Malfunctioning BCD at depth

[OldNSalty]

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When it comes to you being a pro, teacher and tek and scientific diver with 100 to 200 dives under your belt, let's be serious. No ONE in a reputable country would claim to that without being laught at.

I've noticed you like pointing out the nationality thing. (along with the "500 dives and I'm a divemaster"). what's the deal? For the record, you never talked about it being unsafe at the surface until people started pointing out that it wasn't a good idea to do what you did. OK, if returning to the surface was off the table then yes, switch to your backup and stay until it is safe. That wasn't your initial argument. Your initial argument was "I had an equipment failure in the open sea and I decided to keep sight seeing because I am a divemaster with 500 dives...and me and Cousteau speak french"...at least I think that was it.

 

[billt4sf]

BCD malfunctions? End the dive.

 

[MMM]

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A ScubaBoard Staff Message...

This description is provided at the top of this forum: A forum to discuss those situations where something horrible could have happened, but we somehow managed to avoid a real accident.
Please Note: This forum has special rules. This forum is intended to be a "flame free zone" where divers of any skill level may share their incident without fear of being accosted. Please show respect and courtesy at all times. Remember that the inquirer is sharing a potentially embarrassing moment. This is a learning zone and consequently, any off-topic or overly harsh responses will be removed.

I have edited a few posts that were overly harsh comments and/or bickering. Thread has been re-opened. Marg, SB Senior Moderator

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[redacted]

BCD malfunctions? End the dive.

What if you don't need a BCD? (Or don't have one?)

 

[OldNSalty]

What if you don't need a BCD? (Or don't have one?)

If you don't need one then how do you know it's not working?

If you don't have one then it isn't an issue.

 

[redacted]

If you don't need one then how do you know it's not working?

Same way you do if you need one. Test it before diving.

The need for a BCD is not really a yes - no thing. In many cases it is simply a matter of comfort and ease. Before BCDs, divers had to compensate for gas weight. This was done easily enough with breath and position control. Neoprene adds another dimension but is still possible with breath control and a bit of body attitude (pitch) control to maintain depth with little effort and enjoy a safe dive.

I had a wing fail once. The rear dump valve cracked and separated from the wing. I passed 2 pounds off to my wife/buddy and had no problem. Since the repair part was not available on Bonaire, I just covered the hole with duct tape and enjoyed the week of diving with 2 lb less lead.

 

[boulderjohn]

Thank you bolder John. A buddy was mentionned in my post. In fact we were a trio, all divemasters with 500+ dives.

As I said, it was a negative entry with the goal to descend rapidly, since it was a drift dive. We found out, however that the current was VERY VERY mild.

OK, you had two buddies. I assume you asked them to check out your BCD to see why it was not holding air at depth. Why do you think it was that neither could spot rapidly escaping bubbles when they checked it out?