Got Lost on a Dive

[lowflyer]

Hi @INQuarryDiver

14 lbs of weight with a rash guard and an AL80 seems excessive. You may very well be an excessive gas consumer at your level of experience. If you were going to take a trip off the wreck, why didn't you take a compass heading off the wreck so that you could find your way back? Some measures are so easy, but so easy to ignore.

We don't know how much he weighs or the thickness of the "rash guard."
I calculate that if he weighs 180 lbs and wears a bathing suit in salt water, 14 lbs should be about right, but there are variables, he may weigh more, and he may not have been using good descent technique.

 

[scubadada]

We don't know how much he weighs or the thickness of the "rash guard."
I calculate that if he weighs 180 lbs and wears a bathing suit in salt water, 14 lbs should be about right, but there are variables, he may weigh more, and he may not have been using good descent technique.

OK, I weigh about 190 and use 8 pound with a full 3 mm, with or without a hooded vest.

 

[INQuarryDiver]

Rented the boat gear special. Sometimes they come with a compass. This shop's console didn't come with a compass. I'm purchasing my own gear as my budget allows. Dealing with different rental gear everytime I dive is a hassle since I have to reconfigure it every charter and dive.

I was well within my NDL. My whole dive time from entry to being back on the boat was about 39 min w/ max depth of 74 ft, 29% nitrox.

I had an underarmor shirt on with swim trunks. I'm about 195lbs. I thought I was overweighted that's why I tried less weight. I definitely should have done a buoyancy check when changing weights. I didn't think a couple pounds would be an issue.

 

[scubadada]

Rented the boat gear special. Sometimes they come with a compass. This shop's console didn't come with a compass. I'm purchasing my own gear as my budget allows. Dealing with different rental gear everytime I dive is a hassle since I have to reconfigure it every charter and dive.

I was well within my NDL. My whole dive time from entry to being back on the boat was about 39 min w/ max depth of 74 ft, 29% nitrox.

I had an underarmor shirt on with swim trunks. I'm about 195lbs. I thought I was overweighted that's why I tried less weight. I definitely should have done a buoyancy check when changing weights. I didn't think a couple pounds would be an issue.

Of course, the best buoyancy check is at your safety stop with an near empty tank. Hold your SS and be able to make a controlled ascent to the surface.

 

[CuzzA]

Gulf viz is like that. Look away and it/they are gone. Compass is critical.

 

[lowflyer]

OK, I weigh about 190 and use 8 pound with a full 3 mm, with or without a hooded vest.

Interesting.
Salt water? No metal back plate? No heavy camera or other gear?
Are you all muscle and bone, no fat?
Maybe I can learn something here.

 

[scubadada]

Interesting.
Salt water? No metal back plate? No heavy camera or other gear?
Are you all muscle and bone, no fat?
Maybe I can learn something here.

8 pounds with a 3mm, 14 pounds with a 5mm, 20 pounds with a 7mm, that's just the way it is for me. Everyone just needs to determine their own weight needs. You need to be able to get the air out of your BC, I exclusively use my butt dump.

 

[tomfcrist]

Interesting.
Salt water? No metal back plate? No heavy camera or other gear?
Are you all muscle and bone, no fat?
Maybe I can learn something here.

I've learned over the years that everyone is different. I dive either a full 3mil or a drysuit... AL tank, poodle jacket and a 3 mil...I need no weight. Which is odd since I'm 6'3 245lbs....I'm not anything close to solid muscle either.

Bottom line...some folks are sinkers...some float.

 

[lowflyer]

8 pounds with a 3mm, 14 pounds with a 5mm, 20 pounds with a 7mm, that's just the way it is for me. Everyone just needs to determine their own weight needs. You need to be able to get the air out of your BC, I exclusively use my butt dump.

That is interesting because when we get to 5mil and 7 mil suits, you and I are very close in wt. needed; 3 mil a different story.

 

[Storker]

On the three dive charters I have been on so far, I have found the buddy system to be pretty non-existent except for spouses, and friends diving together. Everyone else seems to just do their own thing.

Have you tried being more proactive? Try to fix so that you know whom you'll be buddying with at least half an hour before you're supposed to splash. Approach them, start chatting. Tell them that you feel more comfortable if you have a pre-dive chat. I still do a pre-dive chat and a gear check before every dive, and if anything it's more detailed with an unknown buddy.

The insta-buddy system is not reliable for me. It's hard to develop a team mentality with a stranger in 30 minutes.

Is it? Buddy with me, and i'll be at least as diligent with my buddy obligations as if I'm diving with a long-known clubmate. Probably more, since we haven't dived before. It's a matter of mindset; as soon as we're buddied up, to me we're a team. No matter if that "team mentality" only manifests during the time from the pre-dive chat until we're on land or on board, breaking down our gear.