Why don't we emphasize cesa more??

[almitywife]

OP, are you saying that NAUI no longer teaches cesa??

 

[trtldvr]

Unless I missed an update, and I don't think I did, NAUI still teaches CESA.

 

[Adobo]

After the fiasco of diving with my incompetent nephew, and how little he knew about cesa, I met up with my sister and brother in law (both NAUI master divers). I suggested that we should practice cesa in the shallow. My sister said, this is really an "advanced" skill, and should not be done by OW beginners. Of course, I would never argue with a "NAUI" master diver!

I just read through my DAN magazine about how 1/3 of divers death in 2003 (I could be wrong in the exact fraction, but it was high) were due to out of air situations. One case pointed out a scuba instructor who ran out out air and died from pulmonary embolism.

If folks like divemaster (one here on this board), and dive instructors (on the current DAN magazine) are getting air embolism - maybe we are not emphasizing cesa enough. Technically, if your airway is open and you are saying "ahhhh" or whistles through your regulator, or without your regulator, you should not get air embolism, right??

Are air embolism occurring because of preexisting pathologies in their lung, or is it that we, as a group, are not practicing cesa enough??

Personally, I prefer to be on preventative side of these things. In other words, good buddy skills and proper gas planning should eliminate most of the scenarios that would require CESA. Actually, I personally prefer planning my dives as if CESA was not an option at all. That way, I stay on top of how much gas I have and stay within reach of my redundant gas (on my buddy's back).

If the gas planning your nephew employs is the "be back at the boat with 500psi" variety, then it might not be a bad idea to send him some info on "rock bottom" or "minimum gas".

 

[Nemrod]

It is not taught because of legal problems. Instructors carry insurance through their respective agencies and I am pretty sure they specify what types of things are covered and not covered in an instructional setting. Going outside those bounds leaves the instructor open to being sued--maybe.

Learning to do a "free" ascent from the deep end of the pool is not such a big deal but apparetly the lawyers think it is and they control what is taught and not taught in the USA. After all--if you perform a complete Doff and Don then there is a free ascent involved. This was taught for years because it was a combined watermanship skill demonstrating various masteries of dive skills.

Knowing how to do something and never having to is different from not knowing and having to.

N

 

[fisherdvm]

Gas Planning, Buddy Skills and S-drills can really eliminate the need to ever do a CESA

Don't know if I would buy this. Rentals do fail. First stages do fail. Second stages do fail. Assigned buddies are usually worthless buddies. S-drill assume that your equipments do not fail.

Why can't you just be prepared? The better prepared, the more likely you will execute the ascend safely. When dive instructor and DM dies from pulmonary embolism, my question would be - did they cesa, or did they hold their breath?

 

[fisherdvm]

OP, are you saying that NAUI no longer teaches cesa??

Absolutely not. NAUI as an organization seems to overemphasize this skill - for good reason. That is why it surprised me when my lowly PADI training suggested it, my sister would promptly negates it. I am just a PADI-wan learner.

I think my sister was initially SSI OW, then later NAUI master diver. I imagine if she was NAUI OW, she would've said otherwise.

 

[Luis H]

For several decades I have always considered the surface as the most reliable alternate air source. It always has plenty of air, it never malfunctions, and I always know exactly were it is. Why the big objection about using the surface as an alternate air source?

A “free” ascent is a very basic skill.

Granted it is only available in non-overhead environments (including no decompression dives, and dives to a reasonable depth only).

 

[MBH]

I know that SDI requires CESA both in the pool and in the final OW check out dives.

I agree that with proper gas planning and good teamwork I should always have an available supply of gas but....as for a CESA... I'd rather know it and not need it, than need it and not know it.

 

[Vtdiver2]

Could be fear of having an accident while practicing? The Navy had a training tower to do a simulated escape from a submerged submarine. The tower was not operational when I was there so I have never personally used it. Ho Ho all the way to the surface. (Then Die of hypothermea in the North sea, Sharks in warm water)

I got the chance to do the Ho-Ho's while in sub school. They closed the tower within a year afterwards while I was at EB, waiting for my boat to be built and going thru sea trials.
C-Dawg

 

[Adobo]

Don't know if I would buy this. Rentals do fail. First stages do fail. Second stages do fail. Assigned buddies are usually worthless buddies. S-drill assume that your equipments do not fail.

Why can't you just be prepared? The better prepared, the more likely you will execute the ascend safely. When dive instructor and DM dies from pulmonary embolism, my question would be - did they cesa, or did they hold their breath?

Is that what happened to your nephew? His regulator failed? If so, it seems somewhat harsh to characterize him as incompetent.