Signed up for DIR-F...

[JeffG]

I will be switching to a much smaller balloon though since it's easier to deploy.

Switch to the one you will use...not to one to make it easier....If they are both the same thing...bonus...otherwise pratice with the one you will use.

 

[jplacson]

Well, essentially they are... most of the other people in class had these huge SMBs. Understand that the conditions we dive in... are relatively calm... currents yes... swells... eh... a 2-foot swell is already a pretty large one in most dive spots in the Philippines.

Our 2 GUE instructors said that the huge 6-foot 50lb SMBs are nice to have, but a bit over-kill for recreational use... a bit tougher to control as well if you're not used to them.

 

[El Orans]

Lessons learned:
* Thou shalt not drop thy spool when deploying thy liftbag;
(It's a good thing it only fell six feet)
* Thou shalt check thy pressure gauge often to prevent an OOG-situation.
(Luckily it only happened while we were ascending after our safety stop. Should have checked more often since my buddy had close to three times the volume of EAN32 than I was carrying... :11: Being distracted by drills is not an excuse)

On the bright side:
* Valve drill went well;
* It felt good to be back in the water after my less than great previous dive.

Laurens

 

[Diver0001]

Lessons learned:
* Thou shalt not drop thy spool when deploying thy liftbag;
(It's a good thing it only fell six feet)
* Thou shalt check thy pressure gauge often to prevent an OOG-situation.
(Luckily it only happened while we were ascending after our safety stop. Should have checked more often since my buddy had close to three times the volume of EAN32 than I was carrying... :11: Being distracted by drills is not an excuse)

On the bright side:
* Valve drill went well;
* It felt good to be back in the water after my less than great previous dive.

Laurens

Sounds like you get a good learning experience every time you go out

When you realized you were out of gas, what did you do?

R..

 

[El Orans]

When you realized you were out of gas, what did you do?

R..

Asked my buddy for his primary, and got it a split second later.

Laurens

 

[Reinoud]

Lessons learned:
[...]
* Thou shalt check thy pressure gauge often to prevent an OOG-situation.

I wonder about you dive plan when you were suddenly out of gas...
Did you do a rockbottom planning?

 

[El Orans]

I wonder about you dive plan when you were suddenly out of gas...
Did you do a rockbottom planning?

No. The plan was to descend, do several drills (valve, OOG, SMB deployment, mask removal) and ascend again. I checked my gauge on the ascent, just before deploying the SMB, still had 70 bar left, would normally be enough.
Drill took more time than expected (first time in open water with gloves), had an OOG while doing the safetystop (in the last minute). My bad.

I assumed (didn't check) that my 10L tank had 200 bar, it didn't, just 180 bar. 200 Bar would have been sufficient.

Laurens

 

[Charlie99]

The plan was to descend, do several drills.

Drill took more time than expected, had an OOG while doing the safety stop.

Didn't you have a freeflow that escalated into a runaway ascent, with what you initially suspected was DCS, just 2 weeks ago while doing other drills for DIR-F?

Perhaps you should consider slowing down a bit, and just diving the new rig to get used to it, with just a basic gas sharing drill at the beginning of the dive.

Your July DIR-F is still a long ways off.

 

[Diver0001]

I checked my gauge on the ascent, just before deploying the SMB, still had 70 bar left, would normally be enough.

I'll say. Normally you can deploy an SMB with one small and one big breath. That's about 4-5 litres of air on the surface. Maybe 10 litres at 10 meters which is about 1 bar on a 10 litre tank.... How were you deploying your SMB?

Big improvement on your air-sharing, though. I bet you were happier with it this time.

I assumed (didn't check) that my 10L tank had 200 bar, it didn't, just 180 bar. 200 Bar would have been sufficient.

The idea is to plan for the gas you had, not for the gas you wish you had. 180 was also enough if your dive was planned accordingly. In any case promise to watch your pressure better and get in the habit of checking it after you do things that require a lot of concentration or effort.

R..

 

[Snowbear]

As you will find out, one of the things emphasized in your DIRf class is awareness....

...of your buddies, your depth, your gas, your time...

...and then they add task loading and still expect you to be aware of all this :11:

Sounds like you're learning something every dive... keep it up, Laurens