Emergency Drills

[Joshua Smith]

I believe the 7' length comes from that being the right length for the average height divers to be able to share air while cave diving (i.e., swimming one after another). I'm wondering what is a reasonable length for non-cave diving.

The 7' length is still considered optimal, is my understanding- the idea being that if the OOA diver is panicking, 7' is a pretty good distance to have between you.

[John Rawlings]

What's standard length? I've wondered why 7' too - why not 8' or 6'???

7 foot is widely regarded as the standard for long hose configuration. You can get any length you desire if you're willing to pay for it.....but why?

The 7 foot long hose, while initially utilized for cave diving, has become the standard for technical diving of all kinds - deep, wreck, etc., and is readily available.

The long hose is attached to the right post and most divers use it as the primary regulator. The hoses themselves extend vertically down the valves to keep your configuration clean. There are alternative means of placing the long hose. Personally, I have it extended downward under my wing on the right side, then curl it under the base of my canister light, which is on my harness on my right hip. From there it extends across my chest to my left shoulder and around the back of my neck to my mouth. I have found the 7 foot length to be perfect for this type of configuration and I do not feel restricted in any way.

My back-up regulator is mounted on the left post and extends behind my neck. I have a bungie or surgical tube necklace attached to it that places it directly beneath my chin, readily and instantly available should I need it in a hurry after passing the long hose regulator out of my mouth to a distressed diver. Throughout my dives I will periodically exchange regulators for brief periods so that I am confident that my back-up regulator is working properly - then I will switch back to my long hose. Some divers choose to use the shorter hose reg as their primary regulator, but I have chosen to use the 7 foot hose for this purpose. To my mind (and there are certainly other opinions) there are three solid reasons behind this thinking:

1) Taking the regulator out of your mouth to hand it to another diver is in reality quite a simple and easy thing to do, and in fact gives both of you a subtle signal that you are in control of the situation.

2) It lets both of you know that the distressed diver will be getting a regulator that is functioning well and will not be faced with another immediate problem.

3) A panic-stricken diver will almost always go for the regulator in your mouth, since he/she will know, even in a fear-fogged mind, that it WORKS. Should this happen to you, you can then simply pluck the regulator under your chin directly into your mouth.

Here's another opinion for you: I believe that there is no "one way" of gear configuration that works perfectly for everyone all of the time. I feel that each diver is completely responsible for their own safety, gear configuration and skill development. Each and every one of us should take the time to constantly analyze and work with their configuration with improvement as the never-ending, continual goal.

Here's a quote from a man I deeply respect, Tom Mount, the founder of the International Association of Nitrox and Technical Divers, (IANTD), a man well-respected throughout the dive industry:

"Avoid getting stuck in the illusion that only one method of configuration will work. Adopt methods that are applicable to your dive style.

- Always remain an individual and use your freedom of choice.
- It is YOUR safety, YOUR life, YOUR comfort.
- Develop a configuration based on logical analysis of your needs.
- List the logic for each segment of your configuration.
- Be able to explain why and how you configure your equipment.
- Remember that the final word on configuration must be YOURS.

Be prudent, be responsible, be open-minded, be safe, and take the time to do it right."

- Tom Mount

And that, my friends, is a a good philosophy to dive by!

- John

[John Rawlings]

Of course, any gear configuration can be a problem if it's not practiced with and/or if your buddy doesn't know their way around it.

Truer words were never spoken!

- John

[DiverDown]

Of course, any gear configuration can be a problem if it's not practiced with and/or if your buddy doesn't know their way around it.

Truer words were never spoken!

- John

John and Sounder are absolutely right!!! I dont really like to get into gear disscusions like this but I have the motto. It works for me!! Not to say that im stuck with what I dive with just what ive been trained to use..

[John Rawlings]

John - I want to go to Lake Cresent... if Bill's out of town when I finally get all my gear together, will you come with me?! From what I've seen from the boat, the vis is amazing. Is there anything to see at recreational limits?!

Remember....I'm out of the water until December.

Yes, there are things to see at recreational depths in the lake, and Bill darn near knows them all!

My favorite dive there, other than the Warren car, is Sledgehammer Point. The colorful rock layers there are simply gorgeous. You have to be extremely careful, however, because when the vis is great the depth can be extremely deceiving. A recreational diver can easily find themselves well beyond their depth limits if they aren't careful.

- John

[Zen Diver v1]

Here's a quote from a man I deeply respect, Tom Mount, the founder of the International Association of Nitrox and Technical Divers, (IANTD), a man well-respected throughout the dive industry:

"Avoid getting stuck in the illusion that only one method of configuration will work. Adopt methods that are applicable to your dive style.

- John

I love that quote John. It's another reason why I like the IANTD philosophy and am looking forward to doing more training with that organization.

