spare air advice

[Puffer Fish]

man if I get all of that than Iwill not be going on muy next vacation and get to use the new equip. in my bath tub.

2 questions. wha is a bp/w and what is that in your avatar? trying to fiure it out. is it a scorpion fish?

Well, you don't have to get everything at once.. howabout a nice reg first...then save for the next item. Consider getting some of the better regulators used and having them serviced, or looking for really good deals.

 

[gary-ramey]

Can we stop with the battle about Spare Air, everyone one here knows they are not worth the money and a pony is a much better idea.

BTW to all you anti pony users who say even a pony isn't worth the money and effort, you have no idea what kinda of divers you are talking to or what types of buddies those divers have. I had a scenario just a few days ago where one of the people in my group would have been otta air for the deco obligation and knowone had enough air to share really (except me) so I gave him my pony. I understand there are many details left out of that story and for good reason. There is no good reason not to carry a redundant air supply, even if you never plan to use it like me, someone else may need it.

So I think everyone agrees that if you're going to be diving past your no-deco limits that a spare air would be stupid. Personally I own two SA's and like them. They pack well for my trips to Mexico and Florida. I've never run out of air and my wife and I are good buddies but on occasion, as is typical in diving one buddy gets distracted looking at something cool while the other also finds something of interest. This leads to some separation. I typically stay above 90ft on all my dives and more often than naught, I'm at 40-60. There's no false "sense of security in diving" If you own a Spare Air you should practice ascents with it from different depths before needing it in an emergency. Its like any other piece of equipment, its useless if you don't know its limits but helpful if you do.

 

[Damselfish]

Man, if I tell you. one thing that remember from class is that as an OW certified diver you are not allowed to go under structure without further training. the dive master kew that all except one person in the bunch was OW certified. Yup, he took the whole bunch under what I call a tight crevase style semi cave. I call it that as they allhad to go single file and the top had ocational openings here and here. however, the openings were too small tofit through. ou go it I was the only one that did not follow the bunch. Did I make a mistake? I'm not sure. My buddy was behind me but did not follow my lead and instead followed the heard. So I found myself alone on top of this reef head but could easily see all of the divers about 10 to 12 feet from me. I also know that my dive profile was no te best as I had to ascend 10 feet than back down onthe other side. this thing was about 40-55 or so feet long. was I right? I was not going to take a chance in there. I think that if one person was to get into trouble in there would have spelled trouble for the person in front and behind him/her. I was not taking that chance and made a decision to forgo the cave like natural structure.

You did fine, and it's good you're thinking about this stuff. This kind of thing is usually called a swimthrough. If you don't want to go through for whatever reason, you shouldn't. And while of course you don't want to be bouncing up and down like crazy for no particular reason, sometimes there's a good reason to change depth like that. A 10ft detour to avoid something you don't want to do is a good reason.

Some people are against rec divers going through swimthroughs, and others don't have a problem with it. In any event it's very common to go through these in tropical places. But if you're not comfortable doing it for any reason - including that you're with a group you anticipate will be a mess in there and you can't manage to be first - then you shouldn't. Often some people will go through and some will go over - though it's nice to have discussed this ahead, and at least have acknowledgment from your buddy at the time on what each of you is doing.

 

[gary-ramey]

The best response to an emergency situation is another diver who is paying attention to you. A real buddy you are communicating with, not a same ocean diver.

Sorry but unlike serious tech divers, reef divers typically get distracted by everything around them. They dive less than 20 times a year and often find themselves paired with another diver on the boat they don't know. I'm fortunate my wife and I stay together most of the time but there are times when I linger with a subject, that she will scout the immediate area for other stuff. Usually within eyeshot but often it takes 10 seconds to locate her. If I had an actual equipment failure, the spare air would go in and I would then locate her.

 

[OceanicRocks]

Don't have it on this computer.. will PM the whole fish tomorrow to you.

woa... that is spectacular. great shot too! I wonder how big was it? The don't get longer than about a foot do they?

