Thought I would try here

[Foo]

I know it's off the subject and might better be asked somewhere else (move me if you need to), but how on earth does one breath off a tank without a regulator? any hoses at all, or what was the deal, please? Thanks!
Foo

 

[Firefyter]

Hi Foo,

This was my instructor, also, and I swear the guy was half fish. He just cradled the tank in his arms, cracked the valve, and breathed the air straight off the tank. He really put us through the ringer in his classes, but he prepared us well to be able to cope with almost anything. You had to watch this guy to believe it...

 

[Dee]

Breathing off a tank was part of our OW training, too. It's really not hard to do, like sipping through a straw. Knowing how to do it is handy to have in your arsenal of skills. We also learned to buddy breath from a single reg, another skill most instructors/agencies no longer teach. It's a skill we still practice today.

Our OW class was 6 weeks long, two 3 hour classroom sessions and two 4 hours pool sessions each week.

 

[Firefyter]

Your OW class sounds a lot like ours, Dee. Ours was 8 weeks, same setup as yours, 3 hours in class, 4 hours in the pool each week. That's what I was talking to Sealskin about a few posts back in this same thread. We had the same instructor, and he made sure we could handle ourselves before he turned us loose, everything from bouyancy to handling free-flows, from breathing off the tank, to sharing a reg. We did bailouts where we jumped in the pool holding all our gear in our hands, and had to put it all on in the water. We also did gear exchanges with other students, and we did all our checkouts, including mask removal and replacement, midwater. It makes me sad seeing how much time has been cut out of the classes in the chase for the almighty dollar. My wife just completed her OW this year, and they didn't cover near the skills we had to learn. I'm not implying I'm a better diver than people in these accelerated classes, but I'm pretty sure I'm more prepared to handle the unexpected.
Okay, off my soapbox now, we're way off topic...lol

 

[Foo]

Thanks for the explanation, Dee & Firefyter. I had a visual of a guy holding the tank in his mouth, kinda like a baby bottle, LOL! Talk about huffing!

Foo

 

[Dee]

Firefyter....Yep, sounds like we had the same type instructor. Those bailouts were actually fun! I know exactly what you mean. There have been several times I was so glad to have learned those skills no longer taught. It's sad to see the training the students get now compared to ours and as a DM it's hard to watch! They turn them loose now at about the halfway point in our class.

 

[sealskin98]

Breathing off a tank was part of our OW training, too. It's really not hard to do, like sipping through a straw. Knowing how to do it is handy to have in your arsenal of skills. We also learned to buddy breath from a single reg, another skill most instructors/agencies no longer teach. It's a skill we still practice today.

Our OW class was 6 weeks long, two 3 hour classroom sessions and two 4 hours pool sessions each week.

Gee, guess I've been outta training for awhile. You're kidding about the classes now, right? Do you have to be in DM class to line your mask with tin foil to do a black-out dive and recover your gear now? My ow manuals were Jeppesen's vol. I and II; ya know, the ones with the blue cover with the couple doin' the head down decent.

Firefyter....Yep, sounds like we had the same type instructor. Those bailouts were actually fun! I know exactly what you mean. There have been several times I was so glad to have learned those skills no longer taught. It's sad to see the training the students get now compared to ours and as a DM it's hard to watch! They turn them loose now at about the halfway point in our class.

Not that I am even close to being a good recreational diver, but damn...train your ppl. before you turn them loose in the ocean.

Guess the training they have now works, ppl. can have fun if they don't push their limits.

My Instructor's son-in-law ran low on air one time in Coz. a few years ago and he positioned himself on his wife's back and she handed him her octo. to finish the dive. Robin said the DM looked a little concerned; I don't blame him. The visual is funny, Jeff just waived at the DM when he did the "You O.K.?"

That works if you know how to do it. Like the old saying, everyone should know their limits.