Coroner's Concerns - Divers not dumping weight-belts

[KimH]

Originally Posted by Mark Davies

I think what the Coroner is talking about is ditching your weight once at the surface or near the surface (not at depth) as he seems to be referring to cases where people have been seen to get near the surface and then sink again. It makes some sense if you know you've got problems to get rid of all your weight when you surface and so make sure you don't go down again. Let's face it - if you've got to the surface and are concious you're probably going to live, so the deaths he's talking about were probably avoidable.

But, as Zak says, perhaps we're all just a bit too tight to dump any kind of kit, even if it is just a few quids worth of lead. We practice all other kinds of drills, but who ever actually practices throwing their weight belt away? Of course we don't, so when the shit hits the fan it's not a trained relfex action. Perhaps it should be drilled into us when training that the first thing we do when surfacing in difficulty is ditch the weights - IN ALL CASES.

I agree with Mark, very sound advice at or near the surface. It' would be so easy to go off half cocked and next everyone and their mate will be dumping weight left right and centre. Then there will be a spate of air embolisms and lung expansion injuries that could have been avoided.

[beanie]

Originally Posted by KimH

I agree with Mark, very sound advice at or near the surface. It' would be so easy to go off half cocked and next everyone and their mate will be dumping weight left right and centre. Then there will be a spate of air embolisms and lung expansion injuries that could have been avoided.

theres another bit of advice in the case of a rapid ascent
SCREAM like ****it'll stop your lungs from bursting

[Woz]

My ditchable weight is in 2 parts on my harness so if you drop one side, you'll go up but not Polaris style.

[Dominic]

OK. You remove your DV (this a an adrenaline rush situation remember) and try to orally inflate your BC. You are already sinking down,

Could you, perhaps, give a likely scenario where you'll suddenly become negatively buoyant whilst in midwater..?

[jimbo]

Your BC fails?

[Dominic]

Why? There's not much to attack it in midwater...

Besides, it's not exactly hard to put air in a drysuit to combat that problem. I'd certainly hit the inflate button before I'd think about ditching weight..

[Snash]

Originally Posted by Dominic

Could you, perhaps, give a likely scenario where you'll suddenly become negatively buoyant whilst in midwater..?

You are descending a shot line to a wreck, holding a video camera and not holding the line. Bit of a current and you drift away from the line so you can't see it.

You think x@1s??!! and try to send up a dsmb (non-crack type) in mid water (still holding the video) - during that time you don't monitor your depth and you end up sinking - when you finally check your depth you are a lot deeper than you thought - cue onset of narcs and a serious situation given you only have 2 hands.

Unlikely - yes; has it happened yes Not to me, i might add - i cant afford a video camera.

Regards

Simon

[Dominic]

Right.. well, if I ever get a video camera, I'll make sure I remember those particular issues then

[Mark Davies]

Dom, I think the original quote you posted leads to the scenario you're looking for.

You're in an OOA situation having been separated from your buddy, finning a bit too quickly to get to the surface, the air from your suit automatically venting as you go. When you get to the surface you're negatively bouyant (because like too many divers you're characteristically over weighted and always have been since you trained). You've no air in your tank to fill your BC so you try to inflate it orally. While you do this you sink and drown.

Of course, if you'd just dumped your weight you would have been okay.

(And of course the 'you' in this story is entirely metaphorical - YOU would not be in that position in the first place!)

[Helen F H]

I have dived with a HUGE video camera with two massive lights on it on a night dive. There was a wee bit of swell, but not enough to worry me normally. However, i needed at least one hand on the camera, if not two and it worried me so much i cut the dive short. Just shows how innocent things like that can put you so much closer to the incident pit.