Pool session gone awry...

[MikeFerrara]

BTW,

as non certified divers you should not have been in the pool without an instructor.

Yes. Uncertified divers aren't supposed to be in the water on scuba without direct supervision.

The instructor should already know.

 

[Mike Newman]

There's been a lot of good advice here. Respecting the view that the two of you were unwise to be drilling together without supervision (but there's no law against it - SCUBA certification remains industry regulated, no more) I still think that the intention was excellent - to develop confidence and improve your individual dive skills. Well done.

The concern about your husband's determination to bolt for the surface is well founded - but you are both very new to the sport. Be forgiving and try to imagine how you might have reacted. Rather than causing you to be embarrassed by discussing this with your OWI - I think that they would be pleased to talk the matter over with you, reassure you about regulator performance and pick over the rights and wrongs of the situation.

You won't be going to 50ft on your qualifying dives. That's not a concern. And your instructor or a certified assistant will be on hand to stem any panicked ascents anyway.

DO get over this episode - look on it positively - as an experience from which both of you have learned.

I go back to my original statement - your determination to drill and practice is admirable - it will stand you in good stead. Perhaps though, if you don't already, spend a few minutes thinking through 'what ifs?' before you start.

Enjoy your diving and keep the faith - especially in one another.

 

[waterkitty]

Tell your instructor. That's what he's there for, to help you learn SCUBA so you can be comfortable with it.

 

[fmw625]

I lost a fin before I could inflate my BCD during emergency surface swim in OW cert. Even though I had a perfectly good tank/reg. and about 1000 lbs. of air, I was locked into OOA drill and behaved accordingly. ie. dump weights, let bouyancy do its thing. Just before I dumped my weights though the instructor grabbed me and inflated my BCD from the LP hose. I guess your husband was also locked in OOA simulation and simply reacted to the water in his mouth. I would bet that he never forgets this lesson and will be a better diver for it.

 

[Rick Inman]

...I was locked into OOA drill and behaved accordingly. ie. dump weights, let bouyancy do its thing. Just before I dumped my weights ...

Profile says PADI. I never heard of actually dumping weights during OOA drill. Instructors, is this correct?

 

[lairdb]

Yup, everything. And no light cheating, totally dark room.

Have Priscilla lay everything out in another room. Everything ready to dive. For back entry zipping up won't be counted but self dawning will.

It's a neat eye opening drill.

It's unbelievable for building familiarity and comfort with equipment.

(Admission: I've never done it with dive gear, but we used to do it with firearms regularly. Par time for assembling a Glock from field-strip to condition one was 6 seconds, and from full disassembly (every single part separated) was about 3 minutes. (Getting the spring cups inserted correctly in the dark is fairly finicky, as is the orientation of the striker tension spring.))

(Variations were to mix in some parts from the wrong firearm, or extra parts -- a Colt extractor thrown into the box will severely confuse matters 'til you figure out what's going on. This might be interesting in the dive context, too: "is this my reg? it's got a yoke, it's got the right number of hoses... ha! second stages feel different! not my reg!")

 

[Diver0001]

Profile says PADI. I never heard of actually dumping weights during OOA drill. Instructors, is this correct?

No. It's a last resort in case of self rescue. Once on the surface dumping weights to make positive buoyancy in an emergency is pretty much standard but not under water.

The order for (self) rescue/abort under water is

1) normal ascent
2) aas ascent
3) cesa
4) BB ascent
5) buoyant ascent (dump weights)

Everyone should have learned this in OW. It's in the book. In the pool sessions you do AAS as donor and receiver stationary, swimming and ascending but always with weights on. That's the PADI system. BB used to be mandatory at OW but it isn't anymore and most instructors I see around me don't teach it now until rescue. That's how Padi does it.

R..

 

[Diver0001]

It's unbelievable for building familiarity and comfort with equipment.

(Admission: I've never done it with dive gear, but we used to do it with firearms regularly. Par time for assembling a Glock from field-strip to condition one was 6 seconds, and from full disassembly (every single part separated) was about 3 minutes. (Getting the spring cups inserted correctly in the dark is fairly finicky, as is the orientation of the striker tension spring.))

(Variations were to mix in some parts from the wrong firearm, or extra parts -- a Colt extractor thrown into the box will severely confuse matters 'til you figure out what's going on. This might be interesting in the dive context, too: "is this my reg? it's got a yoke, it's got the right number of hoses... ha! second stages feel different! not my reg!")

Wow. You're a regular Forest Gump man!

R..

 

[String]

No. It's a last resort in case of self rescue. Once on the surface dumping weights to make positive buoyancy in an emergency is pretty much standard but not under water.

The order for (self) rescue/abort under water is

1) normal ascent
2) aas ascent
3) cesa
4) BB ascent
5) buoyant ascent (dump weights)

Everyone should have learned this in OW. It's in the book. In the pool sessions you do AAS as donor and receiver stationary, swimming and ascending but always with weights on. That's the PADI system. BB used to be mandatory at OW but it isn't anymore and most instructors I see around me don't teach it now until rescue. That's how Padi does it.

R..

Buddy breathing ascent is AFTER cesa ?

Surely its better to ascend in a controlled slow manner and if needed perform stops than just to "go for it" ?

 

[Boatlawyer]

I would say put yourself in your husband's place. You decide to pull a surprise ooa drill and then blow it up by bolting to the surface. You know you messed up spouse knows you messed up and now spouse wants to tell instructor so s/he can tell you that you messed up.

Just out of curiousity, how long have you been married?