Requirements for OW Sidemount Training

[CaveBuddy95]

If you loose a tank, its bad!
Can't imagine how but here in Mexico, we have what the Mayans call Aluxes, little creatures living in the caves, I always consider them during my dive plan!
It's been reported that if you enter a cave without previous arrangment with the Aluxes, well, put it simply, it's a bad idea...

[DA Aquamaster]

If you loose a tank, its bad!
Can't imagine how but here in Mexico, we have what the Mayans call Aluxes, little creatures living in the caves, I always consider them during my dive plan!
It's been reported that if you enter a cave without previous arrangment with the Aluxes, well, put it simply, it's a bad idea...

I always consult the metaclorians to ensure the Force will be with me on the dive. Even with the Force being with me, I am not inclined to push to thirds in a low flow cave with a 2 man team in backmount or sidemount.

[Slüdge]

Somebody's a nerd...

(I had to Google "metaclorian" to see what you were talking about.)

[Xenia]

Matt I agree it is still a redundant airsource, so is a spareair, so is keeping in OW where the surface is a viable option for a redundant airsource.........we are talking NON-technical diving here.....no cave, no cavern, no deco, no wreck penetration.

My question "how/where would SM be more beneficial than a single AL tank?????" was a question of medical benefit....Personally, if a single AL 80 is whipping someone's ass, maybe trying to dive two of them (in any configuration) is a bad idea.

Not sure if there are many examples but I have one:

I have seen a lady, very thin and small build (no more than 45kg weight, no more than 1.50m height), and she was OW certified, loved the diving but could not carry an AL80 to save her life. So she was learning how to dive the sidemount on steel 45s. I respect that, I do not understand why a person should not be diving if they cannot lift an AL 80... but I also don't think there are many people that cannot lift an AL 80..

I was on BM at the time I saw her, she was quite fascinated that I could stand up with the doubles (heck I could lift her on my back, she was lighter than the doubles!!). I am not too big either (62 kg, 1.64 m height), but I have strong legs. I did start on BM, got my full cave on BM and now I am on sidemount. I did have a couple of dangerous falls on BM on my back (glad I did not break anything!) that made me reconsider the safety. I also like tight places. I was diving steel 95s, still on 95s but on sidemount.

This is an exception, does not make a rule for OW sidemount at all. Personally I do not see any use of OW sidemount for a recreational OW diver, except for the example above.

[CaveBuddy95]

Difference between metachlorians and Aluxes is that Aluxes exist!!
As for diving 1/3 in Mexico, it's not a good idea. What if the Aluxes...

[DA Aquamaster]

Somebody's a nerd...

(I had to Google "metaclorian" to see what you were talking about.)

Wow...I must have spelled it right. Yay! I'm not sure I am a nerd but it might be sexually transmitted as my girlfriend has "flirty, dirty and nerdy" tank stickers on her doubles.

Edit: Crap...I spelled it wrong - it is midi-chlorians. I guess I lose my pseudo-nerd status and Marci will probably have to dump me now. The good news is Google still works even when your spelling sucks.

In any event the moral is don't dive to thirds in low flow caves on two person teams lest the Darth Vader breathy noises from your breathy thingy stop before you are out of the cave.

[CaveBuddy95]

-comment deleted by author due to lack of content-

[AcDriver]

I have to agree with the saxophone player. A 7' hose when there's no chance of an overhead is just stupid.

How about diving in very cold water far from shore in a single tank config and your regulator starts to freeflow. You shutdown your tank and share gas with your buddy on his long hose. You call the dive and head towards shore. Surfacing means a 10 minute swim in rough cold, windy conditions. Not a good choice. With the long hose you and your buddy start for shore relaxed and swimming efficiently and coming up to shallow depth to outgas in case things go further pear-shaped. After a couple of minutes to 'warm" the regulator in the nice 35 degree water you turn the free flow tank back on and all is well. In the meantime you have made efficient and safe progress towards safety and warmth. Something that would have been a lot more uncomfortable to do sharing gas with a short hose. It didn't seem "stupid" then. It seemed very relaxed and safe and smart. I can't imagine diving without a long hose.

Just because you CAN surface doesn't mean that surfacing is always the smarter thing to do.

Sorry for taking this thread EVEN FURTHER off topic.

[DA Aquamaster]

How about diving in very cold water far from shore in a single tank config and your regulator starts to freeflow. You shutdown your tank and share gas with your buddy on his long hose. You call the dive and head towards shore. Surfacing means a 10 minute swim in rough cold, windy conditions. Not a good choice. With the long hose you and your buddy start for shore relaxed and swimming efficiently and coming up to shallow depth to outgas in case things go further pear-shaped. After a couple of minutes to 'warm" the regulator in the nice 35 degree water you turn the free flow tank back on and all is well. In the meantime you have made efficient and safe progress towards safety and warmth. Something that would have been a lot more uncomfortable to do sharing gas with a short hose. It didn't seem "stupid" then. It seemed very relaxed and safe and smart. I can't imagine diving without a long hose.

Just because you CAN surface doesn't mean that surfacing is always the smarter thing to do.

Sorry for taking this thread EVEN FURTHER off topic.

It's a good example and I have done exactly that in the past.

The accepted OW doctrine is if you have a freeflow or other failure, you surface immediately, but the reality is that this "ascend immediately" doctrine was adopted in an era of buddy breathing and continued to make sense when the only option was a short hose air share where the ability to swim efficiently was compromised. The long hose adds additional options and in general, assuming the diver does not get confused by them and make poor decisions, more options are better than fewer options. If you dive long enough, even in OIW, you will encounter problems that can be resolved in a safer and/or more efficient manner using a long hose.