Who here has done a real life CESA and what was your experience?

[Thalassamania]

I applaud your self reliance and approach, but I question your choice of equipment. Given your approach would a small pony not be a better choice?

 

[boulderjohn]

PADI teach CESA in the OW course, but in the course they say that if you're deeper than 9m (30ft) to ditch your weights. From the posts here this now seems like BAD and unnecessary advice as you could risk DCS. That's my big lesson learned.

FWIW, pg. 158/9 of PADI OW discusses 5 different strategies for 'running low on or out of air'.

No. 3 is controlled swimming ascent, for which it says, to paraphrase, if you're out of air and no-one near enough, and the water is 20ft - 30ft deep or less, you may decide to make a controlled emergency swimming ascent'


No 5. Buoyant emergency ascent doesn't specifically mention a particular depth, it says: 'you're too deep for a controlled emergency swimming ascent...'

So I would say that by inference, PADI are suggesting 9m/30ft as the maximum depth to do a Controlled Ascent ergo deeper than that they suggest a buoyant ascent. That's certainly the reading I took from it.

J

And that is an accurate reading, one that I intended to check with PADI about but put it off until now. The director of training for PADI Americas assured me that PADI's position is in keeping with the concepts generally held in this thread, and he told me that the language has been changed to try to make that more clear.

The latest manual does not use the language you quoted. The language for the CESA retains the troublesome depth suggestion (and I would still prefer a rewording), but the language is not limiting the depth.

The buoyant ascent option now includes this language:

You're going to exceed a safe ascent rate, and that has some serious risks – so use this method only when you doubt you can reach the surface any other way.

 

[just.4.kicks]

I just got certified......this is all so helpful stuff!

 

[dktexas54]

i have a pony 13cuft which attaches to my 80. with my 100' limit, it is usefull when gulf diving like at the flower gardens or rigs etc. traveling to coz,etc it is not practical. the spare air is light and easy to travel with. thank you for your kind reply to my post and hope it will prompt many new divers to invest in a redundant air system and get a qualified instructor to train them on its use and care. i will say to any new divers, get a qualified instructor, dm who has used redundant systems to train you before you jump into the water. remember, spare airs etc are not!!! extra air systems. it is purely for emergency situations. you should plan each dive, and dive each plan.

good diving,

dktexas54