trouble recovering bc from pool bottom

[Jim Lapenta]

Yep, I even demonstrate how I wil deliver the blow and where before we get in the water and, most improtantly, reiterate why it will be done. It's not like delivering a haymaker. It;s a shove to force the diver to exhale. Cripes acting like it's an assault is why kids are getting suspended for eating a pop tart into a shape some teacher thinks looks like a gun. We are making a nation of wusses.

 

[Oldbear]

I understand what you guys are saying about punching a student in the gut and why you beleive it should be done...it is just not a teaching style or method I will use.

 

[CT-Rich]

I always liked doff and don. One of the keys to it is being neat when taking off your gear. I put the fins under the tank and fold the mask inside the BCD, lay the weight belt across everything and the reg on top. When you go down to recover the gear, put the reg in your mouth, face the tank with the valve towards you and transfer the weight across your knees and put the mask on and clear it. put the tank on using an an overhead lift, sliding the arms through as the tanks slides down. Lay the belt flat on the pool bottom as if you were going to back into it and take it in your left hand and roll it on to you as you do a barrel roll in the water. Check the straps, get the fins on and swim away... If you are organized you will make it look easy and you can play it out in your head before you actually have to do it.

 

[Cosimo_Zaretti]

Well the pool was closed tonight due to a kid throwing up in it.

Did someone punch them in the gut?

I didn't have to do this skill, but I did have to remove my BCD and tank at the bottom of the pool while keeping my reg in, then get myself back into it and properly readjust all the straps. I think drills like that help familiarise yourself with the gear, if you can get it on and off at the bottom of a pool, you've probably got the hang of where everything goes. The school where I was certified does all their diving from an RIB, so at the end of the dive you get out of your gear and pass it up before climbing up over the side, so you get plenty of practice getting in and out.

As it happened on one of my first shore dives a few weeks out from certification I had to do a forward entry off the end of a rock shelf into surf. As I hit the waves the back inflate BCD floated and I didn't. The ageing velcro on the cummerbund gave way and the shoulderstraps pulled straight through their adjustment loops. I'm somewhere under the whitewater and not really attached to my gear anymore. Refer back to that pool skill get myself back in tighten shoulderstraps, find reg, clear mask, stick my head up and give the OK sign. The only danger was to my dignity if I'd washed back up on the rocks without my gear, but it was nice to have that confidence that I could just solve the problem.

I sent a nice thankyou message back to my instructor for getting us well familiarised with the gear.

 

[ladyfishdvr]

Taking off the gear at the bottom of the pool and putting it back on was easy for me. It is the lack of depth perception and getting my body down to the bottom that was my issue. I was swimming and swimming and looked like I was no closer until suddenly I was. By then my confidence and concentration was off as well as breathing too heavy.

And I seriously doubt the kids mom punched him in the stomach making him throw up!

Funny thing about this is I saw my instructor at a dive club meeting and he asked me if I was posting out here because he ran into someone at a recent Beneath the Sea show who mentioned this thread. He is not on scuba board so I am printing out this thread for him to give him as a handout at our next class.

 

[fnfalman]

Taking off the gear at the bottom of the pool and putting it back on was easy for me. It is the lack of depth perception and getting my body down to the bottom that was my issue. I was swimming and swimming and looked like I was no closer until suddenly I was. By then my confidence and concentration was off as well as breathing too heavy.

That's the whole point of the drill: building confidence. It's do-able, but it does need some extra effort from the diver.

 

[SeaCobra]

Taking off the gear at the bottom of the pool and putting it back on was easy for me. It is the lack of depth perception and getting my body down to the bottom that was my issue. I was swimming and swimming and looked like I was no closer until suddenly I was. By then my confidence and concentration was off as well as breathing too heavy.

And I seriously doubt the kids mom punched him in the stomach making him throw up!

Funny thing about this is I saw my instructor at a dive club meeting and he asked me if I was posting out here because he ran into someone at a recent Beneath the Sea show who mentioned this thread. He is not on scuba board so I am printing out this thread for him to give him as a handout at our next class.

that was me, I know your instructor and I had a hunch about where you were taking your class. Keep up the good work

 

[scuba andy]

How you getting on ladyfish?

 

[ladyfishdvr]

Well last night was Scuba Tuesday. I practiced my surface dives and got much more efficient at it. He let me wear some weight so I could get down to the bottom without fighting body fat. Before I took off my gear I scoped out a spot near the wall and on a blue line at the bottom of the pool. First try I was not ready and only went down half way. Concentrated on my breathing, which someone out here gave me some practice tips on and that helped. Got down second try, grabbed the air, wrapped my legs around the bc and got my breathing under control. I was still to floaty so decided to put the bc on. I did struggle with that a little, looking like an upside down turtle, but finally got it on and buckled. Then I began to look for my mask which I had kicked about four feet away when I was playing upside down turtle. In hindsight I should have clipped that on to the BC like I did my fins. I brought two carabiners for the BC just to clip my fins on since last time I lost them. Anyway, I found my mask, put that on and cleared it. Sat down unclipped and put on each fin. Grabbed a superball that was bouncing by on the bottom of the pool and headed up slowly. He had different drills for me to do the rest of the night.

When I took everything off at the bottom I had it layed out nicely so the regulator was easy to see and get, and my mask was sitting on the bc and fins clipped to the bc. I practiced taking the mask off before ditching the gear and found if I pinch my nose as soon as I get it off, it made it easier for me to adjust to the flooding of water on my face so that was no longer a problem for me.

Having a plan helped, so thank you everyone for all of the great advice. Getting my breathing under control was key. Knowing where all the parts of my gear were helped. Ditching the gear near the wall and the blue line made it easier to locate. I think he was surprised I ditched where I did but it was a much smarter place to ditch. Being ok with the no mask helped as I was able to get the BC on without it mainly by feel. It was the first time using my own fins so being able to clip them to the BC made that a no issue. If I had to do it again, I would clip the fins both on one side and the mask on the other side. Knowing where everything was on the BC by feel also helped, and that's mainly because he has brought the same BC for me every week so I am familiar with it. There were weights in the BC as well.

So HUGE THANK YOU to everyone!! I feel more confident in my ability to do the quarry dives. I learned a lot from this exercise. Getting my breathing under control so I have time to think was a biggie. I really appreciate all of the advice and help that I received here. It made a difference.

 

[Oldbear]

...
So HUGE THANK YOU to everyone!! I feel more confident in my ability to do the quarry dives. I learned a lot from this exercise...

Congratulations Ladyfishfelt...A job well done.