Interesting air management...

[Scuba_Vixen]

It really comes down to their preference or custom ..... it's just nice to keep everyone there in the loop, so to speak. Less stress if you know what to be expecting.

It's not that uncommon in vacation dive areas for a hoover hubby in a pair to go to his wife's octo when he gets down to 1000# or so, and then go back on his own tank when they get under the boat so they can ascend and do safety stops more easily. .... Again, as long as the DM knows ahead of time, it's much smoother going.

Darlene

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

The only issue I see here is that there was a rule to finish a dive when one member of a group uses air down to a certain pressure. This rule was violated.

The author said he thumbed the dive.

One rule that I was taught ... and will emphasize in my classes ... is that when one team member thumbs the dive, the dive is over. If you have any questions, ask them on the surface.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[HammerNoMore]

The author said he thumbed the dive.

One rule that I was taught ... and will emphasize in my classes ... is that when one team member thumbs the dive, the dive is over. If you have any questions, ask them on the surface.

I was just reading through this and wondering if anyone was going to point this out. There are only two possible answers to a thumbs up. A thumbs up in reply or a thumbs up and a question sign. The latter would only be used to make sure you understood corectly, not to question the action itself.

James

 

[jagfish]

The author said he thumbed the dive.

One rule that I was taught ... and will emphasize in my classes ... is that when one team member thumbs the dive, the dive is over. If you have any questions, ask them on the surface.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Yup
That's why I was surprised. James, it was clearly a thumbs up, lets end the dive. Afterward, it was confirmed that they knew that was what I wanted, but they had the other plan...

To touch on a point that others asked, why would the air share not be desireable, for me, looking at his lack of bouyancy, looked like a nightmare to be tethered to him...the umbillicus of death, (or severe discomfort at the very least.)

JAG

 

[Rick Inman]

When he hits 50 bar he tells me. I give him the surface signal, which would mean we would have about a 100 yard swim in calm water to the exit. Well, his buddy comes along and signals that she has 150 bar left, and she wants to give him her octopus. ... Anyway, we are about 25 or 30 feet down, I look puzzled and say no and give the up signal again, but the other buddy pair comes and supports the octopus option, so I just back off because they seem like they have a system for this that I was not aware of.

Looks like you thumbed the dive TWICE, and everyone in the group said no. There is no way they can know exactly why you are thumbing the dive, and yet on one agreed to surface with you.
This is something I would absolutely talk about before diving with these folks again.

 

[garyfotodiver]

The author said he thumbed the dive.

One rule that I was taught ... and will emphasize in my classes ... is that when one team member thumbs the dive, the dive is over. If you have any questions, ask them on the surface.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Thank you for expressing the matter more clearly than I did. Frankly, I was astonished that anyone would ignore a request to end the dive.

However, as was pointed out in an earlier post, cultural differences perhaps.

 

[MikeFerrara]

Thank you for expressing the matter more clearly than I did. Frankly, I was astonished that anyone would ignore a request to end the dive.

However, as was pointed out in an earlier post, cultural differences perhaps.

I certainly agree that when some one calls the dive it's over.

However I don't remember really being taught that until technical training.

Also ending the dive can have more than one meaning depending on the environment. For instance...in shipping lanes or any place that boat traffic is heavy a thumb up may mean to head back to the ascent line. We use a seperate signal for that which I never learned until technical training. We use a thumb up with the forfinger pointed meaning to head back to the descent line. The same would be true if currents weren't likely to allow us to get back if we were at the surface.

In the case of this dive, since no turn pressure was planned it seems that the plan was to go directly to the surface when 50 bar was reached but it's hard to tell.

 

[jagfish]

Hi Mike
There was a turn pressure of 100 bar. We were well on our way back when the limit was hit by one diver. When they mentioned in the briefing that 50 bar was the limit for a tank, I naturally assumed that meant surfacing. Hence, my surprise...

JAG

 

[Dan Gibson]

My understanding has always been that thumbs is thumbs. There is no question involved and you can't take it back. Don't give it if you don't mean it. It's not a question but a command signal and must been returned. How you get to the exit may call for different routes depending on the circumstances as Mike pointed out in his post.

I was just reading through this and wondering if anyone was going to point this out. There are only two possible answers to a thumbs up. A thumbs up in reply or a thumbs up and a question sign. The latter would only be used to make sure you understood corectly, not to question the action itself.

James

 

[MikeFerrara]

Hi Mike
There was a turn pressure of 100 bar. We were well on our way back when the limit was hit by one diver. When they mentioned in the briefing that 50 bar was the limit for a tank, I naturally assumed that meant surfacing. Hence, my surprise...

JAG

Thanks for pointing that out. I think it's important as far as the dive plan goes because it sounds like there was a "turn pressure" (or volume) and an "ascent pressure". I would tend to think then that the thing to do at the ascent pressure was to ascend.

You have to wonder if that diver passed their turn point without turning the team hence not making it back before hitting the preplanned ascent limit.

In OW and with luck a mistake like that will just be embarassing when you have to surface away from the boat or shore and come swimming in like a lost puppy but in an over head, vertual (like the boat traffic or currents) or real, it can have grave consequences.

When I first started diving we used to dive a little local quarry a few times a week. The max depth is like 28 ft when the water's up and the place isn't very big. You can surface anyplace and it just doesn't matter much because there's no current, no waves and no boats. Since it's so shallow it doesn't take much gas to get you to the surface even with 2 divers breathing off the same tank. Heck on a 25 ft dive you can get by without a safety stop and there isn't any reason you couldn't make it to the surface with no air at all.

It seems to me that we still had the idea that we should be headed back by the time we were down to half a tank or so with a shallow beach entry with no ascent...you just ran out of water. LOL

The holly grail of the quarry is a place called Crappie Rock. It's called that because there used to be a bunch of unnaturally huge crappies that hung out there for a good part of the year. It was kind of far and for many it was hard to find. I saw lots of people surface on the other end of the lake after going out looking for it.

Well, I don't know what that had to do with the discussion (other than to show how divers are willing to violate their gas plan) but I was just sitting here wishing that the place was open for diving the way it used to be because it's 20 minutes from my house.