OOA at Surface

[GrierHPharmD]

I'll reiterate the advice to buy a safety sausage. And don't be afraid to deploy it if you're in a heavy current. I carry one of those, a whistle, and a small signal mirror (whistle and mirror are ~$5 each, and the sausage is ~$20)

I'm glad you made it through your experience safely. And like Doc said, always remember that you are responsible for your own safety.

All the best,
Grier

 

[Charlie99]

I always told my students to use the rule of thirds, one third travel gas one third back to the boat or shore and the remaining third can be used to play around the ascent line or for extra safety stop time, but it gets you home with 1000psi left out of a 3000 fill!

That's kind of like a driving instructor telling students to never drive faster than 45mph. Sounds like safe advice at first glance, but it will end up being ignored because it is obviously incorrect, and it also makes the other teachings less credible.

It wouldn't take that long to discuss the real requirement -- that you always have enough air for both your AND your buddy to safely complete the dive. Then discuss some typical scenarios --- moored boat, shore dive, shore dive where surfacing is dangerous, drift dives, etc.

Do you really think rule of thirds is a rational gas plan for a drift dive?

 

[Taipeidiver]

I think you handled the situation pretty well, didn't panic although you probably wanted to.

You've also got some good advice here, which you seem to be taking on board.

One thing which doesn't seem to have come out yet is the importance of establishing your buoyancy at the surface. You had inflated your BCD but remember that, if things start to go properly pear-shaped, you can always ditch your weights as well. I don't know how much lead you carry but it can make a real difference when surface swimming.

 

[Rick Inman]

It wouldn't take that long to discuss the real requirement -- that you always have enough air for both your AND your buddy to safely complete the dive.

Just thought this quote was worth reading again. It's also the kind of sentence that, when I was first getting back into diving, would completely change the way I'd think about diving.

It also means that my buddy and I can safely end the drift dive you mention with 200psi left, and still qualify as having done the above.

Nice!!

 

[dannobee]

One thing that rarely seems to be covered in OW classes is "how much air should I have when I start to ascend?" A good rule of thumb is 100psi for each 10 feet of depth (add the 500psi "to be back on the boat with"). When you get there on a guided dive, give the low air hand signal if the DM is unaware. Adjust your psi point as you gain experience and your SCR/SAC rate improves. DO NOT assume the DM will watch your air for you.
This is what it will take to get most newbies to the surface with a standard ascent rate and safety stop. Don't confuse it with 1/2 way, 1/3 way or "turn" time.

 

[JRScuba]

All the above are good answers to your questions.
Since you only have 11 dives and those were done over a one year time frame, go back to basics. Most of your questions could have been answered by reviewing your O/W course. Perhaps that might not be a bad idea.
One of the big lessons to learn is Plan your dive and DIVE YOUR PLAN. Yes it is nice to assume that the instructor, dive master and/or guide know what they are doing. They probable are DOING WHAT THEY KNOW. But they do not know your experience level and what you do or do not know. AS you gain experience your knowledge is going to increase exponentially.

It is your LIFE. You take control of it. Only you know your LIMITATIONS ( borrowed from Clint Eastwood ) and what your capable of. ie: how tired you are, what your SAC time is, how to control your bouyancy, etc.

Dive Often, Dive SAFELY

Joe

 

[Scubaguy2]

That's going to be a hard thing to sell to most divers. You should hear the whining on the boat when they only get 2900psi in their tank. Leaving the water with 1000psi just doesn't cut it when you've paid $100+ to get on the boat and god-knows-how-much to get to the destination.

Not back on the boat with 1000, they can play around the ascent line or entry point for a while if they'd like, besides can you put a price on safety? Thats what I was taught and its what I teach, works for me!

See you on the bottom

Mark

 

[MikeFerrara]

I always told my students to use the rule of thirds, one third travel gas one third back to the boat or shore and the remaining third can be used to play around the ascent line or for extra safety stop time, but it gets you home with 1000psi left out of a 3000 fill!

See you on the bottom

Mark

the rule of thirs is only applicable if getting back to the entry point under water is an absolute requirement. In that case it only gets you back with a third left if everything goes perfectly. However, as you've described the rule of thirds (without backing out ascent gas) it will get you back with an empty tank in the worst case where one diver suffers a total gas loss at the furthest point in the dive.

For lots of OW diving the rule of thirs is overly restrictive and only applies if getting back to the entry point underwater is an absolute must.

 

[billtodive]

Just a note on the safety sausages. We did a boat dive on a 5 mile diameter lake in Northwest Mn a couple weeks ago. Windy, but nothing like 4 foot seas.
When looking for 3 groups of divers, the farthest one away was noticed first.
She put up her cheap orange vinyl smb just to give her something nice to float on and rest.