How do yall do your OOA drills?
Tom
Tom
Ooa ?
- Thread starter Scubarescuepd
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OP
Scubarescuepd
Registered
well our OOA drills are very intense.. we have a large chapter on it...
We do use the NAUI standards... but we also do police search and recovery.. you'd be surprise how many officers forget to check their air supply while searching with low visability.
Good point was made.. on why so many people do end up in an OOA situation if they've planned the dive and no malfunction was a factor ???
guess this OOA was a good Poll of learning...
We do use the NAUI standards... but we also do police search and recovery.. you'd be surprise how many officers forget to check their air supply while searching with low visability.
Good point was made.. on why so many people do end up in an OOA situation if they've planned the dive and no malfunction was a factor ???
guess this OOA was a good Poll of learning...
how often do you practice OOA and air sharing ascents?
How often should the infrequent diver train to manage OOA situations?
Tom... before you can really do effective OOA drills you need to have buddy skills...
I have yet to dive with a non-DIR trained diver who had what I would call good buddy skills...
I have several non-DIR buddies who are gaining buddy skills after diving with me...
Shane and I are always in passive communication... if I don't see his light I stop and look around until I find him... there is no excuse for swimming away from your buddy.
During the dive I might see Shane's light beam moving rapidly back and forth... I will turn to face him with my regulator already extended in case it is an OOA... if he is 30 feet away and swimming towards me signalling OOA I meet him at 15 feet... he takes the regulator that I am offering on the long hose... I already have put the necklaced regulator in my mouth... we stop and take stock of the situation... if egress to the upline is appropriate then the correct signal is given and he leads the way with me maintaining contact with his upper arm... if direct ascent is called for then we get ourselves squared away and do the ascent horizontal facing one another without holding onto each other...
Now managing an OOA and shared air ascent/egress this way is no big deal and we are very comfortable with it... however the reason it works is because we practice good buddy skills.
Describe *intense*...
Our standard OOA drills are not what I would call tense nor intense...
An *Intense OOA drill* involves a shared air ascent with lost mask, one partner controlling both buoyancies to the gas switch and then making the gas switch for yourself and your partner, and hitting, sticking and timing the stops because you have a deco obligation.... while trying to get a lift bag out and up...
boydski
Contributor
We practice OOA frequently, usually during safety stops. We actually use a hand signal that resembles a "P" for "practice" before giving the OOA signal. Sharing ascents is something we should practice but don't.
Boydski
srkdvr
Contributor
Just once, we were on our trip in the Bahamas. We had pulled into a new spot and the Dive Master came up and was telling about the current, vis, and etc.... We hit the water and did our thing and had thought we were doing right and good but came up doing a little current fighting and as we reached the anchor line my last breath came. I did the out of air signal to my buddy (the wife) and she waved at me thinking that is what I was doing. So I just swam over to her spit our my reg and took her spare and got me some air to breath and we went on up to the boat.
Go figure, I give the out of air signal and I get waved at... normal
Rich :mean:
Go figure, I give the out of air signal and I get waved at... normal
Rich :mean:
I actually had a numbskull shake his worthless hood holder *no* when I gave him the OOA signal...
He thought I was just testing him and he didn't want to play share air...
I was testing him and he flunked big time...
UP,
You need to get out more!
"I have yet to dive with a non-DIR trained diver who had what I would call good buddy skills... "
Come visit and dive with us. It will be fun and I will have a chance to prove the DIR folks didn't invent good buddy skills. I of course agree that those skills are not as common as they should be but I dive with a group that has developed nicely. The passive communication you refer to is SOP in cave diving. How many cave divers have you dived with? Before cave my buddy and I dove shoulder to shoulder with constant communication and awareness. In cave diving the arrangement tends toward single file (because of following a line). Here the lead diver is watching the team mates light with a look between the legs once every so often. The diver in the rear has it easier as they constantly have their team mate in direct view. Of course the lead diver can signal with his/her light also. We don't claim perfection. After each dive we debriefe both to re-enjoy the dive and to identify any mistakes or miscommunications. The process facilitates continuous improvement.
Mike
PS... These skills are important regaurdless of how you come by them.
You need to get out more!
"I have yet to dive with a non-DIR trained diver who had what I would call good buddy skills... "
Come visit and dive with us. It will be fun and I will have a chance to prove the DIR folks didn't invent good buddy skills. I of course agree that those skills are not as common as they should be but I dive with a group that has developed nicely. The passive communication you refer to is SOP in cave diving. How many cave divers have you dived with? Before cave my buddy and I dove shoulder to shoulder with constant communication and awareness. In cave diving the arrangement tends toward single file (because of following a line). Here the lead diver is watching the team mates light with a look between the legs once every so often. The diver in the rear has it easier as they constantly have their team mate in direct view. Of course the lead diver can signal with his/her light also. We don't claim perfection. After each dive we debriefe both to re-enjoy the dive and to identify any mistakes or miscommunications. The process facilitates continuous improvement.
Mike
PS... These skills are important regaurdless of how you come by them.
