Question Do you ever practice dropping weights and handling the unexpected ascent?

[crofrog]

The recreational diver should be able to swim to the surface with a busted bc. They should have enough ditchable ballast to accomplish that. It may or may not be more than the weight of the gas in the tank. To think otherwise is to misprioritize the various dangers in recreational diving.

When would they have more than the weight of the gas to become neutral minus overly thick exposure protection

 

[johndiver999]

When would they have more than the weight of the gas to become neutral minus overly thick exposure protection

Anyone diving in cold water with a wetsuit. Who defines what "overly thick" is? I knew a girl once who fit that description, but not sure I would recognize it in a wetsuit.

Are you just making up terms to back into your erroneous statement earlier?

 

[crofrog]

Anyone diving in cold water with a wetsuit. Who defines what "overly thick" is? I knew a girl once who fit that description, but not sure I would recognize it in a wetsuit.

Are you just making up terms to back into your erroneous statement earlier?

You tell me how you’re going to handle not having an uncontrolled buoyant ascent if you drop all your weight.

 

[johndiver999]

You tell me how you’re going to handle not having an uncontrolled buoyant ascent if you drop all your weight.

If I deliberately drop a heavy weightbelt at depth (while wearing a thick wetsuit) and having an inoperable BC....I will slowly float up, maybe swim a little depending on how I feel. Then as I approach, maybe 30 feet, where I might begin to become significantly buoyant, I will just lay back on my back, face upward, spread eagle and slowly ascend with minimal air in my lungs. You can control your ascent rate by doing this.

 

[Barefoot_Lawyer]

If I deliberately drop a heavy weightbelt at depth (while wearing a thick wetsuit) and having an inoperable BC....I will slowly float up, maybe swim a little depending on how I feel. Then as I approach, maybe 30 feet, where I might begin to become significantly buoyant, I will just lay back on my back, face upward, spread eagle and slowly ascend with minimal air in my lungs. You can control your ascent rate by doing this.

You just described doing the flaring maneuver during an uncontrolled buoyant ascent.

 

[RobPNW]

If I deliberately drop a heavy weightbelt at depth (while wearing a thick wetsuit) and having an inoperable BC....I will slowly float up, maybe swim a little depending on how I feel. Then as I approach, maybe 30 feet, where I might begin to become significantly buoyant, I will just lay back on my back, face upward, spread eagle and slowly ascend with minimal air in my lungs. You can control your ascent rate by doing this.

If you’re properly weighted, wearing a “heavy weight belt”, wearing a “thick wetsuit”, and you ditch the weight belt at depth, I don’t see how that will be a controlled ascent.

 

[johndiver999]

You just described doing the flaring maneuver during an uncontrolled buoyant ascent.

Why do you assume this type of ascent is uncontrolled? I described exactly how to control it.

What is your definition of "uncontrolled"? We never got an objective definition of "overly thick" yet either?

Have either of you two ever dropped a "heavy" weightbelt while wearing a "thick" (5-7mm) wetsuit at depth?

If not, I will give you a little clue as to what will probably happen: NOTHING.

With zero air in the BC and the thick wetsuit that is nearly completely compressed, the diver will be close to neutral, if not negative while wearing the tank.

I remember one time I left a 12-14 lb weightbelt on a ledge at around 80 feet in a Florida spring while wearing a 7 mm full suit. I dumped all the air from my BC and just swam around with zero air in the BC - it was a nice feeling without the heavy belt and the BC puffed up.

Unfortunately a couple of dick's found the belt and took it to the surface. I came back 5 minutes later and found the conspicuously placed belt missing and then ascended. I did use the cavern walls a little for the last part of the ascent, but not a huge deal. I asked the GF if any divers had recently surfaced and she pointed to "those two guys" loading the car. I rushed over to them and demanded they empty the trunk and at the bottom of their gear was my weightbelt.

The point here is that in a true emergency, when all other good (better) options have been exhausted there are some viable actions a diver can take to make it to the surface after dropping a belt. The diver will most likely be negative or neutral until a depth of maybe 30-40 feet. They can conceivable stop and rest there, do a deep safety stop. Once they have caught their breath and rested from the swimming ascent, they should be able to maintain a reduced lung volume for the 30-40 second period it might take to ascend the final 30-40 feet under buoyant conditions. For a recreational diver, who is calm and and can keep the lung volume reduced (but still breathing) it should not be that big of a deal.

 

[RobPNW]

Why do you assume this type of ascent is uncontrolled? I described exactly how to control it.

What is your definition of "uncontrolled"? We never got an objective definition of "overly thick" yet either.

An ascent that can’t be stopped is how I would define it personally but I’ll wait to hear what others say.

 

[johndiver999]

An ascent that can’t be stopped is how I would define it personally but I’ll wait to hear what others say.

That is an adequate definition, but in an emergency there is NO NECESSITY to stop an ascent? Recreational divers are "allowed" to make a direct ascent to the surface, with no stops.

 

[JonnieB]

I was on a dive recently with a rental BCD which had all my weight in the two drop pockets. Not how I usually dive but it's what they had for me. We descended somewhat quickly to the bottom at 30 feet due to wanting to get under the moderate current.

Right when I stopped by descent at the bottom, I felt both pockets slip right out! I spotted them on the bottom under me and realized I was headed right back up to the surface. I dumped by BCD's air and kicked downward to slow my ascent, and was able to make a fairly safe return to the surface. Thankfully I was only under for about 2 minutes total and did not suffer any decompression symptoms.

This got me thinking though: While I've been taught theoretically about how to drop weights and ascend, I realized I have never actually practiced it and was not very well prepared for the situation. So I'm curious fellow divers:, do you ever take time to go to a pool or maybe 20ft deep open water area and just practice dropping your weights and handling the quick decisions required to keep the situation safe

I was on a dive recently with a rental BCD which had all my weight in the two drop pockets. Not how I usually dive but it's what they had for me. We descended somewhat quickly to the bottom at 30 feet due to wanting to get under the moderate current.

Right when I stopped by descent at the bottom, I felt both pockets slip right out! I spotted them on the bottom under me and realized I was headed right back up to the surface. I dumped by BCD's air and kicked downward to slow my ascent, and was able to make a fairly safe return to the surface. Thankfully I was only under for about 2 minutes total and did not suffer any decompression symptoms.

This got me thinking though: While I've been taught theoretically about how to drop weights and ascend, I realized I have never actually practiced it and was not very well prepared for the situation. So I'm curious fellow divers:, do you ever take time to go to a pool or maybe 20ft deep open water area and just practice dropping your weights and handling the quick decisions required to keep the situation safe?

Weights...what are those? With my B&W, with SS plate I'm basically neutrally bouyant and don't pack any weights. Also, being an integral part of the BCD, there's no chance of dropping it. Maybe look into such a system.