Yeah, that is why I never dived Lake Michigan before I have heard mixed reviews relative to other places I have been. What really sucks though is that this was supposed to be the first of a series of training dives for me so I could go on the Vancouver trip. The Vancouver trip would have been the dive of a lifetime for me, but I had to cancel after this happened, because I was too freaked out that whole summer and could not be back in the water until a year later. I still don't think I will ever dive in a 7mm suit and hood again. Breathing in water may have caused the hyperventilation all by itself, BUT I really think the constriction caused by the 7 mm suit and hood around my neck sped up my panic/hyperventilation reaction. When I dive the Lake again (I will eventually), it will be in a drysuit.
First, it was not the "7 mm suit," but the ill-fitting 7 mm suit. We don't have custom wet suits anymore, and the sizes that are used don't fit everyone. A dry suit has it's own problems, including neck constriction for the neck seal. Suit manufacturers have decided not to do custom wet suits anymore, although a few are still around. Wet suits are usually a better bet for ease of diving, as they don't require an extra inflator. However, when you say it was a "semi-dry wet suit," with neck and wrist seals, the neck seal could be a big problem. We I got my last wet suit, I needed to cut back the neck portion so that it would not constrict me.
Second, you were not doing a buddy dive. You were "buddies" in name only, and your "buddy" was a "same lake buddy." He was not there to help. I have seen fatalities recently due to loss of buddy contact, to the point that on one fatality I asked whether it's time to bring back the buddy line. A short buddy line will keep you in positive contact, but enforces a discipline that one needs to train to.
In 1973 I took my NAUI Instructor Training Course (ITC), and while there we were taught about a problem that I have not heard mentioned much recently, the Hyperpnea-Exhaustion Syndrome. I looked in my NAUI materials, and it's not readily accessible, but I did find this publication by Lee Somers from the University of Michigan years ago:
HYPERPNEA-EXHAUSTION SYNDROME
Various problems in diving, such an equipment malfunction, reaction to venomous animal wounds, cold stress, exhausting swims, etc., may cause a diver to panic. A frequent manifestation of panic is rapid, shallow breathing (hyperpnea), resulting in insufficient ventilation of the lungs. Subsequently, there is an accumulation of carbon dioxide in the lungs, blood and body tissues (hypercapnia). The diver's situation is further complicated by possible decrease in buoyancy due to inadequate ventilation of the lungs. The onset of the hyperpnea-exhaustion syndrome is indicated by rapid, shallow breathing; dilation of the pupils; inefficient swimming movements; and signs of exhaustion. The diver will experience anxiety and exhaustion. Collapse from exhaustion, unconsciousness and drowning may follow. Divers exhibiting the signs and symptoms of this manifestation should immediately terminate the dive, surface and inflate buoyancy compensator. Tenders and diving partners should watch for signs of distress. This condition may be responsible for some near-drownings and drownings in scuba divers who were swimming on the surface when they apparently lost consciousness.
OVEREXERTION AND EXHAUSTION
Nearly everyone has experienced the "out-of-breath" feeling, from working too hard or running too fast. It is possible for a person to exceed his normal working capacity by a considerable margin before the respiratory response to overexertion is apparent. The end result is generally shortness of breath and fatigue. On land, this presents little problem.
Underwater (under increased ambient pressure), the problems of exertion are modified by several factors and are considerably more serious. Event the finest breathing apparatus offers some resistance to air flow. As the depth increases so does the density of air, and consequently, it moves through the body's airways with greater resistance to flow. When shortness of breath and fatigue are brought on by overexertion, the diver may not be able to get enough air. The feeling of impending suffocation is far from pleasant, and may lead an inexperienced diver to panic and a serious accident.
Man's ability to do hard work underwater has definite limitations, even under the best of conditions. Many situations can lead to exceeding these limits. They include:
* working against strong currents;
* prolonged heavy exertion;
* wasted effort;
* breathing resistance; especially with a poorly designed and maintained breathing apparatus;
* carbon dioxide buildup;
* insufficient breathing medium or contamination; and
* excessive cold and inadequate protection.
If the diver feels the typical "air hunger" and labored breathing starting to appear, he should do the following:
* Stop, rest and ventilate to get the maximum flow of air. Breath deeply...
