how to dive with non-DIR divers?

[SparticleBrane]

You mean like me "checking" my primary reg in the cenote by breathing it out of the water -- breathed fine, unsurprisingly.

Then Danny insisted I breathe it U/W "just in case" the membrane was folded over. Breathed it and got a mouthful of water. Membrane was folded over (first time in over 300 dives), and Danny insists he didn't touch it.

This is why you always always always always always do a vacuum check before turn on the air. Purging it, or being able to breathe out of the water, doesn't mean you can breathe underwater.

While there's still something sealing the end of the reg, or after you've attached it to the tank but before turning the air on, try and breathe from the reg. If you can't and you can feel the vacuum when you attempt to inhale, everything's good. Otherwise it isn't a closed system and you'll suck water when you descend. Note this only works when the 1st stage is sealed...if you try it with the 1st stage open, you'll probably suck in a little air, giving a false alarm.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

April 1st and for one day only?

Not quite ... on April 1st, Peter will be on a plane returning from the bright side (Cozumel) ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[lamont]

I promptly withdrew from the Wreck specialty I had enrolled in, where he planned to do some line drills with folks in a pool and then take them on penetration dives in the Yukon (again with no mention of gas planning, gas source redundancy, finning techniques, air sharing in confined spaces, etc).

yikes!

 

[lamont]

You mean like me "checking" my primary reg in the cenote by breathing it out of the water -- breathed fine, unsurprisingly.

Then Danny insisted I breathe it U/W "just in case" the membrane was folded over. Breathed it and got a mouthful of water. Membrane was folded over (first time in over 300 dives), and Danny insists he didn't touch it.

Sure, I would have discovered the problem as soon as I descended, but what if we were in a team of two and that happened on a necklace reg?

Definitely a wakeup call!

I had a necklace reg that was crushed under a tank or something. I actually do U/W checks and it breathed reasonably fine on the surface (had I paid really close attention I would have found that it was slightly wet). The crack in the reg was such that it was not depth compensating and breathed wetter and wetter on descent. At 50 fsw when I was doing a valve drill I went on my necklace and I could breathe off of it but I wasn't in a happy state and ended the valve drill and went back on my primary. I can't imagine what that reg would have done at 200 fsw...

 

[limeyx]

This is why you always always always always always do a vacuum check before turn on the air. Purging it, or being able to breathe out of the water, doesn't mean you can breathe underwater.

While there's still something sealing the end of the reg, or after you've attached it to the tank but before turning the air on, try and breathe from the reg. If you can't and you can feel the vacuum when you attempt to inhale, everything's good. Otherwise it isn't a closed system and you'll suck water when you descend. Note this only works when the 1st stage is sealed...if you try it with the 1st stage open, you'll probably suck in a little air, giving a false alarm.

Definitely understood, but let's just say that sometimes you don't realize how lazy/complacent you've become.

 

[dsteding]

No, that happens in April

LYNNE! YOU AREN'T SUPPOSED TO TALK ABOUT THAT!

[Peter is taking fundies with us starting April 19th]

 

[TSandM]

You know, that's one of the wonderful things about really buying into the GUE-taught sequence of pre-dive stuff. You go through everything methodically, and if you don't, your teammates will (or should) call you on it and remind you.

And then you can be amazed at what can slip by even THREE teammates, like somebody forgetting to put her weight belt on . . .

 

[rainman_02]

Here's my advice ...

Don't preach ... do. Set a good example. When people see how comfortable you look in the water some will want to emulate you. Work with those. Ignore the ones who just want to criticize ... you can't help them anyway. Let people make their mistakes, then if they want to talk about it, explain how to you avoid making them. Don't criticize ... it only makes people defensive. Talk to them about what works for YOU, and why it works. And most importantly, maintain a sense of humor ... people dive to have fun. Remember that, above all else, and people will be far more receptive to what you have to say.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Great advice!


A funny story from this past weekend...

Three of us were diving at the Breakwater (San Carlos) Saturday in preparation for Tech 1. It was the second dive on the doubles and we decided to kick out to the Metridium Fields, lay some line, do a stage/deco switch and stow, and some random skills during the fun dive. It was a great time, and it was even a good thing we laid the line because some other divers silted out the area around the end of the pipe! We spent about two hours or so in the water between two dives.

Getting out at the wall, an instructor (in front of his class) called out, "Hey, I think you guys need a few more tanks!"

 

[Ben_ca]

I almost always get heckled walking down to the water from the local instructors....

After a while you get to know their faces and vice versa..... so you just have to be fast with your witty come backs

"Hey I paid for all day parking I'm going to get my money's worth"

 

[TSandM]

A couple of years ago, I did a dive at the Edmonds Underwater Park with a group of people (one of whom, unbeknownst to me at the time, was to become my favorite dive partner). One guy (not my later buddy) was in doubles. I looked at him with disbelief and some contempt . . . I mean, NOBODY needs to dive doubles at Edmonds, where the maximum achievable depth on a very high tide is 40 feet.

Unless, of course, you're learning to dive doubles, or frantically practicing valve drills for a class, or just don't have any single tanks full at the moment . . .