Am I the only instructor that can shoot a bag 50 times for real without a screw up and not thinking about it – and then keep my class in stitches when I try to demo it?
Shooting bags ... and other ways to look like a fool
- Thread starter jeckyll
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dsteding
Contributor
One of my early bag shots caused Bob to coin the term "underwater macrame."
We were in about 35 fsw, off the bottom a bit. I got my bag out (this is a big, semi-closed bag that probably has 50 pounds of lift), deployed my long hose, inflated the thing, and let it go. I'm feeling good, the line is humming off the spool, things are great, I switch back to my primary and pat myself on the back. Signal to buddy to start ascending . . . and . . . I am so focused on reeling it up that I get a bit behind on my ascent, I'm not rocketing up, but am wondering why I have so much slack in the line (not the line dummy, it is you going up . . . ). I swim some circles trying to get things under control, realize I've come up about 10-15 feet, and at this point there is line EVERYWHERE.
Bob was hanging out the whole time observing, seeing how me and my buddy would handle it (my buddy was watching and laughing). I ended up with line on my fins, line on my valve, line all over the place. I got my buoyancy under control at about 20 feet, swam over to my buddy, who stopped laughing long enough to untangle me.
Good lesson, and unfortunately, I still hear about it
underwater macrame.
We were in about 35 fsw, off the bottom a bit. I got my bag out (this is a big, semi-closed bag that probably has 50 pounds of lift), deployed my long hose, inflated the thing, and let it go. I'm feeling good, the line is humming off the spool, things are great, I switch back to my primary and pat myself on the back. Signal to buddy to start ascending . . . and . . . I am so focused on reeling it up that I get a bit behind on my ascent, I'm not rocketing up, but am wondering why I have so much slack in the line (not the line dummy, it is you going up . . . ). I swim some circles trying to get things under control, realize I've come up about 10-15 feet, and at this point there is line EVERYWHERE.
Bob was hanging out the whole time observing, seeing how me and my buddy would handle it (my buddy was watching and laughing). I ended up with line on my fins, line on my valve, line all over the place. I got my buoyancy under control at about 20 feet, swam over to my buddy, who stopped laughing long enough to untangle me.
Good lesson, and unfortunately, I still hear about it
underwater macrame.
The first time I did an ascent while managing a bag, I lost control of the ascent at ten feet and flew to the surface, arriving there entirely festooned with line and laughing hysterically. My buddy made a more deliberate ascent and regarded me with consternation. But that was nothing compared with what happened during my Rec 2 class with Joe Talavera. There, I tried a midwater bag shoot which started poorly, when I couldn't get the bag and spool out of my pocket and sat at 40 feet contorting like an uneasy python trying to figure out why it was stuck. Then I shot the bag okay, but again lost control of the ascent in the shallows and ended up, for the first time ever, blowing to the surface FEET FIRST, where I hung from my inflated feet and contemplated the fact that all the techniques I had been taught for correcting this problem depended on having one's fins IN the water, which mine most definitely were NOT. I'm quite ashamed at how long it took me to come up with the idea of inflating my wing to get my head above water . . .
For those having trouble inflating bags in cold water, Joe's tip is to put the inflation valve into the CORNER of your mouth, rather than the front. Seems to help.
For those having trouble inflating bags in cold water, Joe's tip is to put the inflation valve into the CORNER of your mouth, rather than the front. Seems to help.
fairybasslet
Contributor
I never learned this in AOW. I learned how to do it for the first time on a liveaboard in Thailand. Got tangled up the first time I tried. The second time I did fine. There was only one SMB between buddy pairs and my buddy wanted to do it the rest of the time because she was having a lot of problems. BTW, the SMB wasn't on the list of stuff to take on the trip. I had never done diving where the pangas pick you up from where ever you happen to end your dive.divedadepths:
SteveFass
Contributor
Yeah, not sure but I got the idea it was not standard in an AOW class to teach how to use an SMB. However I felt it was important to learn, I brought one with me (and a spool) so I'd learn on my own gear, and I asked nicely and repeatedly. It also helped that my instructor loves diving, tech diving, and teaching/talking about diving.
It was never mentioned on ours. We learned in DIR-F. Everybody kept forgetting to take a quick look overhead before letting the bag go.divedadepths:
kidsdream
Contributor
The day after Xmass my son and I went diving out of Tavernier.
On our second dive on a shallow patch reef (30' max), I had planned to deploy my SMB (a 50lb bag) for practice. As I forgot to bring my finger reel down to the Keys, I had borrowed a reel from the dive op.
Well the reel was a little stiff and would not completely "free wheel", and was an older Manta model. This all adds up to the thin line jamming around spindle. I tried to slowly ascend while I dealt with the issue. In the end I just went to the surface, just a bit faster than I normally would.
Good thing I did not have this happen at 50' or so during a drift off of Jupiter of Palm Beach.
Good reason to:
1. Practice your skills
2. Use your own equipment
3. Have a finger reel available for SMB's
On our second dive on a shallow patch reef (30' max), I had planned to deploy my SMB (a 50lb bag) for practice. As I forgot to bring my finger reel down to the Keys, I had borrowed a reel from the dive op.
Well the reel was a little stiff and would not completely "free wheel", and was an older Manta model. This all adds up to the thin line jamming around spindle. I tried to slowly ascend while I dealt with the issue. In the end I just went to the surface, just a bit faster than I normally would.
Good thing I did not have this happen at 50' or so during a drift off of Jupiter of Palm Beach.
Good reason to:
1. Practice your skills
2. Use your own equipment
3. Have a finger reel available for SMB's
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It's also a good time to remember that bags and reels are more expendable than your health ... and much cheaper than a chamber ride.kidsdream:
Had a reel jam on me a couple weeks ago on a dive when I didn't have the option of coming to the surface ... I had an 18-minute deco obligation.
Shot the bag at 70 feet. The line got wrapped around the reel handle, and rather than risk getting pulled up I chose to let the bag fly and start my ascent. On the way up my buddy shot his bag. After making our stops and surfacing, I was able to retrieve the bag ... I ditched my rig (doubles and deco bottle) and made a 25-minute swim with just mask and fins.
Bottom line ... don't "ride" a fouled bag to the surface ... let it go. If you or your buddy have another bag, shoot it and make a controlled ascent. Chances are you'll be able to recover the one you let fly ... and if not, you won't have put yourself in danger of getting bent trying to "save" it ...
... Bob (Grateful Diver)
