Just a thought on gear ditching

[mikerault]

Ok, once you dump the weights there may be a need to remove the BCD if it is restrictive during a long surface swim...but what about lanyarding it to your waist or what ever and towing it along behind? I realize equipment loss is the least of your worries at that point but was just thinking...

Mike

 

[SteveAD]

"lanyarding it to your wrist" would probably not be a great idea, but for a long surface swim there would be nothing wrong with pushing the bc ahead of you, or even using it as a raft. But first I would ask why you would be diving equipment you consider restrictive?

 

[SteveAD]

"lanyarding it to your wrist" would probably not be a great idea, but for a long surface swim there would be nothing wrong with pushing the bc ahead of you, or even using it as a raft. But first I would ask why you would be diving equipment you consider restrictive?

 

[Cacia]

I think it is a good idea.....your stroke would have less drag but there are advantages to having the option of bouyancy again if you, uh, find it is "further than it looks" lol...been there.

They always say think long and hard when at sea about ditching anything...because you have nothing and maybe it will serve a purpose later. like floating or as a pillow ehen you finally get picked up in that liferaft.

 

[fire_diver]

I think I would just inflate it while wearing it. It's basically an inflatable PFD once you drop the lead.

FD

 

[bubba105]

I've done some long surface swims to get to and from a dive site but I've never thought about taking off my BCD. It floats, and that's what I want to do. I just inflate it, lay on my back and kick with my fins. If I need to rest, I can float where I am.

 

[Puffer Fish]

I've done a really long swim... emergency... over night type... in the 4 mile plus range... there would have been no way that I would have made it pushing or wearing a BC.. but I left it inflated with all the other divers, so it was not lost. One of the reason I always wear a wetsuit is for the floatation it provides. One had better have a very, very good reason to get rid of one, but if that happens... say goodbye to it.

 

[J.R.]

Well... you used the term "long surface swim"... So... how long is long and under what circumstances?

The thing about towing or pushing a BC is that you've just added to your workload either way. If you're in a situation where you've had to dump weight... AND are even considering dumping the gear... I would read this to imply that you're kinda' in a tight spot.

If you have *that* much of a swim ahead of you... you might find that the additional work is going to reduce your ablity to achieve the task at hand.

This is ALL speculative of course because there are an infinate number of variables that aren't included in your scenario... like: sea state, buddy, where you are swimming to, WHY you had to ditch in the first place, etc...

I know they say that a BC isn't a life jacket... but it DOES inflate... and that can be helpful...

I'd say that any speculation that might lead to a predispostion of action is probably less than helpful... make your best decision at the time such an emergency might arise. The fact that you ARE thinking about it indicates that you're exploring options... But... hopefully... good planning and foresight will preclude you ever having to make the decision in the real world...

 

[J.R.]

Well... you used the term "long surface swim"... So... how long is long and under what circumstances?

The thing about towing or pushing a BC is that you've just added to your workload either way. If you're in a situation where you've had to dump weight... AND are even considering dumping the gear... I would read this to imply that you're kinda' in a tight spot.

If you have *that* much of a swim ahead of you... you might find that the additional work is going to reduce your ablity to achieve the task at hand.

This is ALL speculative of course because there are an infinate number of variables that aren't included in your scenario... like: sea state, buddy, where you are swimming to, WHY you had to ditch in the first place, etc...

I know they say that a BC isn't a life jacket... but it DOES inflate... and that can be helpful...

I'd say that any speculation that might lead to a predispostion of action is probably less than helpful... make your best decision at the time such an emergency might arise. The fact that you ARE thinking about it indicates that you're exploring options... But... hopefully... good planning and foresight will preclude you ever having to make the decision in the real world...

 

[Temple of Doom]

I would tend to think tying a sea-anchor to your waist would be a bit contrary to a long surface swim...

Over a long swim, the BC (whether wearing or using as a raft) will not slow you down all that much, especially if it's your only source of buoyancy.

If it's my only source of buoyancy, I'm going to keep it with me. I imagine that of the divers that have gone missing, but their BC was found, a lot of them ditched the BC to get that little bit of extra speed so they can catch an island. However, they miss it anyway, and then are stuck with no flotation, and are worse off.