Reeling off wreck (ascent)

[Diver-Drex]

It has worked for me. You still need to deal with more current in Florida than we typically see up here but I don’t know why it wouldn’t work. And if you’re already carrying the sisal it’s now dual purpose. I’m guessing your Jon line is heavier than I’m using. I’ve thought about changing to 1/2”, I have the room in my pocket for it and the heavier line will be easier to handle at depth.
I also thought about tieing end of the line bolands at each end. Then I could just pass one end around the piece of wreck and then through the other boland. This would save having to tie a square knot at depth wearing gloves. Maybe your Jon line is set up that way?

 

[Billy Northrup]

I followed his instructions on the Jon Line.

Dive Locker | Shadow Diver | John Chatterton

 

[lowviz]

Did that exactly once on the Sea Lion.

The kid took off chasing god knows what and it was (and remains) my charge to keep him safe. I got lost. Loop your line once around something solid, clip back onto to your reel, and begin a proper ascent. With any luck at all, you can un-clip at the surface and get everything back. If your line is too short, then you have to make your hard decision at a much less demanding depth.

 

[Diver-Drex]

Did that exactly once on the Sea Lion.

The kid took off chasing god knows what and it was (and remains) my charge to keep him safe. I got lost. Loop your line once around something solid, clip back onto to your reel, and begin a proper ascent. With any luck at all, you can un-clip at the surface and get everything back. If your line is too short, then you have to make your hard decision at a much less demanding depth.

Don’t just drop the reel. Clip it to the line and let it go. It will slide down the line and stop once it hits your tie off. Yes, you’ll be further from the wreck but you’ll still be attached to the wreck. That is as long as the line doesn’t get cut. The sisal ‘leader’ can prevent that from happening.

 

[lowviz]

I clip the reel to me, loop the line (once) under a part of the structure that isn't likely to cut the line, then clip the end of the line to back onto the reel.

Takes twice as much line to get to the surface, but I very rarely dive more than 100'.

 

[Diver-Drex]

I followed his instructions on the Jon Line.

Dive Locker | Shadow Diver | John Chatterton

Cool. Just make the eyes big enough to pass your reel through.

 

[Diver-Drex]

I clip the reel to me, loop the line (once) under a part of the structure that isn't likely to cut the line, then clip the end of the line to back onto the reel.

Takes twice as much line to get to the surface, but I very rarely dive more than 100'.

Yes, you’ll have the line running ‘up and down’. It seems from your description that you have no marker up or your using a separate line or spool to shoot the bag?

I did exactly what you are saying with a buddy once. Actually he had the reel and I had the smb on a spool and we stayed together. All good until he dropped the reel at about 40fsw. From that point we were drifting and after clearing our deco we ended up 400 yards from the boat.

I do it a little differently now. I shoot the bag immediately, then wrap the reel around the wreck or use the sisal leader and then I go up the ascent line with the reel clipped onto it. I can do this solo and it does a few things. First, it gets an smb on the surface right away so the boat knows where I am going to surface. Second, the way you do it the line is being pulled over the tie off point during you ascent. That’s a lot of potential to cut the line. The way I do it the tie off is static so there Is little chance of it being cut. Third, if I drop the reel it just slides down the ascent line to the tie off and my line stays connected to the wreck. Last, if I’m with a buddy and they do the same thing the boat knows there are two of us and if one drops the reel or a line gets cut we have a redundant smb and line secured to the wreck to ascend on.

 

[lowviz]

Yep, completely understand your procedure. Just added my .02 as an alternative and wanted to make that procedure clear as it is quite uncommon.

There was no current and I wasn't far from the upline. A bag on the surface gives captains heartburn where I dive. I just didn't know where the line was and decided to spider up for a look-see.

 

[Gareth J]

It's not a technique I would consider in the UK. I can see me back on the seabed the length of the line downstream of the wreck.

DSMB ascents are generally preferred, on occasion, a direct ascent up the shot line might be viable.
But the effect of tide in most of the waters we dive makes that a potentially risky option.
I have bailed out from a shot line ascent on to a DSMB a good few times now, as the shot has passed me on the way to the seabed . A proper shot has a serious amount of buoyancy.

We almost lost a complete trapeze because the window was too tight. The divers on the trapeze cut the jump line and saved it. The rest of us had to resort to DSMB's, we lost the shot .
The skipper was a bit miffed, an easy day tracking the trapeze, turned into an afternoon chasing the trapeze and 4 pairs on DSMB's. And he didn't get his shot back.

 

[lowviz]

I'm guessing that you didn't do that on a 60' dive. Two different worlds...