Sport Kiss Incident

robinfante · 19th December 2005, 17:53

Maybe incident is too strong a term, let's say experience. Yesterday I went out to dive the uboat off Block Island. I splashed right after the the tie-in team, but 80 feet down ran into some trouble. The DSV kept tugging at my mouth, something definitely not right. I fussed with it for about 10 seconds, until the work of breathing shot up, and I decided to get off the loop and think. Flipping the dsv to oc, I took a couple of breaths, went to offboard bailout, and then started back up the line. After a minute a light bulb went on, and I turned on my back to look at the hoses. The strap had parted, causing the entire loop to come out of the case. I climbed back onboard a bit chagrined, and examined it. I had expected to see that the clips had come undone, but instead the velcro strap holding one clip had parted, leaving the two ends still buckled together. Because the clip is so tight, I had loosened it a bit to make a more secure connection, thereby weakening the strap and causing it to fail. I replaced the damn velcro with a more secure strap and buckle (the kind you thread through and pull to tighten) and had a nice couple of dives. I'm pretty through with the velcro strap, it doesn't offer sufficient ease-of-use to justify its inherent weaknesses vis-a-vis a simpler strap and buckle.

Not exactly how I had intended the dive to go, but I was pleased I kept a cool head, sorted out my options, and formulated a plan that got me home. A good lesson learned, and considering the 5' viz perhaps the most valuable part of the day. I'm just glad it didn't happen deep in a wreck, that would very surely have sucked.

Has anyone else had a similar experience?

***debersole*** · 19th December 2005, 19:23

I have not had that happen but I was warned about it by my instructor in my training class (Thank you, Alan!). To keep that from happening I have glued the velcro together so that it "can't" come apart. It hasn't been a problem so far, but my experience is limited.

Thankfully, your incident was only an inconvenience. It, obviously, could have been much worse. Congrats on keeping a clear head, appropriately bailing out and aborting the dive.

**trob09** · 19th December 2005, 19:28

Quote: (Originally Posted by robinfante)

Maybe incident is too strong a term, let's say experience. Yesterday I went out to dive the uboat off Block Island. I splashed right after the the tie-in team, but 80 feet down ran into some trouble. The DSV kept tugging at my mouth, something definitely not right. I fussed with it for about 10 seconds, until the work of breathing shot up, and I decided to get off the loop and think. Flipping the dsv to oc, I took a couple of breaths, went to offboard bailout, and then started back up the line. After a minute a light bulb went on, and I turned on my back to look at the hoses. The strap had parted, causing the entire loop to come out of the case. I climbed back onboard a bit chagrined, and examined it. I had expected to see that the clips had come undone, but instead the velcro strap holding one clip had parted, leaving the two ends still buckled together. Because the clip is so tight, I had loosened it a bit to make a more secure connection, thereby weakening the strap and causing it to fail. I replaced the damn velcro with a more secure strap and buckle (the kind you thread through and pull to tighten) and had a nice couple of dives. I'm pretty through with the velcro strap, it doesn't offer sufficient ease-of-use to justify its inherent weaknesses vis-a-vis a simpler strap and buckle.

Not exactly how I had intended the dive to go, but I was pleased I kept a cool head, sorted out my options, and formulated a plan that got me home. A good lesson learned, and considering the 5' viz perhaps the most valuable part of the day. I'm just glad it didn't happen deep in a wreck, that would very surely have sucked.

Has anyone else had a similar experience?

Glad it worked out for you. I think two of my OC buddies were on that trip, were you on the Seeker?

decoweenie · 19th December 2005, 19:34

It has happened to a lot of people on the Sport-KISS.

One even had his clip loosen after the jump but not completely off, then found his CL floating next to him at depth (50-60m ?).

One of the solution I taught is to put a zip-tie across each of the velcro to make sure they won't part.

When jumping from boat/etc, also make sure to land not perfectly vertical as the force of the water rushing in will be too much for the velcro to hold. If there is a ladder and practical to do, climb down it instead. If you have to jump, place your hands underneath the case to use them blocking the water force.

WBA · 19th December 2005, 19:57

Not had a similar experience but was warned of it. Tried the strap/buckle thing but it didn't work quite right. What I've done is melt a hole through the velcro and secure it with a small bolt - much like a crotch strap. I'm fairly confident it's not going anywhere.
BTW, thanks for the hose weights.

Quote: (Originally Posted by robinfante)

Maybe incident is too strong a term, let's say experience. Yesterday I went out to dive the uboat off Block Island. I splashed right after the the tie-in team, but 80 feet down ran into some trouble. The DSV kept tugging at my mouth, something definitely not right. I fussed with it for about 10 seconds, until the work of breathing shot up, and I decided to get off the loop and think. Flipping the dsv to oc, I took a couple of breaths, went to offboard bailout, and then started back up the line. After a minute a light bulb went on, and I turned on my back to look at the hoses. The strap had parted, causing the entire loop to come out of the case. I climbed back onboard a bit chagrined, and examined it. I had expected to see that the clips had come undone, but instead the velcro strap holding one clip had parted, leaving the two ends still buckled together. Because the clip is so tight, I had loosened it a bit to make a more secure connection, thereby weakening the strap and causing it to fail. I replaced the damn velcro with a more secure strap and buckle (the kind you thread through and pull to tighten) and had a nice couple of dives. I'm pretty through with the velcro strap, it doesn't offer sufficient ease-of-use to justify its inherent weaknesses vis-a-vis a simpler strap and buckle.

