Out of Air at 84 ft

[DA Aquamaster]

OK, You jump out of a plane. I'm not sure why, let's just say you did. And when you're out there, you notice that you don't have a parachute. So do you

a) Try to vector over and land on top of a lower flying airplane, or

b) manuever over and jump on another existing skydiver and hope for the best?

The answer is - don't be an idiot, and don't jump out of planes without the proper gear and training. Just don't get in that situation in the first place.

See the connection I'm trying to make here? THIS Chatterton recommends using your brain and not being a lemming.

Oh my...hell must have frozen over as their is finally something I FULLY agree with boogie on.

 

[ShakaZulu]

Oh my...hell must have frozen over as their is finally something I FULLY agree with boogie on.

You guys are so funny............

 

[simbrooks]

OK, You jump out of a plane. I'm not sure why, let's just say you did. And when you're out there, you notice that you don't have a parachute. So do you

a) Try to vector over and land on top of a lower flying airplane, or

b) manuever over and jump on another existing skydiver and hope for the best?

No no, you forgot options
c) aim for trees to break your fall
d) aim for water to break your fall
e) aim for land, it will break you more than trees or water or another aircraft or skydiver - pray A LOT

 

[DA Aquamaster]

As you ascend, the air in both your bc and lungs is going to expand. This is a good thing. You need to be letting air out of your lungs to prevent harm. You can also take some of the expanding air out of your BC to breath from. You now have some extra air you didn't have before. As you continue to surface you can continue this process. It'll be tight, but it will get you there and reasonably healthy in the process.

Sure, you might get some DCS depending on how long you were at 84 ft since you are not going to be making any stops, but your BC will probably end up giving you the equivilant of 1 or just under 1 full breathes. That's a lot of air.

This is something that used to be almost mainstream and was even promoted for a short time as something to be practiced on occassion. Practice is important as breathing off an inflator you are venting from can result in a bit of water preceding the air and the last thing you need is to gag and cough in an OOA situation.

But practice is problematic as there are all sorts of potential bugs that can cause a nasty lung infection living in most BC's. Disinfectants that were designed to be used to clean out the inside of your BC used to be common with the idea that a clean BC would allow you to practice this type of thing. But if the disinfectant was stong enough to be really effective it was also strong enough to be a potential lung irritant and did not always to good things for the longevity of the bladder in your BC.

So in short the practice of practicing this procedure stopped, and the practice itself was pretty much relegated to a last ditch effort to use when you really, really need another breath. But it's worth knowing in case you are ever in that situation. It may help get you to the surface where you can then kick yourself for being stupid enough to get in that situation in the first place.

 

[CBulla]

Screw aiming for stuff.. look for a POOL and do a MONSTEROUS cannonball!

 

[redacted]

I just can't imagine the SURPRISE, you are out of air situation. But I can accept that something may happen (LP hose failure) where my gas management plan will have to be altered quickly. Ideally, I'm diving with a competent known buddy and the biggest downside is we have to call the dive early. I do also dive solo, in which case I tend to be more conservative and carry enough redudnant gas to end the dive safely. With an unknown buddy, I try to run it as a good buddy dive but will rig for a solo dive. He and I will have already discussed our dive plan so he will know what I'm going to do if he wants to get stupid.

You might find it useful to think hard about how you might get into such a situation. Then you will be better prepared to avoid such problems or, at least, reduce to potential risks involved.

 

[SueMermaid]

This is certainly a scenario I keep in mind at all times when I dive.
I hate having a buddy that clings to me like white on rice, but I detest more having one whose attention I cannot get. I recall diving with a friend who did this, and we had sort of a falling out after I could not get his attention and had no choice but to go up without him due to some ear problems. Dork. I followed him around for ten entire minutes trying to get him to look for me. He never noticed that I was 20' above him. Still makes me mad. Anyway, we don't always have the luxury of diving with people we know so I usually make it a point to talk about paying attention to each other before we go down.

Given the choice of a controlled ascent or looking for someone's octo, I would say it depends. If nobody is within a couple of kicks, then up it is, as slowly as possible. I have had a HP hose blow at about 70', and had a similar decision to make. Should I take the time to grab my buddy and have her take me up, or would I have enough air to make a safe ascent? I took the safe way and spent the few seconds to shut off my tank and grab my buddy.

 

[Poseidon8118]

ESA all the way...make a ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ...sound all the way to the surface. You will find a couple breathes of air at 40-30 feet use them if needed. WHEN YOU GET TO THE BOAT THROW HIS GEAR BAG OVERBOARD AND LOOK FOR A NEW BUDDY!

 

[pt40fathoms]

OOA in recreational diving is very rare, just look up the stats and see for yourself. If you find yourself buddied up with a diver who practices "same ocean/lake buddy system", then do what is best for YOU, and watch your air closely or call the dive early. Assuming the other diver (make that buddy), is even close enough to see you call the dive. When you surface, don't be shy, tell the DM on the boat that you do not wish to dive solo, and do not want to dive with that person again, preferably within ear shot of the other diver.

I know this sounds like a fliping answer, but lets be honest here. Just don't allow yourself to be put in a situation that you are not comfortable with, and may lead to you being put in harms way. You should never find yourself in an OOA situation, and you should never find yourself alone under the water. To allow both to happen means YOU failed to take control of the dive. Asking what to do next, is asking questions too late to be of any good.

 

[pilot fish]

Yep, t'is true. As I said...

After my OOA incident with pony failure, I decided that I was not nearly the hot-shot I'd thought, and started working on buddy skills. Next trip out, I got one who'd hide from me. :11:

It's a different buddy for every trip for me, often for every day, so I am now trying to work on better pony skills and better buddy skills, both.

That's my situation too, different buddy everyday and for each dive. I find it a bit disconcerting since I never know what I'll wind up with. What is your pre dive procedure?