Major Freak Out - What should I have done differently?

[scoobajay]

I feel like some of this "unduly harsh" and "unhelpful criticisms" is directed at me so let me try one last time.

I found your feedback to be helpful. It is comments like "you put everyone at risk" and "what were you doing without blah blah" that are unhelpful criticisms (not comments made by you). I think it may be easy for some with a lot of experience and knowledge to forget that there was once a time when they too didn't know everything

As one can see in my original post, I came here already admitting to a huge error and I acknowledged what I did wrong. I simply wanted to learn from mistakes and seek advice from the community at SB on how to better handle this situation in the future. For the most part, that's what I got. Thank you SB and to you as well Adobo

 

[scagrotto]

If I were to put myself into this situation, I would walk into the dive shop...

Shop: Devil's throat is 130ft deep. It has a swim through at the bottom. it's our signature dive in Coz.
Me: Anything beyond 100ft is too deep for me. What else do you have?

So you're okay with a cave dive as long as it's at 100' and described as a "swim through"? Because the impression I'm getting from the descriptions in the thread is that Devil's Throat is a lot more than a typical swim through. Based on that, it seems to me that the DM should offer a clear and explicit description, rather than the diver having to interrogate them to find out the important details about the "swim through". As near as I can tell the failure to communicate lies with the DM for not making things clear from the start.

I also see two possibilities for what happened after the separation. If the DM was unable to get himself and the other two divers turned around he had no business taking people without a very clear description and their explicit consent. If he was able to turn around and chose not to or didn't even know he'd lost a diver that's gross incompetence, and possibly criminal negligence (well, other than being in Mexico) if the missing diver had a mishap.

I'm somewhat surprised not to see more responses opining that Devil's Throat is not appropriate for non-overhead-trained divers with a single AL80

It certainly sounds to me like this is a dive that fits criteria that most training agencies explicitly tell open water divers to avoid. I also come back to this in regards to the criticism for not having a light. A light can certainly be useful on any dive, but if a "swim through" requires a light during daylight hours it seems to me that it should be considered a cave dive.


edit:

I had no idea anything had happened.

I had to go looking after seeing the posts here. If you haven't already found it, there's a thread in the Passings forum.

 

[Adobo]

So you're okay with a cave dive as long as it's at 100' and described as a "swim through"? Because the impression I'm getting from the descriptions in the thread is that Devil's Throat is a lot more than a typical swim through. Based on that, it seems to me that the DM should offer a clear and explicit description, rather than the diver having to interrogate them to find out the important details about the "swim through". As near as I can tell the failure to communicate lies with the DM for not making things clear from the start.

I wouldn't do a 130ft dive with a single tank and a bunch strangers, swim through or no swim through. That's just me. The nature of the swim through would have been irrelevant given that the dive is a non-starter from the get-go.

But it is conceivable that the shop tells me that they do a dive where let's say the max depth is 65ft/20meters. And one of the highlights of the dive is a swim through. I would then ask about the nature of the swim through to gauge 1) is it acceptable given that I am diving a single tank and with a bunch of strangers with unknown skill and training and 2) what kind of gear would I need for the dive (SMB, flashlight, etc.). I'd also ask, what happens if I stick my head in and decide to turn around? Will I be solo or will there be another DM in the water in case one or more people bow out of the swim through?

if the answers I get back lead me to believe that the dive is shaping up to be a fuster cluck, I don't sign up.

Incidentally, I am not averse to doing a cave dive that bottoms out at a 100ft. But that is a different topic altogehter.

I also see two possibilities for what happened after the separation. If the DM was unable to get himself and the other two divers turned around he had no business taking people without a very clear description and their explicit consent. If he was able to turn around and chose not to or didn't even know he'd lost a diver that's gross incompetence, and possibly criminal negligence (well, other than being in Mexico) if the missing diver had a mishap.

It certainly sounds to me like this is a dive that fits criteria that most training agencies explicitly tell open water divers to avoid. I also come back to this in regards to the criticism for not having a light. A light can certainly be useful on any dive, but if a "swim through" requires a light during daylight hours it seems to me that it should be considered a cave dive.

While some or maybe even many of us would frown at dive ops taking vacation divers to sites like devils throat, there is not much that can be done to fix it. And in fact, there might be many vacation divers that might tell you that there is nothing wrong with that dive. Its really up to each one of us to have realistic assessment as to our own personal limits and to assess a dive to determine if it falls within our personal limits.

 

[BRT]

You did fine. You got out of an uncomfortable situation and got relinked up with your buddies. Did you go into deco? i'm thinking you don't know?? Probably you need to start diving independantly even when the DM is leading.

