New Safety Drills I'm Adding: Oral Inflate & Weight Ditching

[DandyDon]

It's been a few years since I took the Padi Ow course, and I really do not recall the extent of training on these two. I know they were taught, but then - kinda forgotten.

First & Foremost in any almost diving challenge, we want to get positive - especially on the surface where many accidents happen. We bleed out air from our BCs as we ascend - more so from depth, and we need to reverse that as soon as we make the top.

My home buddy & are going to starting drilling on these two:

(1) Orally inflate the BC! I had to once when a connection came lose on my BC - I was lucky, panic did not cloud my thinking. We're going to make this a regular practice drill - so it becomes natural, just in case.

(3) Ditch weights at first struggle. If panic takes over the mind, we may forget. I'm sure we lose divers this way. My bud & I are gonna drill on grabbing our weights with our right hand immediately after we surface - every time, to get in the habit, so we'll be in that habit in case of a BC failure and struggle.

Serious comments regarding safety & drills, please...?
It'd be nice if RoatanMan changed his response...

thanks!

 

[Doc]

Can I sell you the replacement weights?

 

[archman]

Yeah, you'll really have to watch out with those weight practice drills, especially with integrated systems. I must have lost at least 20 lbs of lead off of Big Pine Key from doing NAUI rescue diver drills with students back in the late '90's. We stopped doing it altogether around 2001.

 

[plot]

We did all our weight ditching skills in 15-20 feet of open water with a dive master watching to pick up the weights as we went up.

 

[lamont]

Try diving without using the power inflator at all...

That means that once you dump to descend you use oral inflation throughout the rest of the descent and whenever you need to fine tune buoyancy by adding a little bit...

I find that when I get to the surface, however, that I do a couple of breaths and then go "okay, i've orally inflated" and hit the inflator because I don't really need to get that dizzy...

 

[1_T_Submariner]

Sounds like some good drills to add Don. I assume you are talking about training dives.

My buddys and I have done the Remove and Replace BC underwater and Remove and replace mask underwater. Granted we have done these on a training platform which isn't exactly real world but, fairly close.

 

[NJMike]

Well, first, he did NOT say he was going to drop weights every time he sufaced...just grab them.

I'm not a new diver. Been certified for 30+ years. Over that period of time I logged 2 dives. Now I've rediscovered it, and have dived 3 times that much in the last month.

I'm excited!

But I am also cautious, and think long and hard when I read about things that I didn't know about or thought about. Like DandyDon's thought.

I'm going diving again this Saturday. I'm sticking close to the platform, going to practice some basic skills.

I've already started doing the oral inflate. The guy I refreshed with (an instructor) told me the air was for breathing, not inflating. Want to inflate, blow out the breath you already used.

Grabbing the weight belt. Something I hadn't thought about. At least putting your hand on the belt and thinking about it.

Not such a bad idea. One more thing for me to think about and to add to my new, growing list of things to remember. Thanks.

 

[UnderSeaBumbleBee]

First of all, let me say that DandyDon looks younger in his new avatar picture. I like the hat. And second, one thing I appreicate as a new diver is the attitude of divers like Dandy. He has a lot of dives under his belt and yet is always looking to improve and become a safer diver. It is good example for me to follow as diver who has around 50 dives and take note of a guy like Dandy who is nearing 500. I have been talking with my primary dive partner and she has agreeded with me to do drills on every dive trip to keep us fresh and ready to deal with Murphy when he shows up on the dive. Thanks again for all the helpful posts.
Leah

 

[DandyDon]

I don't want to encourage fear in new divers, but - a healthy respect for potential dangers is good I think. If a discussion like this would discourage a newbie from going in, perhaps that would be good still - for one who would become overly nervous by warning discussions may not have what it takes to act & think thru survival needs. I was kinda raised that way, yet panic could still hit me.

Well, first, he did NOT say he was going to drop weights every time he sufaced...just grab them.

That's right. We're not going to drop weights, just get in the habit of grabbing the release on every dive surfacing - before we decide that we're okay and then give the okay signal to the deck.

I'm not a new diver. Been certified for 30+ years. Over that period of time I logged 2 dives. Now I've rediscovered it, and have dived 3 times that much in the last month.

I'm excited!

But I am also cautious, and think long and hard when I read about things that I didn't know about or thought about. Like DandyDon's thought.

I'm going diving again this Saturday. I'm sticking close to the platform, going to practice some basic skills.

I've already started doing the oral inflate. The guy I refreshed with (an instructor) told me the air was for breathing, not inflating. Want to inflate, blow out the breath you already used.

Grabbing the weight belt. Something I hadn't thought about. At least putting your hand on the belt and thinking about it.

Not such a bad idea. One more thing for me to think about and to add to my new, growing list of things to remember. Thanks.

I do hope I'm not suggesting excessive task loading for new divers, but then - if this is too much for anyone, more training could be a good thing? We're going to get in the habit of weight grabbing in every practice and real dive both, and practice the oral inflate on every practice trip. The time my BC failed, I hadn't done it on over 100 dives.

First of all, let me say that DandyDon looks younger in his new avatar picture. I like the hat.

:lol2: Thanks, but I was younger when that was shot, a couple years anyway - and it is my usual avatar pic. I just change it from time to time, then go back to this one. I think I'm getting my eyelids done after my Nov Key Largo trip - maybe I can look a little younger by the end of the year?

And second, one thing I appreicate as a new diver is the attitude of divers like Dandy. He has a lot of dives under his belt and yet is always looking to improve and become a safer diver. It is good example for me to follow as diver who has around 50 dives and take note of a guy like Dandy who is nearing 500. I have been talking with my primary dive partner and she has agreeded with me to do drills on every dive trip to keep us fresh and ready to deal with Murphy when he shows up on the dive. Thanks again for all the helpful posts.
Leah

Well, I have a little over 300 is all, not very experienced. And I have a poor natural instinct for safety - I have to think and work at it. :blush:

 

[archman]

Well, first, he did NOT say he was going to drop weights every time he sufaced...just grab them.

I believe that part is generally understood. The lost weights I and probably roatanman are referring to are caused by *simulated* weight release. That is, reaching for your weight belt and making pretend motions to ditch the things. In many cases the *simulated* weight release results in actual weight loss. I refer to those students as "butterfingers".

Replacing integrated weight pouches can get expensive.