Diver Death

[DandyDon]

Agreed. I don't think the issue is the training though it is the new divers. I, unlike many I have seen, didn't underestimate the importance proper weighting. I have only have 35 dives, am 5'9", 180lbs, wear a 4/3 full suit, use an al80 and only carry 6lbs of lead. I have done my bouyancy checks and float just barely below eye level and sink when I exhale with only 400 psi in my tank. I could probably go to 5lbs but would rather be 1 or 2 pounds over than 1 lb under.

Here is the twist, one of my normal dive buddies who weighs within 2 pounds of me, is the same height and carries less bodyfat than I do carries 18lbs. It is not because he needs even half that, it is because he refuses to believe that the weight is that much of an issue and won't take the time to do a buoyancy check. We try and tell him different but to no avail.

He just doesn't believe that carrying less weight will let him swim more relaxed and help lower his overall air consumption.

You didn't say, but I take it that's in saltwater, since Hawaii doesn't have any FW dive sites that I know of? Impressive.

I'm 6 ft x 215# with a little bit high adipose ratio, and with no neoprene, but a Probe BC, AL 80, in saltwater - I need 12#, more in my 3 mil long, more yet in my 5 mil long. But I do tend to carry just a little more than I need in case I want to dodge an approaching boat.

But this is drifitng a bit. My main suggestion was to do with removing the belt first when removing gear in the water. A lot of my dives have been with a belt, and I have reminded myself to do so.

 

[jeckyll]

Good reminder to keep the order in mind. All my dives have been shore dives so I've never spent much time thinking about the order of equipment removal beyond the OW course.

Bjorn

P.S.: all you warm water divers are lucky. I have to drag around 34 lbs and yes, that proper for me (6'1', 195lbs with a bag drysuit & 200 weight insulation).

 

[Daylonious]

Unless you're wearing a pair of steel doubles of course... that's the only thing that worries me. If the wing fails at depth, it's going to be a serious problem humping those things to the surface. The emergency plan is to use the lift bag, but that's going to be haphazard at best...

D.

It's not the weight belt but the amount of weight.. there are Lots of overweighted divers out there...

The concept of a balanced rig just hasn't caught on yet. If you have just the right amount of weight you should be able to swim up even with a total failure of your BC or lack there of.

 

[rockjock3]

You didn't say, but I take it that's in saltwater, since Hawaii doesn't have any FW dive sites that I know of? Impressive.

What? There's saltwater around here? I wish somebody would have told me I have have been diving in pools and canals.

But back on subject. What I was getting at is the proper order will help, but part of the issue is that most people are so overweighted that the order can mean life or death. If a person is properly weighted then it can be difficult, but is not nearly impossible to stay up with their weight belt on and no BCD. If I took off my BCD without my weights, and I usually do when small boat diving, I only skull very lightly to stay up. Now if I was overweighted for my situation, as many are, say carrying maybe 15-20 pounds instead of 6, then I wouldn't do much more than sink and blow bubbles in the same sitution, if I didn't remember to release my belt once I started sinking.

 

[LI Diver]

Would you guys say that I am properly weighted? Diving in a bathing suit only in saltwater I needed 18 lbs to be able to stay neg at the end of a dive. With 16lbs and all the air out of my bc (pulling the valves and hugging myself to squeeze bc) I kept floating up and away from my buddys when we were shallower than 15 ft.At the time I was 240# and I am 5'-5" tall. This week in the Keys I dove with a 5mm full suit size xxl and needed 28 lbs to avoid the same scenario (as experienced with 26 lbs on my first 2 dives) the dm actually had to pull me down the first 5 ft. I now weigh 215#.

 

[MikeFerrara]

Unless you're wearing a pair of steel doubles of course... that's the only thing that worries me. If the wing fails at depth, it's going to be a serious problem humping those things to the surface. The emergency plan is to use the lift bag, but that's going to be haphazard at best...

D.

No. Even in steel doubles you want to weighted such that you can swim them up. If you can't you need to change something.

 

[shelgreb]

oops! maybe a good argument for a BC with integrated weights.

 

[DandyDon]

Would you guys say that I am properly weighted? Diving in a bathing suit only in saltwater I needed 18 lbs to be able to stay neg at the end of a dive. With 16lbs and all the air out of my bc (pulling the valves and hugging myself to squeeze bc) I kept floating up and away from my buddys when we were shallower than 15 ft.At the time I was 240# and I am 5'-5" tall. This week in the Keys I dove with a 5mm full suit size xxl and needed 28 lbs to avoid the same scenario (as experienced with 26 lbs on my first 2 dives) the dm actually had to pull me down the first 5 ft. I now weigh 215#.

Similar to my needs: 215#, wearing a non-buoyant skin in saltwater with an AL 80, I'll use 12-14#. Add 25# of high-fat flesh to that, and I'd expect to need 16-18#. Glad you lost some fat.

Wearing 5 mil with the same body weight as me, I'm surprised that you had to have 28#, as I'd use 24# I think, but I guess you adipose-ration is a little higher than mine. Fat does float well.

Skinny Caribbean Dive Guides in swimsuits seem to just use enough weight to offset tank buoyancy. USAmericans usually need a good bit more.

 

[RonFrank]

If you had lost grip of the ladder and "forgot" to remove your weight belt, you'd be pretty SOL. Right to the bottom.

We all know that kicking with your dive boots on isn't going to do anything for ya...

Starting to make sense now..

D.

Depends. Weight is used to offset mainly the buoyancy of an exposure suit, and our own built-in buoyancy. The logical thing to do if one is sinking is to remove the belt. Maybe easier said than done. Of course the logical thing to do would be to NOT remove the fins or BCD before the belt in the first place.

Of course this remains speculation.

For all we know the kid has a massive embolism on the surface, and the boat crew not wanting the responsibility of an inquiry about a non-certified diver, dumped the body sans the BCD.

Heck, let's take it further, MURDER! This of course is JUST as plausible as ANY other speculation... yes? YES.

 

[Daylonious]

Heck, let's take it further, MURDER! This of course is JUST as plausible as ANY other speculation... yes? YES.

He was diving with a bunch of orthodox DIR divers and they freaked...

D.