trouble recovering bc from pool bottom

[Oldbear]

I had a friend who use to teach in Atlanta. He told me that when he did his Instructor's course, the very first thing he did was climb the ladder of a high diving board with full kit; d'off it and throw it into the deep end of the pool. Then he had to jump in and d'on his gear UW before surfacing.

What a way to start a course...

 

[ladyfishdvr]

Its ten weeks total 3 hours every Tuesday. Most instructors don't take just one student but this one does. I am very lucky because he is a good instructor and I have learned a lot from him. From reading some of the other forums I think I lucked out.

 

[Primalchrome]

I had the regulator in my mouth and was breathing but did not go zen. If I had I would have been golden. I need to practice the going zen part.

One thing that might help is the next time you get some free pool time, drop to the bottom and just relax. Take your mask off and just sit there for a few minutes and let go. You have gas you have time....just enjoy those few moments where your boss isn't around, your kids don't need you, and traffic is far out of your mind. I suppose you could say that you're helping condition yourself and establish a comfort zone that can help you stay calm later.

 

[boulderjohn]

For those of you who do not realize the reason most agencies dropped this drill...

A couple of decades ago, a major conference on training safety was conducted. It found that most injuries during scuba instruction were occurring during the teaching of the Controlled Emergency Swimming Ascent (CESA). As a result of that conference, most agencies developed very strict guidelines around the teaching of the CESA, demanding very specific protocols for instructor control during that process.

In the exercise being discussed here, after the student ditches the gear, the student must do a CESA to reach the surface, almost always unaccompanied by an instructor.

A couple of years ago a student in a scuba class in the University of Alabama died performing this skill. He suffered an arterial gas embolism because he held his breath, however briefly, during the ascent.

This can be a very effective drill for students, as long as they don't hold their breath.

 

[rongoodman]

I understand the no-mask, no gas swims I've had to do in various tech classes, but the above exercise makes no sense at all to me.

 

[KD8NPB]

The more nervous you are, the more the onset of CO2 on the breath hold will affect you.

Relax. You should be able to hold your breath for at LEAST 50 seconds... that should be more than long enough to find a regulator to cram in your mouth, and find the rest of your gear.

I had to do this drill for my NAUI OW class. The instructor was close by the entire time. He said if he saw anyone ascending without exhaling after breathing off a regulator, he was going to punch them in the gut. :lol:

 

[Oldbear]

...The instructor was close by the entire time. He said if he saw anyone ascending without exhaling after breathing off a regulator, he was going to punch them in the gut. :lol:

My guess is about 9 out of 10 male students might find this statement humorous, motivating and/or fitting to the training; probably less for female students. So what makes it an appropriate statement to those students left out and uncomfortable by it?

 

[261311]

My CESA was done by my instructor horizontally in 2 lengths of a 20 foot pool. You do one lap with him horizontally at the bottom, take a puff of your reg, go back to the other side. He's with you the entire time but it gives you a decent feel for a really deep ascent safely. He also didn't let you move anywhere and made you restart if he didn't see constant exhalation. I don't think this is such a bad idea actually given if someone decided to hold their breath because they were scared during a CESA it would be lateral with no pressure differences. We also did this with our buddies once and without a mask being guided by our buddies.

 

[Sleepdr]

My guess is about 9 out of 10 male students might find this statement humorous, motivating and/or fitting to the training; probably less for female students. So what makes it an appropriate statement to those students left out and uncomfortable by it?

It's not PC, but a punch to the gut would probably cause the punchee to involuntarily release a breath they were holding. Although couched as a joke, a timely blow to the belly could actually stop someone from holding their breath & suffering an overexpansion injury.

 

[ladyfishdvr]

Is an overexpansion injury likely in 10 foot of water?

Nevermind. I see that it is. Dumb question. I should know better.