Tigerman:
Tigerman: A controlled free ascent is a real option. It is certainly not the best option. Proper gas management, situational awareness, etc. will, in almost all cases, prevent the OOA free ascent. From my own personal experience the free ascent was a last option while diving with a trusted buddy in the days before redundant systems, octos, pony bottles etc. I had been diving with the same buddy every weekend for over two years. We made at least 4-6 dives each weekend. We always practiced buddy breathing at the end of our dives. On this particular dive we were boat diving off Point Loma in San Digeo, on the "pipeline", looking for a nice abalone dinner. We ran into a group/family of abs @ about 60-80 FSW. We both got busy measuring and collecting our 4 ab limit. My friend was wearing a J valve steel tank. He breathed the last 500 PSI and headed for me. I was tucked under a boulder measuring an ab when he pulled on my fins. I turned to see a saucer eyed diver who ripped my reg out of my mouth. I tried to hang onto to the reg and waited for him to take 3-4 breaths and give it back. I did have a spg gauge and I had about 600+ PSI at the time. I pulled on the reg to ask for a breath and my friend clamped down on the mouthpiece still breathing heavily. Our tanks were just on a backpack. I undid my tank and reg and PG and rolled out of it. My friend was still in a panic mode. I did my best to tuck the steel tank between his legs. I then began a free ascent. Without the steel tank I was positive. I was also in a very dense kelp forest. I kept one hand on my weight belt buckle and headed up at about a 45 degree angle looking for some sunlight in the kelp. When I found a clear patch I went vertical. Since we had trained NASDS we had practiced free ascents multiple times. I remembered to keep my head back and my airway open, blow small bubbles, and flair at the end of the ascent to slow down. It all worked. I popped up about 40 feet astern of our small boat. I inflated my BC and was trying to decide what to do next when my friend hit the surface in a sea of bubbles, He had dropped his weight belt but still had my tank and my reg was in his mouth. After we got back in the boat His comment was: "I was just going to give your regulator back." Maybe he was.
So, I know, from personal experience, that what we now call CSEA is, in fact, a real option. It does not mean that we did not make mistakes, even in the 1971 time frame, it just means that the OP had some merit. I've had several real world buddy breathing experiences since, some due to fairly serious equipment failures, never another free ascent.
