, I do mean left hip. Not on the side but in front.
I have seen other divers wearing their octopus as you describe but for some reason it has become second nature for us to wear it there.

 

[Atticus]

Interesting - I'm just curious - no negativity intended whatsoever...

So the octo hose comes around the right side? Or do you run it left? Do you clip it to a D ring on the BCD, and if so what style of BCD do you wear? Is it at the waist line or above, over the stomache area?

Best Regards,
Atticus

 

[El Orans]

Atticus once bubbled...
So the octo hose comes around the right side? Or do you run it left? Do you clip it to a D ring on the BCD, and if so what style of BCD do you wear? Is it at the waist line or above, over the stomache area?

Both hoses come around the right side. The octopus hose (being a foot longer) is clipped (no D ring, just a clip for 2 hoses) to the BCD (Mares Dragonfly Aria, backinflate BCD) below the waistline.

Have a look at the attached picture.

 

[Atticus]

A picture is worth a thousand words...

It looks like the hose is streamlined without any protruding loops. Different from how I do it, but it looks quite functional.

Thank you for sharing.

 

[Diver0001]

El Orans once bubbled...


My wife experienced it today. While doing a deep dive as part of our AOW course I accidentally pulled her regulator away while I was trying to help her with her light. She told me afterwards that her instinctive reaction was to grab my primary regulator. She recovered a few seconds later and grabbed her octopus which is always located on the left hip. Problem solved.

I had an OOA once and maybe it's worth sharing what happened.

Actually, I wasn't OOA at all but I had lost track of my reg.

I was playing teh victim for a rescue course and laying face down in 30ft of water. My "rescuer" found me and tried to roll me over to grab me for lifting. IN the process he knocked my regulator out of my mouth.

Unfortunately for me I didn't have time to reach and get it back either. My rescuer grabbed both of my arms and sort of slung me over his shoulder/back with one arm on either side of his head (totally wrong but beside the ponit for this story).

At first I thought, "I'll just do the ascent without the reg and bawl him out later". I concentrated--against all instincts, might I add--to keep my airway open and I relaxed as much as I could. But his ascent was painfully slow (only good thing he did ).

At some point I realised "I'm not going to make it"

so I tried getting an arm free but the more I struggled to get an arm free the harder he held on. I was really getting in the soup at that point because he was stronger than I was and he had me at a distinct disadvantage by the way he was holding me.

I let myself go limp and he loosend his grip. (lucky guess on my part) and when he did I RIPPED one of my arms free. He turned to see what the HECK I was doing and I:

1) gave him the OOA air signal, -- you know the one -- where you open your mouth and point in where your reg should be (yes, this is true)

2) I did NOT look for his octopus

3) I did NOT wait for him to look for his octopus

4) I did NOT try recovering my own reg or looking for my own octopus wherever it might have been floating *this* time.......

5) I grabbed his primary and --- uh --- borrowed it without permission. As Genesis would say "I mugged him".

6) I still had the self control left to take two or three quick breaths from his reg and hand it back to him.

7) We continued buddy breathing (once we started) and finished the ascent that way despite the fact that I had a perfectly functioning scuba.

you can draw your own conclusions from that.

R..

 

[CD_in_Chitown]

Diver0001 once bubbled...

you can draw your own conclusions from that.

R..

Had an OOA one time meself, looked to my buddy (instructor on a AOW dive) and gave the signal. Trying to decide between bolting and mugging he came at me with his primary before panic took me away. Since then it's more driven home that an OOA buddy is coming for my primary anyway, that's how I drill it.

 

[paulwlee]

Gareth once bubbled...
However, during the PADI ow course, I had read the book throughly, watched the video a couple of times (although that was an effort) and listened intently to my instructor. I had the idea of grabbing the alternate pretty solidly in my head, and to suddenly have someone say "well, yes thats right, except if its me you won't be able to find an alternate so go for my primary regulator" would have added an element of stress that was not called for.

Gareth, thank you for your perspective.
Now, if you look back again at the PADI OW manual, you will see that it mentions both cases, donating alternate and donating primary. The video also shows both cases with about equal frequency. The video has the person donating the primary going to the Air2 style alternate (alternate integrated with BC inflator) but the principle is the same.

In the OW classes I help out with as an AI, the students usually use rental gear, so when they do the skills they will be praticing with the 'donate alternate' style unless they have their own gear. However, the instructor demonstrates the other method as well if he has an assistant with the 'donate primary' configuration. He at least mentions both possibilities, stressing the importance of buddy checks.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I DM for an LDS that doesn't care what gear we use, as long as it's safe. When I started DM'ing, I had a mask strap with the name of a competitor's store on it. I asked the LDS owner if I should change my strap and he said "Why?" When I pointed out the competitor's name he said "So what? The students are here, not there." I've since changed the strap, but only because I wore it out.

Most of our instructors and DMs wear some gear that the store doesn't sell ... even the expensive stuff like drysuits and BCD's. I use a backplate and long hose. We don't teach that configuration. But the instructors actually like to expose students to different gear setups.

If students ask questions about our different gear, we're encouraged to answer them honestly. Although some students do end up purchasing gear elsewhere, most buy from our store. Why? Simple ... because the shop owner gives them great deals on their equipment purchases. His attitude is that it gets them in the water, keeps them diving, and establishes long-term relationships that will keep them coming back.

In effect, he gives them credit for having the intelligence to figure out on their own what's in their best interest ... and it's his job, not mine, to make sure his store figures prominently into where they decide to shop once they've made that decision.

Sounds pretty smart to me ... lose a few sales, gain long-term relationships in the process.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)