Not exactly how I had intended the dive to go, but I was pleased I kept a cool head, sorted out my options, and formulated a plan that got me home. A good lesson learned, and considering the 5' viz perhaps the most valuable part of the day. I'm just glad it didn't happen deep in a wreck, that would very surely have sucked.

Has anyone else had a similar experience?

jondive · 19th December 2005, 20:34

I found I'd lost part of my clip yesterday just before a dive out of littlehampton (UK) but a good old elastic bungee saved the day. Not pretty but did the job!

aquaxel · 20th December 2005, 08:10

a loose velcro happened to me to. i replaced the velcro with cable ties. never had any problem since then.

prharris · 20th December 2005, 10:55

This happened to another memeber of the list on our training course.
He did a stride entry and the strap came undone, fortunatly it was spotted on the surface, I think that he fixed it with a longer strap.

Sue · 20th December 2005, 11:05

Hopefully this never happened to me, what I got instead was to have a cylinder loose with the impact in the water. My buddy has managed to put it back and I could go on with the dive.

Sue

nl_carey · 21st December 2005, 09:49

I've had the velco straps holding the counterlung retainer in place, but not a big problem and replaced with zip ties.

19th December 2005, 17:53	#1 (permalink)
robinfante I have a smoking gun Current Rebreather/s: Megalodon Prism Topaz MK 15.X Other Rebreather/s: Sport Kiss Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: mountain lakes nj Posts: 159	Sport Kiss Incident Maybe incident is too strong a term, let's say experience. Yesterday I went out to dive the uboat off Block Island. I splashed right after the the tie-in team, but 80 feet down ran into some trouble. The DSV kept tugging at my mouth, something definitely not right. I fussed with it for about 10 seconds, until the work of breathing shot up, and I decided to get off the loop and think. Flipping the dsv to oc, I took a couple of breaths, went to offboard bailout, and then started back up the line. After a minute a light bulb went on, and I turned on my back to look at the hoses. The strap had parted, causing the entire loop to come out of the case. I climbed back onboard a bit chagrined, and examined it. I had expected to see that the clips had come undone, but instead the velcro strap holding one clip had parted, leaving the two ends still buckled together. Because the clip is so tight, I had loosened it a bit to make a more secure connection, thereby weakening the strap and causing it to fail. I replaced the damn velcro with a more secure strap and buckle (the kind you thread through and pull to tighten) and had a nice couple of dives. I'm pretty through with the velcro strap, it doesn't offer sufficient ease-of-use to justify its inherent weaknesses vis-a-vis a simpler strap and buckle. Not exactly how I had intended the dive to go, but I was pleased I kept a cool head, sorted out my options, and formulated a plan that got me home. A good lesson learned, and considering the 5' viz perhaps the most valuable part of the day. I'm just glad it didn't happen deep in a wreck, that would very surely have sucked. Has anyone else had a similar experience?
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19th December 2005, 19:23	#2 (permalink)
*debersole* Moderator Current Rebreather/s: Sport Kiss Dolphin Azimuth Other Rebreather/s: Sport Kiss Classic Kiss Dolphin Azimuth Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Lakeland, Florida Posts: 262	Re: Sport Kiss Incident I have not had that happen but I was warned about it by my instructor in my training class (Thank you, Alan!). To keep that from happening I have glued the velcro together so that it "can't" come apart. It hasn't been a problem so far, but my experience is limited. Thankfully, your incident was only an inconvenience. It, obviously, could have been much worse. Congrats on keeping a clear head, appropriately bailing out and aborting the dive.
(Offline)

19th December 2005, 19:28	#3 (permalink)
trob09 . Current Rebreather/s: Megalodon Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 701	Re: Sport Kiss Incident Quote: (Originally Posted by robinfante) Maybe incident is too strong a term, let's say experience. Yesterday I went out to dive the uboat off Block Island. I splashed right after the the tie-in team, but 80 feet down ran into some trouble. The DSV kept tugging at my mouth, something definitely not right. I fussed with it for about 10 seconds, until the work of breathing shot up, and I decided to get off the loop and think. Flipping the dsv to oc, I took a couple of breaths, went to offboard bailout, and then started back up the line. After a minute a light bulb went on, and I turned on my back to look at the hoses. The strap had parted, causing the entire loop to come out of the case. I climbed back onboard a bit chagrined, and examined it. I had expected to see that the clips had come undone, but instead the velcro strap holding one clip had parted, leaving the two ends still buckled together. Because the clip is so tight, I had loosened it a bit to make a more secure connection, thereby weakening the strap and causing it to fail. I replaced the damn velcro with a more secure strap and buckle (the kind you thread through and pull to tighten) and had a nice couple of dives. I'm pretty through with the velcro strap, it doesn't offer sufficient ease-of-use to justify its inherent weaknesses vis-a-vis a simpler strap and buckle. Not exactly how I had intended the dive to go, but I was pleased I kept a cool head, sorted out my options, and formulated a plan that got me home. A good lesson learned, and considering the 5' viz perhaps the most valuable part of the day. I'm just glad it didn't happen deep in a wreck, that would very surely have sucked. Has anyone else had a similar experience? Glad it worked out for you. I think two of my OC buddies were on that trip, were you on the Seeker?
(Offline)

