Do You Know What to Do in a Silt-Out?
Silt-Out
Do you know what to do in a silt-out?
Liz Rogers
A silt-out happens when divers or conditions cause sediment to fill the water column, often with frightening results. Do you know what to do if you find yourself lost in the cloud?
Stop As soon as a silt cloud envelops you, stop kicking and moving your hands so you don’t stir up the sediment any further.
Settle Drop slowly to the bottom to see if you can touch solid ground or see a point of reference. If it’s too soft to gain purchase, pay attention to your exhaust bubbles to stay orientated — they’ll be moving upward, regardless.
Look Very slowly turn 360 degrees to see if you can spot an area of improved visibility on the edge of the silt cloud.
Inflate Rarely can you kick yourself out of a silt cloud without making things worse. Instead, inflate your BCD with one or two quick bursts of air to make yourself just slightly buoyant.
Rise Let the buoyancy from your BCD gently lift you above the silt-out, where you can then swim away. Keep an eye on your depth gauge, and be prepared to deflate your jacket to prevent runaway ascent.
Liz RogersDo you know what to do in a silt-out?
A silt-out happens when divers or conditions cause sediment to fill the water column, often with frightening results. Do you know what to do if you find yourself lost in the cloud?
Stop As soon as a silt cloud envelops you, stop kicking and moving your hands so you don’t stir up the sediment any further.
Settle Drop slowly to the bottom to see if you can touch solid ground or see a point of reference. If it’s too soft to gain purchase, pay attention to your exhaust bubbles to stay orientated — they’ll be moving upward, regardless.
Look Very slowly turn 360 degrees to see if you can spot an area of improved visibility on the edge of the silt cloud.
Inflate Rarely can you kick yourself out of a silt cloud without making things worse. Instead, inflate your BCD with one or two quick bursts of air to make yourself just slightly buoyant.
Rise Let the buoyancy from your BCD gently lift you above the silt-out, where you can then swim away. Keep an eye on your depth gauge, and be prepared to deflate your jacket to prevent runaway ascent.
