Mikeguyver
Registered
I had some key learnings last week when my reg started free flowing at 100 feet at Mermet Springs last weekend. My buddy and I were looking for some items that I had dropped (like a knucklehead) near the deep dock. Our plan was to descend to the nearest platform (85ft) and then follow a compass heading from the platform to the dock. He was on my left and we only had about a 30-40 foot swim to where we thought the items would be on the bottom. It was cold (46 degrees) but the visibility was 20+ feet. He spotted one item after about 25 feet and descended to the bottom to get it. I then noticed the other item about 10 feet further ahead and to my right. I grabbed it and secured it and then noticed that I was hearing bubbles when I was inhaling. It took me a second and I realized that my reg was free flowing. I had no trouble breathing but my first thought was the possibility of running out of air. I looked back towards where my buddy was and couldn't see anything. It turns out that when he went to grab the item, he stirred up a lot of bottom silt and then he had zero visibility. I stayed calm and then swapped out to my octo. I started slowly ascending but the reg wouldn't stop free flowing. At about 10 feet, the reg finally stopped free flowing and I was able to see that I had about 800lbs of air left in my tank. I needed to find a place for a safety stop and knew that the line to the nearby 85ft platform had grab bars at every 20 feet. I surfaced so I could locate the buoy that marked the line, and then slowly swam down at an angle to the 20 ft bar. I checked my computer and it wanted me to stay at 20 feet for 5 minutes. I noticed my buddies bubbles and he ascended to meet me for his 3 minute safety stop. I never had any pain or discomfort and after an hour+ surface interval, we enjoyed a shallower (45ft or less) 30 minute dive. I used my reg on this dive and had zero issues. So here is what I learned.
Any other insights would be appreciated. Thanks, Mike
- Remaining calm is the key. I'm 53 and while I don't have over 50 dives, I'm always calm when I dive.
- It takes a longer time to drain a 80cf tank than I thought. In hindsight, if I had kept the free flowing reg in my mouth rather than swapping to my octo, I would have lost less air. I knew I was losing air and I had my bubble spewing reg in my right hand and was trying to keep an eye on my computer on my left arm. I couldn't check my SPG.
- I was able to remember to ascend slowly and keep breathing. When you go through training, you hear this over and over and it's what kept me safe.
- While I did check for my buddy, I didn't obsess over not finding him. My training took over.
- Note: I was using an Aqualung Titan primary reg (not a double hose on this dive) that will be going to my LDS to be checked. I'm curious why it free flowed in the first place.
Any other insights would be appreciated. Thanks, Mike