Remove DIR plate underwater Weight belt over harness

[JeffG]

So I wouldn't say it's a useless skill. I'd say it's a rarely required skill.

For a recreational dive maybe. On a technical dive, it could be close to suicide. (due to the fact that your rig is usually part of your weighting system. You take it off. It sinks like a rock and you rise like a balloon. Not something I would like to try at depth, having my gas sink and pull the reg out of my mouth.)

 

[TSandM]

Jeff, absolutely. But on a technical dive, I hope to Hades that your buddy hasn't swum off into the murk with no intention of returning!

 

[Jason B]

Jeff brings up a good point and it makes me wonder about the recent cave death at Jackson Blue.

 

[JeffG]

Jeff brings up a good point and it makes me wonder about the recent cave death at Jackson Blue.

<shudder>

I couldn't think of a worse way to go.

Alone, entangled, take off gear as a last attempt to free yourself and that act gets you killed. (If thats how it happened...but I could see the same issue in a wreck...probably the chances would be higher in a wreck.)

 

[cmalinowski]

Jeff, absolutely. But on a technical dive, I hope to Hades that your buddy hasn't swum off into the murk with no intention of returning!

Better not do it on any dive with me... technical or not. There'd be a big can of wh**p@ss waiting for them should they do that

Chris

 

[TSandM]

Well, me too. The only thing so far that puts you on my "Will not dive with this person again" list is taking off on me.

 

[Adobo]

Taking your rig off at the surface is useful for diving off small boats.

Taking your rig off at depth may be critical in just the wrong kind of circumstance. A friend of mine was doing a cleanup dive at a local site, in about 20 feet of water but in poor viz. Her companion swam away from her, and when she tried to follow, she discovered she was caught in fishline. Her buddy didn't return, and she was unable to free herself, and got down to 500 psi (they were toward the end of the dive). She had to take her rig off to see where she was caught and cut the line. By the time she made the surface, she had 300 psi in the tank. Her errant buddy didn't surface for more than five more minutes. Yes, this was a double failure (entanglement and buddy separation) but it could have had disastrous consequences even in shallow water, had she not managed to free herself.

So I wouldn't say it's a useless skill. I'd say it's a rarely required skill.

I always wonder about this "can't get help from my buddy" scenario. If I have to think that through for line entanglements, does that mean that I am rolling the dice when diving a single without a pony bottle?

 

[JeffG]

I always wonder about this "can't get help from my buddy" scenario. If I have to think that through for line entanglements, does that mean that I am rolling the dice when diving a single without a pony bottle?

A pony bottle really would only extend the inevitable. It would be hard pressed to untangle you. It could buy you a couple of minutes...maybe you get lucky...maybe you don't.

 

[TSandM]

Within recreational depths, you have the surface as a last resort for almost any problem EXCEPT entanglement. Being entangled and alone is a death sentence unless you can solve the problem. Running out of gas (something which shouldn't happen absent a very unusual and rare equipment failure) still leaves you a CESA as an option. For that reason, I think it's okay to dive without a pony bottle (particularly with trained buddies) but reasonable to know that you can get out of your equipment if you have to.

 

[Adobo]

A pony bottle really would only extend the inevitable. It would be hard pressed to untangle you. It could buy you a couple of minutes...maybe you get lucky...maybe you don't.

Welcome back!!!


I was not clear as to the point I was trying to make...

The example that TBQ gave was a scenario where there was no buddy available to render aid with the entanglement. For that reason, you would want some level of proficiency so that you could perhaps help yourself.

If we are to consider this to be valid in DIR diving, then the question becomes, why isn't it equally important to almost always dive doubles or be proficient at CESA? After all, if you have to assume that you might be alone when the entanglement happens, then why would you not also assume that you might be alone when you have a reg failure that causes you to go out of gas?