Skipping the pre-dive checks

[PfcAJ]

There are some important things, like having your gas turned on. There are some less important things, like which pocket your spare double ender is in.

What gets me is that it seems like you're viewing the pre dive sequence as some sort of rigid 'if I don't do this im unsafe' thing, and its not at all like that. GUE EDGE is a tool, mostly for class. You say you went over all this stuff before getting on the boat, but then say you didn't talk about gas. Well which is it? You can't discuss gas pre-boat then suddenly un-discuss it...

So really the only thing here that's valid is a gear check. Look over your buddy. You can see what's what without doing a head to toe bit-by-bit match. Its pretty obvious if something major is missing.

 

[rjack321]

I haven't asked someone if they have their fins or their hood since class..

To me the core things are:
gas on (the actual selection of the gasses happened long ago, and we confirmed as we loaded the boat, we don't need to go over it again)
backup reg in place, (not behind the head)
correct reg in mouth (e.g. the stage reg not the deco reg by accident)

For any kind of 'serious' dive we have already gone over the gas plan, the deco, the exposure, the navigation etc. We'd discuss that I had an SMB and a backup mask long ago. Yes its possible that I forgot them on the boat or that I "thought" they made it into my pocket but didn't. Is that going to be fatal or make for a miserable dive? Probably not because the chances of us all forgetting those things like that are pretty small. If I had to I'd wear your backup mask or you could wear mine. It would leak but wouldn't be a disaster.

If its not a serious dive and we haven't mentioned all these things before hand at least once, then I trust you enough to turn around on gas appropriately or we can discuss it on the bottom later.

 

[TSandM]

We had most definitely discussed the gas PLAN. But we had not confirmed (although each of us had checked his own, apparently) that the tanks still had the amount of gas in them that we thought they did.

I did not expect to do a GUE EDGE on the boat. It had been done beforehand. But I am truly amazed at all of you apparently feeling that, once you have enough experience, doing a gear check is no longer necessary. Fascinating.

 

[rjack321]

It has nothing to do with experience. Its about getting in the dive under adverse conditions.

As far as I can tell from Peter's description he had checked all his major systems, just not under your oversight. Can't say I blame him for saying "screw this puking business let's go." If we both had breathable regs in our mouths I would have done the same. As long as you got something suitable to breathe, everything else which can go wrong or get forgotten is a mere inconvenience.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I haven't asked someone if they have their fins or their hood since class..

I recall a dive a few years ago out on Jock's boat when Bones was just getting back in the water after a rather lengthy time out (surgery, I believe). Got out to the dive site, as he backrolls in I noticed something missing. He came up with a surprised look on his face and I picked up his fins from next to where he was sitting and said "Looking for these?" He said "I've gotta get back on board, right now" ... apparently he hadn't completely zipped his drysuit.

After a suitable amount of laughter we tossed him a line ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[TSandM]

Well, I have to admit I don't put "dry suit zipped" in my equipment check . . .

 

[lv2dive]

Are you thinking about adding it ;-).

Great story btw!

Well, I have to admit I don't put "dry suit zipped" in my equipment check . . .

 

[eelnoraa]

The good part about DIR training is that we all dress a like. By simple looking at a teammate, quite a few things can be caught: necklace, drysuit hose, trapped light core, gauge missing/wrong arm, knife missing, weight belt missing, fin keeper missing .... . With familiar teammate, I usually know what tank they are using. After gear up, I usually check gas on, purge 2nd stages, bc inflation/dump, drysuit inflation/dump, psi, make sure long hose isn't trapped. All the post gear up check take less than a minutes, so I don't see why not. Then bubble check in water.

Learned a habit from my instructors, always turn on backgas before getting in the rig. Always here means every single time even it is just a gear fitting test at home. so far, I like this habit

 

[jadairiii]

• Tony Smith. Saturday June 26, 1999. Tony was a New York technical diver, trimix certified and very experienced.
  On the ride out to a North Carolina wreck in 135fsw, he put his gear together,charged his regulators, and then turned his tanks back off.
  When they anchored the wreck he put his steel doubles on, clippedan aluminum 80 to his side,put his weight belt on over his dive skin, and put the crotch strap on over his weight belt.This was his first dive of the year without a drysuit.
  
  He jumped over the side without turning his tanks on, and with his inflator hose not attached. He sank like a stone.
  
  He was found on the bottom with 4000 psi in every tank, and all tanks turned off.

And his buddy was where? Sounds more like a Rule #1 violation than a failure to do the GUE EDGE.

 

[gitterdun]

When conditions are crappy, I will go through gear checks/dive plan, while on the boat. I do insist on doing a modified S-Drill, before descending, no matter what. I have been that puking diver, more times than I remember (I even feel sick on a shore dive, if there is a lot of wave action), but I never miss the mod. S-Drill. That is one of the most important things, no matter what the situation. I want to make sure my buddy's long hose is free, in case I need it.

I remember a dive that we were doing, when another team decided to give some of the steps a miss, and one of the fellows didn't know that his argon/airgon bottle was not turned on. At 150', he couldn't move, or signal much, to his buddy (his buddy did realize, and did turn on his bottle - although, he could have also checked it, on the descent). He had some serious bruises, when he surfaced.

It takes 2 minutes to go through "GUE EDGE," even if most of it is on the boat.