-Valerie

(great long hose explanation, BTW)

[Tangfish]

I like the IANTD philosophy a lot too. It sounds very common sense and flexible.

[lamont]

i'll throw in a plug here for diving the same configuration consistently. even if i'm diving at edmonds in 10 feet of water i'll still take a can light along even though it may be useless and i'll leave it parked, just so that i'll still have the can to hook the long hose under. i also usually dive with two backup lights just to keep used to have the clips on the d-rings (and they tend to keep the d-rings in a more consistent position). if i ever do a dive to 200+ on the governor or 4k ft back in a cave somewhere, i'll be using exactly the same gear config and muscle memory that i've built up over years and won't have to worry about fiddling with anything on a per-dive basis...

i also like to look at it via analogy to computer programming. i could write my own crypto library from scratch, but i use openssl instead so that i don't have to think about reinventing the wheel. or, similarly i may choose to use the SOAP protocol instead of rolling my own xml-over-http transport. SOAP is often like using a sledgehammer to swat a fly for the kind of systems programming that i do, but if the application grows i know that sOAP will be more managable than some crufy xml-based thing that i throw together... similarly, i tend to find myself overengineered for dives that i do, but i'll be able to seamlessly move smoothly into more demanding and higher complexity dives without changing anything...

i shoot for a highly scalable, highly availability scuba gear configuration... now if i could just reduce the maintenance windows and TCO of the platform...

[lamont]

oh yeah, one critique:

and then we finished out the safety stop and surfaced with about 200-300 psi left in his tank (and 1200 in mine).

i've got an SPG in my toolbox which works perfectly fine except it reads 200-300 psi higher across its entire range, including zero. i don't go below 500 psi even on my double-130s where i've still got 40 cu ft of gas left at that reading (if my SPG is zero'd correctly). i'd suggest that at 500 psi (or even 700 psi on smaller tanks) that you wrap up your drills, do your stops and exit...

[Tangfish]

i've got an SPG in my toolbox which works perfectly fine except it reads 200-300 psi higher across its entire range, including zero.

I'd say that this SPG does not work perfectly fine. Though, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to 'calibrate' my SPG against another one, once in a while. But again, I'm not trying to take this to the Nth degree (otherwise it'd probably make more sense not to dive at all, or leave my house for that matter), I'm just trying to be reasonably safe by doing common sense things. Point taken though

While I appreciate that some people like to have their config's consistent every single dive, I prefer to be able to change it around, as needed. This is especially true for me, since I am continually trying out new equipment as a part of my enjoyment of diving and writing about gear. Perhaps eventually I'll settle into a static configuration, but that will also probably signal the demise of my interest in this activity.

I always carry the cell phone in the left pocket, but sometimes I switch, just to keep things exciting.

[Grateful Diver]

I always carry the cell phone in the left pocket, but sometimes I switch, just to keep things exciting.

I always carry an SMB and spool in my left pocket. Yesterday I had to use it.

Not sure how useful a cell phone would be underwater ... I mean, even if ya had it in a plastic bag, reception would probably suck ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

[Joshua Smith]

Diving with the same config consistently just means you've found the one that works for you, and reinforces the original point, IMO. So, why did you need the SMB, Bob?

[Joshua Smith]

oh yeah, one critique:

and then we finished out the safety stop and surfaced with about 200-300 psi left in his tank (and 1200 in mine).

i've got an SPG in my toolbox which works perfectly fine except it reads 200-300 psi higher across its entire range, including zero. i don't go below 500 psi even on my double-130s where i've still got 40 cu ft of gas left at that reading (if my SPG is zero'd correctly). i'd suggest that at 500 psi (or even 700 psi on smaller tanks) that you wrap up your drills, do your stops and exit...

Noted. And a good point. I will say I was watching my air like a hawk, and we were doing our safety stop @ 15fsw as I went below 500, and I certainly wouldn't have planned to share air with my supply so low, but I guess that's what rock bottom pressure is all about. Plus, if we'd planned it, it wouldn't have been a good drill.

[Maverick]

I love taking off my mask under water. I do it all the time. In fact I just did it this weekend with my buddy Jish when Nailer Diverdown and myself were at the satalite dish at mukilteo.

[lamont]

Perhaps eventually I'll settle into a static configuration, but that will also probably signal the demise of my interest in this activity.

there's so much more than gear though!

start learning the names (including scientific) of all the critters that you see down there. i'm just learning how to tell all the common rockfish apart -- brown, vermillion, copper and quillback... i like that i see browns all over cove 2 from the honey bear on down to the i-beams, but its only down near the i-beams that i ever see vermillions... and if i ever get down to the 200+ fsw i'll be able to see yelloweye rockfish (aka 'red snapper').

although with tech diving and doubles, buying a camera and getting a scooter, a truck, a boat (and then a larger boat) and a side-scan there's gear possibilities that i've only just started to scratch the surface of...