 

[Puffer Fish]

woa... that is spectacular. great shot too! I wonder how big was it? The don't get longer than about a foot do they?

Yes they do... the whole picture is much nicer...he(or she) was about a foot long.

Edit... you mean the scorpion fish? That was about 2 feet long.

 

[OceanicRocks]

Sorry but unlike serious tech divers, reef divers typically get distracted by everything around them. They dive less than 20 times a year and often find themselves paired with another diver on the boat they don't know. I'm fortunate my wife and I stay together most of the time but there are times when I linger with a subject, that she will scout the immediate area for other stuff. Usually within eyeshot but often it takes 10 seconds to locate her. If I had an actual equipment failure, the spare air would go in and I would then locate her.

agreed totally about the part of reef divers distractions. I often stare at the polyps of a gorgonian. If you know what that is, than you would know that you have to get it within about 2" from your mask to see this. it takes a second to refocus on a distant buddy let alone swim to him/her. I don't have my wife when I dive. So my buddy is whomever. I don'tknow him/her and niether do hey know me.

can you tel me why you carry two spare air vs. one? TY

 

[Mmm Scuba]

How about a Spare Air integrated into an AIR2? Now that would be cool!!

 

[Sideband]

I'd rather be floating on the surface bent and alive than floating at 40 feet not bent and not alive.

Alas, I fear your logic is doomed to be disregarded in favor of continuing the argument!

The logic is faulty. Out of all of the options available, several of which include safe, controlled ascents or even never even running out in the first place, the two of you are HAPPY with being bent on the surface?

How about monitoring your air supply and never running out of air?
How about properly planing the dive so you never run out of air?
How about staying close enough to your buddy that if the first two fail you have a reliable supply of air?
How about aborting any dive where you find it impossible to stay close enough to your buddy to stay safe?
How about carying a sufficient redundant air supply so that if you fail at the first three you can make a safe controlled ascent?

Instead you choose the option that you know in advance will likely end with you bent on the surface? i just don't get it.

 

[OceanicRocks]

You did fine, and it's good you're thinking about this stuff. This kind of thing is usually called a swimthrough. If you don't want to go through for whatever reason, you shouldn't. And while of course you don't want to be bouncing up and down like crazy for no particular reason, sometimes there's a good reason to change depth like that. A 10ft detour to avoid something you don't want to do is a good reason.

Some people are against rec divers going through swimthroughs, and others don't have a problem with it. In any event it's very common to go through these in tropical places. But if you're not comfortable doing it for any reason - including that you're with a group you anticipate will be a mess in there and you can't manage to be first - then you shouldn't. Often some people will go through and some will go over - though it's nice to have discussed this ahead, and at least have acknowledgment from your buddy at the time on what each of you is doing.

thanks for responding to that... I thought I did the right thing. It was just too tight in there. I would hate to think what people would do if someone panicked if they saw a morey. It just seemed to be a bad idea. I also thought about going around the reef but than I feared getting lost in the maze. it was like a maze down there. Its amazing how different a dive site is from one another. eve on the same island. I suppose if it was a high reef mountain like others in the area than I would have gone around as opposed to up and over. I guess I expected my buddy to follow me since he was right behind me but I was the only one on top. but kept an eye on him through the cracks and occational crevises. just about the only thing the dive master did right in this situation was stop after the swimthrough and count how mny peple got out. man if he had to count than I don't think it should have been attempted. I think at the widest point it was about 8 ft. and I could see in some areas it was around 5 ft. I know teck divers would lough at this and say they have been trough a 2 ft opening or opening where you have to take your equipment off and pass it through. but I'm not certified for this kind of thing and I did not trust the divers at the resort already so I figured better to pass. I think anyone thinking would have done the same.

I am glad to say that I have been to many places and all have proved to practice very safe diving with good equip, planned the dives, had a short talk before and after and performed a safty stop with deepest dives first on a two tank dive ect. However, it only takes one of these types of expieriences to realize how imprtant it is to get a dive computer and other essentials just in case and start taking responsability in your own hands nd not have to rely on another for critical info or other.