19th December 2005, 19:34	#4 (permalink)
decoweenie Crash Test Dummy Current Rebreather/s: Other CCR Other Rebreather/s: Other CCR Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Cairo Posts: 5,488	Re: Sport Kiss Incident It has happened to a lot of people on the Sport-KISS. One even had his clip loosen after the jump but not completely off, then found his CL floating next to him at depth (50-60m ?). One of the solution I taught is to put a zip-tie across each of the velcro to make sure they won't part. When jumping from boat/etc, also make sure to land not perfectly vertical as the force of the water rushing in will be too much for the velcro to hold. If there is a ladder and practical to do, climb down it instead. If you have to jump, place your hands underneath the case to use them blocking the water force. __________________ "...after a while you get bored offering advice to a bull that like to keep butting the fence with its head rather than walking through the open gate..." - Rebreather World PM
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19th December 2005, 19:57	#5 (permalink)
WBA New Member Current Rebreather/s: Sport Kiss Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Canada - Ontario Posts: 59	Re: Sport Kiss Incident Not had a similar experience but was warned of it. Tried the strap/buckle thing but it didn't work quite right. What I've done is melt a hole through the velcro and secure it with a small bolt - much like a crotch strap. I'm fairly confident it's not going anywhere. BTW, thanks for the hose weights. Quote: (Originally Posted by robinfante) Maybe incident is too strong a term, let's say experience. Yesterday I went out to dive the uboat off Block Island. I splashed right after the the tie-in team, but 80 feet down ran into some trouble. The DSV kept tugging at my mouth, something definitely not right. I fussed with it for about 10 seconds, until the work of breathing shot up, and I decided to get off the loop and think. Flipping the dsv to oc, I took a couple of breaths, went to offboard bailout, and then started back up the line. After a minute a light bulb went on, and I turned on my back to look at the hoses. The strap had parted, causing the entire loop to come out of the case. I climbed back onboard a bit chagrined, and examined it. I had expected to see that the clips had come undone, but instead the velcro strap holding one clip had parted, leaving the two ends still buckled together. Because the clip is so tight, I had loosened it a bit to make a more secure connection, thereby weakening the strap and causing it to fail. I replaced the damn velcro with a more secure strap and buckle (the kind you thread through and pull to tighten) and had a nice couple of dives. I'm pretty through with the velcro strap, it doesn't offer sufficient ease-of-use to justify its inherent weaknesses vis-a-vis a simpler strap and buckle. Not exactly how I had intended the dive to go, but I was pleased I kept a cool head, sorted out my options, and formulated a plan that got me home. A good lesson learned, and considering the 5' viz perhaps the most valuable part of the day. I'm just glad it didn't happen deep in a wreck, that would very surely have sucked. Has anyone else had a similar experience? Last edited by WBA : 19th December 2005 at 19:58. Reason: damn spelling!
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19th December 2005, 20:34	#6 (permalink)
jondive New Member Current Rebreather/s: Sport Kiss Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Diss Norfolk Engalnd Posts: 37	Re: Sport Kiss Incident I found I'd lost part of my clip yesterday just before a dive out of littlehampton (UK) but a good old elastic bungee saved the day. Not pretty but did the job!
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20th December 2005, 08:10	#7 (permalink)
aquaxel aquanaut Current Rebreather/s: Classic Kiss Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: cyprus Posts: 530	Re: Sport Kiss Incident a loose velcro happened to me to. i replaced the velcro with cable ties. never had any problem since then. __________________ rgds aquaxel www.aquatec-innerspace.com
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20th December 2005, 10:55	#8 (permalink)
prharris CK #146 and Shearwater Current Rebreather/s: Classic Kiss Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Plymouth Posts: 106	Re: Sport Kiss Incident This happened to another memeber of the list on our training course. He did a stride entry and the strap came undone, fortunatly it was spotted on the surface, I think that he fixed it with a longer strap.
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20th December 2005, 11:05	#9 (permalink)
Sue RBW Writer Current Rebreather/s: Megalodon Sport Kiss Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Portugal Posts: 161	Re: Sport Kiss Incident Hopefully this never happened to me, what I got instead was to have a cylinder loose with the impact in the water. My buddy has managed to put it back and I could go on with the dive. Sue
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21st December 2005, 09:49	#10 (permalink)
nl_carey Sporty, Spritely KISSer Current Rebreather/s: Sport Kiss Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Brisbane, Queensland, Australia Posts: 87	Re: Sport Kiss Incident I've had the velco straps holding the counterlung retainer in place, but not a big problem and replaced with zip ties.
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