What if you forget your BC?

Please register or login

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.

Benefits of registering include

  • Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
  • A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
  • You can make this box go away

Joining is quick and easy. Log in or Register now!

BigTuna

Contributor
Messages
306
Reaction score
2
Location
NJ
# of dives
500 - 999
How about a post about a nice, simple, Sunday afternoon dive....

It was Sunday. Buddy and I met at the little swimming beach for a simple dive down the gentle slope to the 13 foot deep sandy channel, where we'd update ourselves on the wildlife and make some bubbles.

When Buddy looked in the back of his vehicle he realized he'd forgotten his BC. What to do? Well, my standard kit, that I always dive with, includes a 30 cf pony bottle that I sling. If he was willing to hug it, that might be a solution. He was, so he did a quick weight check to make sure he could get down, slinging the weights with a rope in a manner that would allow him to ditch them if need be.

So we commenced the dive. At the channel, Buddy found a foot-long corkscrew thing that we think is used for anchoring buoys. That was a handy find, allowing him to crutch along just above the snapping claws of the crabs that refused to be herded. We stayed close, counting the flounders and the babies in the flounder nursury. We returned past mussle city at the base of the pilings near the beach, missed the seahorses that are said to live in the city, and acquired beards as we worked the dive float over the swim area boundary rope, which was draped with sea grass.

We had a simple, 20 minute dive on something less than 30 cf of gas. We had as much fun as we would have had on a 100 foot dive to a wreck, and without the hassle. Nobody asked who Buddy's scuba instructor was....

I hope you have as much fun on Sunday. [PS Next time we'll be properly equipped!]
 
Dove for years and years without BCD. I would be comfortable diving with out if necessary. Would adjust weights for max planned depth and go diving. I have not forgotten mine yet! Always a first tho.

Regards,
 
Good job! Never let little things cancel a dive.
Had a similar situation up at the lake a couple of years ago. One of the guys had left his BC and weights... I happened to have a day backpack in the truck; a couple of bungies and zip-ties and voila! A backpack for the tank. He carried a rock around as buoyancy control, picking different sizes to suit depth and gas consumption over the course of the (very nice, by the way) dive.
Rick :)
 
Back when dinosaurs roamed the Earth, people would dive with nothing but a tank, a reg and a little weight. That's about all there was.

I suspect that would be a good way to start or finish an OW class, since it would force the diver to be correctly weighted.

Terry

BigTuna:
When Buddy looked in the back of his vehicle he realized he'd forgotten his BC. What to do? Well, my standard kit, that I always dive with, includes a 30 cf pony bottle that I sling. If he was willing to hug it, that might be a solution. He was, so he did a quick weight check to make sure he could get down, slinging the weights with a rope in a manner that would allow him to ditch them if need be.
 
Rick Murchison:
Good job! Never let little things cancel a dive.
Had a similar situation up at the lake a couple of years ago. One of the guys had left his BC and weights... I happened to have a day backpack in the truck; a couple of bungies and zip-ties and voila! A backpack for the tank. He carried a rock around as buoyancy control, picking different sizes to suit depth and gas consumption over the course of the (very nice, by the way) dive.
Rick :)

I like the backpack idea. Very very clever. And a rock....That is a very primitive dive. :D
 
Web Monkey:
Back when dinosaurs roamed the Earth, people would dive with nothing but a tank, a reg and a little weight. That's about all there was.

Terry
He’s not kidding and it wasn’t that long ago.

There were no gages, no bc, no pony, no mega protection thermal suits, no fancy high tech masks, no octo’s or seconds, no long or short hoses and not much that everyone relies on in today’s world. I won’t even go into the skills between then and now.

As little as 25 years ago, I think the Dino's were gone then :D most of the above either didn’t exist or wasn’t used for one reason or another.

Suits were so hard to get into and out of that a lot of dives were done without one because it was easier to put up with the cold than the suit. Panty hose were the norm for getting into a suit.

There was just no way to put a long hose on a double hose and have it work. You sucked on the tank until breathing got hard and that was your signal to start heading up. A “J” valve was about as high tech as it got. Good buoyancy control was a must and done with your breathing.

So be thankful for what you have today.

What BigTuna and buddy did was some good thinking on their part. They just reverted back a few years and continued with the dive like it was yesteryear. Good job.

Gary D.
 
I think the big difference is the wet-suit I used in 1970 (Spirotechnique) was less than 5mm and a lot more rigid than modern wet-suits. So the buoyancy change from 0 - 10m was a lot less.
I doubt if I'd be able to dive my current 7mm without some sort of compensation device.
I'd probably have to carry a bucket or something to serve as a lift bag. ;)
 

Back
Top Bottom