When you learn scuba diving you are taught about weight belts and the reason you need to wear weights while diving. Additionally they also tell you that you need to remove the weights in an emergency if you want to save yourself. However, most scuba diving schools do not teach the person to remove them; it is mostly a theory and not a practice. The difference between life and death can be how you are prepared to handle the weights in the water.
First of all you should be correctly weighted. If you have more weight you will not be able to swim properly and he or she needs to adjust the air for buoyancy and this can be a never ending process and you will not like your diving experience at all. When you are correctly weighted you will love the diving experience.
Most, if not all BCD’s have pockets to carry weights. The best part is that these BCD’s also have a mechanism which helps to quickly release the weights. If you are using weight belts with lead shot for weights you will also have a quick release mechanism. However, what you need to do is to practice releasing them quickly.
There are two ways to practice the art of weight removal; firstly you can practice weight removal outside the water. You need to practice pressing the quick release. You should keep the quick release mechanism near your favourable hand. If you are right handed you should have the mechanism on the right side and if you are left handed on the left side. Also when you finish a dive and reach the surface, remove the weights and hand it over to your aide and then come out of the water, this is also a good practice for you.
Another option is to practice weight removal when you are under water. Remove the weights and keep it in your hand, do not drop it because you will reach the surface very fast. You are just practicing so just remove it and keep it and slowly ascend. Do this in each of your dives so that you are well versed with weight removal techniques. Do not practice with weight belts alone, practice with the buoyancy compensator too.
Along with the practice of removal of weights under water you should also practice putting them back on. It can be a difficult process but over time you will learn to do it better and it will also come handy.
Finally, you should always remember that in a real emergency you will need to let go of the weights and it will be a life saver, never hold on to it, you hold on to it only in practice.
All scuba diving schools should teach this practice, instead of just teaching it in a theoretical way. This can help in a life and death situation and hence it should be practiced mandatorily.