 

[Dirty-Dog]

Does anyone know of a dive op on Cozumel that can provide the proper equipment for such a dive, maybe a pair of sidemount tanks with EAN 28? It's a dive I'd like to do, but not on a single Al 80. I was recently on Cozumel for a day (coming over from Playa del Carmen) but couldn't find a shop to support that, so I ended up just doing a typical day of recreational single-tank boat dives instead. Or is the way to do this to get the tanks in Playa and haul them over on the ferry?

We always dive with Aldora. I've never had any difficulty getting EAN of any concentration, nor with obtaining doubles. I know that at least one of their staff dives sidemount.

 

[Macan]

Scoobajay. You did well. You kept your cool, thumbed the dive when you realized it exceeded your limits and comfort level, and you monitored the "vitals" carefully. Your air consumption and buoyancy seem good. A few suggestions for the future.

1. Always dive with a DSMB and a whistle as a minimum. A signaling mirror and light is great to have as well. I take all 4 on every OW dive. Get an instructor to teach you how to properly use them.

2. On resort type dives, realize that DMs try to be pleasers for business reasons. Other than the usual briefing details (Depth, time, turn pressure/time, NDL,) which I think was covered with you, always ASK these 3 questions on every dive briefing if the DM fails to cover them. Ensure that the answers are "correct" before accepting the dive.

a). Is this dive going to be within limits of my certification level (see post 25 for max limits)? In the case of DT, apparently it's a "cave" dive and outside the limits of even a "cavern" rated diver. Correct answer should be, "yes, the dive will be within your cert and training limits."

b). What is the separation procedure? You were separated but the DM kept on diving with the other divers even when you went "missing." Correct answer should be, "1 min search and ascend."

c). What is the "Abort" plan? The correct answer should be, "if anyone for any reason thumbs the dive, everyone aborts and turn back, together." There will always be another dive.

3. Bring an Analog compass with you on every dive. Before descending, take a bearing of the boat/land. This should always be part of the "orient" portion of the 5 point descent and takes no more than 5 seconds to do. In a separation scenario, you can navigate your bearing back to the boat or shore on your own and not be lost at sea. Why not a digital compass is for another topic.

 

[Dirty-Dog]

a). Is this dive going to be within limits of my certification level (see post 25 for max limits)? In the case of DT, apparently it's a "cave" dive and outside the limits of even a "cavern" rated diver. Correct answer should be, "yes, the dive will be within your cert and training limits."

I don't think it's reasonable to call the Devils Throat a cave dive. A cavern dive, perhaps, but not cave. The OP described it as "pitch dark", but having done this dive a few times I can assure you that it's not. Quite dim in places, yes, but it's not "pitch black" by any means. At most, it's as dark as a night dive - for which I carry lights, of course, but do turn them off sometimes. I suspect the "pitch dark" description is more a measure of her anxiety (which, again, she did a good job of controlling) than anything else.

 

[scoobajay]

I don't think it's reasonable to call the Devils Throat a cave dive. A cavern dive, perhaps, but not cave. The OP described it as "pitch dark", but having done this dive a few times I can assure you that it's not. Quite dim in places, yes, but it's not "pitch black" by any means. At most, it's as dark as a night dive - for which I carry lights, of course, but do turn them off sometimes. I suspect the "pitch dark" description is more a measure of her anxiety (which, again, she did a good job of controlling) than anything else.

I wouldn't call it a "cave" in hindsight either...but Dirty-Dog, the entrance we took was definitely what I call pitch black (remember you've done the dive with a flash light lol)

If you look at this video [video]https://youtu.be/xU3LPtvmJyY[/video] near minute 2, you see the entrance where I freaked. You're right, Not knowing when or if there was light at the end of that tunnel was what got my mind reeling but I've watched a few other videos of DT and I know I would have freaked out at a few other points in the dive as well. It's definitely well lit in a lot of places and definitely super dark in others.

 

[Dirty-Dog]

I wouldn't call it a "cave" in hindsight either...but Dirty-Dog, the entrance we took was definitely what I call pitch black (remember you've done the dive with a flash light lol)

I carry my cannister light... it's used for securing your long hose, even if you don't need it as a light.

But, it's relative. Go in a cave and turn off your lights. THAT's pitch black.
Certainly there are differences in light sensitivity from one person to another. Have you ever done a night dive? Have you turned off your lights during a night dive? Was it a full moon on a clear night, or a cloudy night? On a relatively clear night, I can see pretty well without lights. There's some awfully cool luminescent stuff to see when your lights are off, though the lights are certainly on for most of the dive.

 

[bowlofpetunias]

Thanks for the link. It gives a much better idea of what the dive is like.