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Haha somewhat experienced I supposed, but out of practice. We usually go to Santa Rosa NM before a trip, make a lot of mistakes there, relearn things, as well as test our gear.
Oh sure, and thanks. All good ones, no disagreements, but I'll comment on a few...
That was my biggest and dumbest, altho I learned from all of them - and comments are appreciated. Not watching my spg tho, air hog that I am - I was totally blown by that one; nothing more important. :blush: I had wanted to drill aq deep CESA, and you can't really do it with just pretending you're out, or even with a valve closed at depth, as it's just not the same as having that tank with expanding air connected to your mouth with the reg still in. Of the little I did right that dive, of what I learned and relearned, keeping the reg in my mouth is really up there! Even on the surface; it's got to be a very calm sea and buoyancy well established before even thinking of removing it.
I always carry two masks along with more gear than most, intended as safety back-ups - but any more would probly be too much. Carrying a spare mask and practicing changes is a good idea I think.
Intended as the former, but in the worse cases covers the latter - like this.
Eh, I do that, other than the dive mentioned where I fell in prematurely - teaching me to suck before moving from the bench to the edge, but that's not going to tell you if it's 1/4 on, at least not on my reg. Try it on yours there at home. Open the valve 1/4 turn on a 3,000# tank and take a big drag on the reg. See any movement on the spg? I don't.
Yep, not changing that. I dive the yellow lens on deep dives, nights, low viz, the red lens on shallow dives, often change between dives - but fumbled on which I'd planned for and applied defog too.
Yeah, got to the Coz hotel around 9pm the night before, or maybe later. Big day traveling. The new BC was very similar to the one it'd replaced, and I had checked the connections and all well, but would have preferred test dives before. When the NM trip failed, should have heded to the YMCA for a dive - and will more now.
Someone mentioned above opening the cummerbund (I have a chest strap to keep it in place) to pull the tank over and reach the valve then. Got to try that in the pool soon, as it sounds like a good idea. Need to set that up with my home bud as I want him down with me when I try that, and for him to learn it too. We saw the OOA/1/4 open problem hit his girlfriend on a Belize Blue Hole dive once. We like all the way open, and once he turned me all the way off on a boat before we got in - even tho he turns screw drivers every day (he'll never live that one down - Never!), and that's why, but it would be good for us both to acquire that skill.
....if it saves one diver's life in future to learn from your 'mistakes' it will certainly have been worth it! I did find your 'experience # 2' interesting....I can easily see how even an experienced diver might be knocked 'prematurely' into the water (by a rogue wave or another diver falling over into you like dominos on a crowded 6-pack/dive deck) so I picked up another 'pointer' there of yet another way 'Murphy's Law' could rear it's ugly head.
