Background
A diver on the fourth day of diving lost their mouthpiece while on the second dive of the day.
Reported Incident
During a liveaboard trip, the diver was experiencing normal, if not ideal dive conditions. After four days of diving, seas were calm, very little current and warm waters of 81 degrees awaited the divers as they embarked on their second dive of the day. During the first ten minutes of this dive, the diver’s mouthpiece completely detached from their primary regulator. It took a few moments before the diver responded, noting that they oddly did not realize what had happened until they saw the primary floating in front of them. After taking in three breaths sea water, the diver switched to their secondary (or octopus) and was able to take some recovery breaths before calling the dive.
The diver reports using a regulator set that was less than two years old, but suspects the plastic zip tie holding the mouth piece in place had come lose during a previous dive. Checking mouthpieces has been added to this diver’s checklist.
Review
The diver did a great job communicating with his dive buddies and calling the dive to get themselves sorted. Divers should always check their equipment prior to diving and before every dive, mouthpieces are no exception. The diver noted that they could have continued breathing from the primary without the mouthpiece, but deploying their octopus was a great remediation.
Recommendations
All diving equipment should be serviced regularly prior to the start of your dive season. Regulators are recommended to be serviced once a year or once every certain number of dives, usually outlined by the manufacturer. Some divers prefer more customized mouth pieces for their equipment and exchange the standard issued piece for one of a different color or size. When doing so, be sure to secure the mouthpiece tightly as they are normally attached to the second stage of your regulators with a strong zip tie. Sometimes biting down too hard on your mouthpiece could cause the hold to loosen. It is also best to make sure your hoses are a comfortable length and your gear is streamlined as too much maneuvering or tugging could cause things to loosen.