Out of Air on Final Open Water Cert. Dive

[mikerault]

WHen adjusted correctly some regulators will free flow when turned up in the water and will stop when turned down.

Mine does (a sherwood brute) and I know several of my dive buddies also see this behavior, it is normal.

Mike

 

[TxHockeyGuy]

First off congratulations on your certification. I also think given your limited experience you handled this very well. That being said, here is what I would have done differently.

1. My octo would have been attached to me so that any freeflow would be readily apparent.
2. After a collision underwater I always check to make sure I still have everything and it is still in the right place.
3. Once I realized the problem I would have immediately notified my buddy I was low on air and signaled to them how much air I had left. In this particular case I would have also notified my instructor.
4. I would have started to share air BEFORE I ran out. Far better to start that process when you're still calm and you have air than wait till you run out, IMHO.
5. I would never under any circumstance post my incident on ScubaBoard.

Just kidding about number 5, but do realize that none of the comments you're going to get are meant to be personally insulting.

 

[harleyxx]

On all the other dives we always made sure we were with our buddies, But on this one, the instructor asked me to follow up behind everyone else. I asked the other students in our group about this when we got back & they were all under the impression that we were not buddied up but just supposed to stay in a group. I must admit, that in the spring itself it was difficult to tell each other apart. We would take turns dropping from ledge to ledge. The instructor was constantly checking everyone but also taking pics of his students. Since I was desgnated to be last I was still above everyone else when the cave diver landed on top of me & kicked my alt loose. I moved back to let him and his buddies past me. And it wasn't until after they had all passed our group that I noticed the free flow.

 

[TxHockeyGuy]

Most octos are tuned so that they will not free flow easily. That doesn't mean you can't get them to do so. In a "standard" octo configuration you want the octo to not free flow easily but since the OOA diver will be receiving that regulator it will need to provide plenty of air as they will most likely be stressed and sucking it down very quickly. This is an advantage long hose setup where you would donate your primary (long hose) and breath off of the bungied octo around your neck. It would also have allowed both divers to have plenty of room and you would have seen the octo start free flowing. As soon as I have extra money I intend to convert to a long hose setup.

That is good advise. I was using the equipment supplied by the dive shop and the Alt air regulator was kind of low on my BCD. It was not in the Triangle area suggested in PADI manual, but on the side, below my right elbow. This is a lesson well learned.

I did not notice the free flow though, this concerns me. Could the regulator have been kicked loose, but not started to free flow until it had already drifted behing me? Does it free flow because it is not adjusted correctly?

 

[spectrum]

Your alternate second stage should not be freeflowing unless you are perhaps in an intense current. It is intentionally set up stiffer since by definition it will be exposed to ambient water flows nearly all of the time.

Your primary on the other hand will deliver air at the slightest hint of demand be it by your inhalation or external forces against the diaphram.

Pete

 

[TSandM]

Before I say anything else, I want to say that showing the presence of mind you did on an OW certification dive impresses the dickens out of me, and I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have coped nearly so well with sucking a regulator dry on one of mine!

As has been said, some regs free-flow when turned mouthpiece-up -- my backup reg does, too. But mine is secured under my chin, and when it freeflows, I know it immediately. When or if you buy your own equipment, you've learned a valuable lesson about making sure regulators are where you can see them and be aware of what they are doing. Whether that's fastening a standard octo in a visible and easily accessible place (and securely!) or switching to a bungied secondary setup doesn't matter as much as doing something effective.

Another piece of food for thought for your future diving is how you see yourself and other divers underwater. You were thinking about yourself -- analyzing and solving your problem. I have a tendency to want to do that, too. But some of us believe that we dive as buddies, or as teams, so that your resources are always greater than what you alone brought into the water -- Whether that's gas supply, eyes to figure out what's wrong, or brains to come up with solutions, you've got more than just you. It's totally reasonable to train yourself that your first response to an issue is to alert your buddy or buddies that something is wrong. Then everybody can think about what to do next. In this case, as several people have mentioned, sharing air BEFORE you were out might have been quite reasonable (although an air-sharing ascent is a big challenge on an OW dive!)

And just one last observation -- Breathing through a snorkel is not very efficient, and snorkelling while having to swim hard is going to make almost anybody feel short of breath and fatigued. This has to do with the length of the snorkel increasing the amount of air you have to move in a minute to keep your carbon dioxide level normal, and there's nothing you can really do about that. Snorkels are good for moseying about and looking at sea life, but they are not very good for significant exercise. Better to keep a gas reserve so you can use a regulator!

 

[TSandM]

Wow -- I read the OPs next post after I wrote mine. An OW class dive done without any attempt to assign buddies? Is that in anybody's standards?

 

[goodeatsfan]

doesn't sound right to me..... no buddies? not right at all.....

 

[cork2win]

My secondary free flows very easily too, and although I'm not ready for the whole "long hose" configuration so many talk about, I seriously need to think about attaching it somewhere more easily seen on my BC, so thanks for posting this because I probably wouldn't have thought about that otherwise.

Great job handling the situation. I'm curious, because this was a checkout dive, if your buddies would have been much help if you told them what happened. They were new too obviously, so I'm curious what they would have done, or would they have panicked?

Also, phooey on the cave diver who ran into you! You'd think that a cave diver who obviously needs more experience to *be* a cave diver wouldn't fall on top of someone! He could obviously use some buoyancy help.

 

[Web Monkey]

Wow -- I read the OPs next post after I wrote mine. An OW class dive done without any attempt to assign buddies? Is that in anybody's standards?

I don't believe a student is required to have a buddy, since he's supposed to be directly supervised by the instructor or DM.

Terry