Made an out of gas ascent today

[sea_otter]

What was going on here? I know GUE has its own ascent protocol, which I guess you were intending to follow (on the second dive at least), but a) why so slow under the circumstances and b) given that ascent protocol, why the pointing at computer and stuff from your buddy?

The standard min-deco is what I describe in the second dive. Our plan was to follow this and add an extra minute at 20 ft (effectively, 2 min at 20 and 1 min at 10, which will clear a standard safety stop).

a) why so slow under the circumstances

Speaking for myself, I was slow because (a) I haven't been in the water for over a month, so I'm rusty and (b) I was ascending with a lot of extra weight in the form of two full tanks on my back, which increases the difficulty. My priorities are team, depth, time, in that order. Contrary to popular belief, divers are not perfect machines who can always execute flawlessly.

b) given that ascent protocol, why the pointing at computer and stuff from your buddy?

Skipping the extra minute at 20 ft was not part of the plan, but I felt it was reasonable as there was some urgency to confirm our teammate was okay, particularly when we hadn't really spent any time on the bottom. However, it didn't make sense to argue over it at the time. We discussed afterwards, and my buddy agreed.

 

[Lorenzoid]

I just wanted to say thank you, @sea_otter, for sharing the story. Except for the dumping of gas to lighten tanks (never heard of such a thing!), there is not one action in this story that I don't think could have seemed reasonable under the circumstances.

 

[sea_otter]

I am also surprised about the protocol followed when someone gives a low on air sign. I would immediately ask to see the gage and show them mine, not do other stuff.

Good question. The "low on air" to "out of air" conversation took about 5 seconds total. My buddy's regulator was starting to breathe heavy when he gave the low signal. The next breathe he took was very noticeably the last one from an empty tank, at which point he asked for my reg.

I also have a regular buddy who commonly uses "low on air" to communicate, "I'm nearing minimum gas, let's head to the anchor line without delay."

Once I had donated, the only priority was to end the dive safely. Different circumstances may have called for more underwater troubleshooting, but that was not necessary here.

 

[sea_otter]

Except for the dumping of gas to lighten tanks (never heard of such a thing!), there is not one action in this story that I don't think could have seemed reasonable under the circumstances.

It's worth calling out that everyone else on the boat was starting the second dive with half-empty (double) tanks (except #2, who was diving a single tank).

I'm certainly not arguing this was a good idea, but put yourself in the shoes of someone who had woken up at 3 AM to drive a long distance to the ocean, only to be disappointed when the first dive didn't work as planned. Then you might be able to appreciate the reasoning.

 

[johndiver999]

Good question. The "low on air" to "out of air" conversation took about 5 seconds total. My buddy's regulator was starting to breathe heavy when he gave the low signal. The next breathe he took was very noticeably the last one from an empty tank, at which point he asked for my reg.

Once I had donated, the only priority was to end the dive safely. Different circumstances may have called for more underwater troubleshooting, but that was not necessary here.

If someone gives you low on air, you want to know .. how low... They might mean, as in this case, out of air, but if you start doing other stuff, you really don't know. In addition, you can make inappropriate/erroneous suggestions, (like you did when signaling to continue the dive and head laterally toward the anchor).

Once you donate, the issue is less important, but still worth knowing. For example, it is often required to work the victim's BC on the ascent, because they are too preoccupied. In this kind of situation, it might be useful to know if they even have enough air in the tank to work the power inflator - should that become necessary on ascent or on surface.

Sharing air with someone at 55 feet when there are 3 people in the team is not some huge emergency that requires a race to the surface. I am not suggesting troubleshooting the problem in any significant way, but showing and asking to see a gage is not going to cause a meaningful delay. If they fail to reciprocate and NOT show the gage then I would interpret that as a sign of impending panic and that would be useful to know as well.

If they didn't offer me their gage, I would be offering them a second stage and then try to sneak a peak.

Rather than nitpick the actions taken on this particular dive, I think it is probably more useful to think about what best to do in the future.

But to be honest, I really don't know what any specific training agencies would (or do) say about this particular issue. It is what I would (and have done) in many situations myself.

Any time someone gives me low on air signal, I try to immediately find out what that means.

 

[Deathereum]

Glad all of you came up without a scratch. Thanks for sharing, reading such stories really helps drive home the point that minor errors/omissions can compound quickly.

 

[happy-diver]

Anybody who has no ditchable lead and dumps air from their tanks (on the boat) to make themselves lighter (because they are too heavy to dive) is not someone I would choose to dive with. I find it humorous that people might think "buddy" diving with someone like that is safer than diving alone.

 

[formernuke]

I don’t think there is a good reason to close them in normal usage except if you do a drill.

Last fall I had 30 percent helium in my doubles 100's. On the drive to the boat the toat with my gear shifted and cracked open one of my valves. Got there with 1600 psi left. Yup I close thar isolation valve in transit now that way I only lose that out of 1 tank if it happens again.

 

[Searcaigh]

I just wanted to say thank you, @sea_otter, for sharing the story. Except for the dumping of gas to lighten tanks (never heard of such a thing!), there is not one action in this story that I don't think could have seemed reasonable under the circumstances.

Totally agree with @Lorenzoid

Nobody died UW because they had enough air (as far as I know), a very strange thing to do.

 

[Boarderguy]

Totally agree with @Lorenzoid

Nobody died UW because they had enough air (as far as I know), a very strange thing to do.

This is exactly why I dive 1 tank bigger than my buddy's plus a pony. 80 = 100, 100 = 119. I always have more gas for them plus a pony for me.