Bailout, too much of a good thing?

[chrisMc]

Having done the calucations its quite scary how much you do need and will go through.

Planning for 3 hour run times 80-95m, my figures were 10l 15/60, 16l 36/30 and 15l 80%. This is without a reserve and 25l/min, quite a lot if your carrying it yourself.

I run on a combination of own and team bailout, and drop bottles.

120 mins or less, I dont need my buddy and will have enough by myself. when the bottom time means above this (about 25mins at 90m) I will stay closer and ensure I wont lose my buddy. Also try and avoid extensive penetration etc.

If I was at the end of my BT on a 3hr dive, lost my buddy and bailed out, I know I wouldnt have enough. I'd use the 15/60 to get me to 35m missing any stops below this. Then goto my intermediate stage. I'd monitor this and skip/shorten some of these stops, ensuring I got the drop bottle in plenty of time. I'd then go onto the 80% drop bottle knowing I could do all these stops. I'd extend them as much as possible with whatevers left, or further drop bottles.

this would be a bend it mend it fix, and Id expect symptons, but it should be minor rather than life threatening.

oh and I carry 10's with a drop bottle, same for the buddy with identical gasses.

[ibbo]

having bailed at 20m on to an ali 80 following a co2 hit i can work out my required gas. my only hope is that team bail out works, or my consumption drops once on to shallow deco.i used 50 bar in 4 mins.

there is no way i can carry enough for all circumstances.

[Shaunzxr]

Originally Posted by SoggyFox

been thinking through some bailout strategies and having spent a weekend with a couple of guys on a boat with different thoughts on bailout. What do you do in planning your bailout and then diving it?

do you plan your bailout to come out clean from any deco obligation with something left over, including an elevated SAC to start with at the early stages of bailing out.

do you know how much gas you have in your bailout tins and accept that there is a chance that while you'll make the surface, you've probably missed stops and will need observing when your back on the boat.

or do you ascend like a homesick angel and hope for the best.

i think this is relevant for both recreational CCR and trimix CCR, i use a 7lt with 28% on most wrecks down to 40ish but beyond that its a couple of 11lt with a deep mix and 80%, might be over kill with the 11's at the moment but in the long term it appears a rational choice to me. I know down to 40m it may be touch and go if the 7 will at times fully cover any deco i've racked up but i accept that i should be able to make the surface and get help but going deeper i tend to think that having more than enough and some left over just in case is the way to go. I know its contradictory but i feel i can accept the risk.

your thoughts and general slagging of my approach welcome.

Along the same lines as you
Only I plan 40L a minute on bottom gas 20L deco
I plan an OC bail at nominal conservatism in V-planner and put it on a slate for each dive I do.
I note the depth of my first stop. If I bail I will be heading for that stop, no messing altering computers etc, I'll do that when I get to the stop.
I will complete all stops with amount of gas carried and will finish with onboard O2 OC to make sure.
At present I wont dive the dive unless I am carrying the gas I need to complete my stops, but thats just me, I'm happy to team bail, just feel better relying on me.

I've met a lot of divers doing depths with no where near enough bailout.
They think they have enough because they only breath 11L a minute.

When the shit hits the fan you breath that fast you think your reg's free flowing.

[Moray Brown]

50% is a shit deco gas for a 75m dive, why would you choose that?

Originally Posted by Steve Jones

I have a 7 litre of trimix for my deep bail out mixed to 18/40

My other bail out is also a 7 litre with 50% nitrox.

I also have a 7 litre drop cylinder on the boat, again it is 50% nitrox.

The above set up is what I would use to about 75 metres, deeper than that and I would switch the 7 litre bottom bail out to an aluminium 80 cylinder, with appropriate gas mix for the depth (PO2 of 1.6 approx, and enough helium to give an END of 40 metres)

Steve

[dragon25]

explain why you think 50% is shit for a 75m bailout deco mix ,just curious
Adam

[Digger]

I think it's a lovely gas if you're only carrying 2 stages, but then bailing out with 2 tins from 75m you are on the edge even with 2 x 12l.

Digs.

[gobfish1]

is it friday night already .. bullshite nght comes round so fast ..

of to the pub , see ye later

[Mark Chase]

Bail out should be planned with common sense in mind. IE if its any sort of C02 hit or serious FUBAR then your going to be breathing like a train.

But for how long?

This is the $24,000 dollar question.


Personally I plan deep bailout on a SAC of 20 which is what id expect to average. I expect to start around 30 and get it together back to 15. Then my intermediate bailouts are planned on 15 with my normal deco SAC being around 8-10

I carry enough gas to get me out on a 10/100GF plan but i have the option of drop tanks and pure 02 CCR to soften this plan if possible.

I dive 10/90GF as a rule so I don't consider 10/100 to be massively aggressive.

If you don't have enough gas???

Well obviously you cant breath sea water so you empty what you have got and then go up and take your chances.

In a cave id take 150% of what I needed and stage the bottles but then cave is a totaly different ball game.

ATB

Mark