* Inform the buddy or tender.
* Do not surface rapidly -- terminate the dive with a slow, controlled ascent.
* Upon reaching the surface, the diver should inflate the buoyancy compensator and return to the boat or shore, or if too exhausted, ask for buddy assistance or signal for immediate "pickup."
The "buddy" and surface crew should:
* render all possible assistance;
* watch of signs of panic that may lead to a serious underwater accident;
* help the diver aboard, and;
* provide rest, warmth and nourishment.
Overexertion can be prevented if the individual knows and observes his limitations, takes into consideration the working conditions, and plans the diving operation accordingly. For example, plan the dive so you can move with the current and not against it. The equipment must always be maintained in excellent working condition. Be alert for signs of fatigue!
Somers, Lee H., Ph.D., RESPIRATION AND THE DIVER, Diver Education Series, Michigan Sea Grant College Program, MICHU-SG-86-509 C3.
http://nsgl.gso.uri.edu/michu/michut86006.pdf
This publication probably dates back to about 1986, possibly before. Lee Somers was well known in the 1970s and 1980s for his contributions to diving science. I think, if you'll think through this, that your regulator was fine, but your breathing was not, and that you were suffering from hyperpnea-exhaustion syndrome. When this happens, according to my early NAUI training, you tend to focus very narrowly upon things, and for you that was climbing the anchor. In many situations, the diver in this state tries to "climb out of the water's surface." You, however, had the anchor line to hold onto. You also focused on keeping, or reacquiring and keeping, your regulator in your mouth while in the chop on the surface.
Being highly overweighted exasperated the situation. My calculations are a bit differently calculated than some others. The weight of a cubic foot of fresh water is 62.4 pounds, while the weight of a cubic foot of salt water is 64 pounds. If you divide 62.4 by 64, you get 0.97. If you then multiply it times the amount of weight you calculated, 18 pounds, that you need, you get 17.55 pounds. Or, take about a half pound off the weights. Instead, you added about five pounds to your weights.
I have done a lot of accident analysis in my days as a safety and health professional. You are very correct in thinking that a number of small errors can lead to a much larger disaster, such as the incident you describe. The way around this is to take care of these details in the days and weeks prior to the event, not an the day of the event. There were way too many details that you needed to attend to, correct, and get right while already on the boat. These should have been taken care of prior to the day of the dive. Examples:
--Take the wetsuit into the pool with all the equipment, and figure out the weighting you needed.
--Assemble the gear prior to the day of the dive, and make sure everything worked correctly.
--Talk with your dive buddy, and get very specific about your needs and expectations. Maintaining buddy contact means staying very close to the buddy, say 10 feet maximum. It does not mean, "I'll see you on the bottom sometime."
--Set emergency procedures if buddy contact is lost.
--Don't dive unless your equipment is functioning correctly, or you ascertain it is not a safety critical item for that dive.
Concerning your decision to dive, I have had a saying that if the question of whether to dive or not enters my mind, the decision is to not dive. The reason is another near miss I have not written about, which my buddy and I "evaluated" surf conditions for over half an hour before deciding to dive, when out on a rough day, got rolled by a breaker, and spent three and a half hours awaiting a pickup by the U.S. Coast Guard. It happened, because we did everything right except decide to dive. So if the thought comes into you mind about whether or not to dive, DON'T DIVE. Everything after that is a rationalization.
Finally, let's talk about dropping weights. When we were using weight belts (I still do), we could take them off and hold them in our hands. That way, if we blacked out, we would automatically drop them. If we succeeded in reaching the surface, we could put them back on. Modern weighting systems make that more difficult, but should not influence the decision to drop weights. Without a functioning BC (not counting oral inflation), dropping weights become the only means of attaining the surface in this situation. But remember, you would not be dropping all your weights, as you had that 9 pound heavy steel tank on your back. You could have dropped your weights, then "flown" over to the anchor line and used it to keep you from an uncontrolled buoyant ascent.
A similar situation happened concerning the divers off the
Coast Guard Cutter Healy, whereby two divers drowned when overweighted and not having their BC hooked up to a power inflator, as they had only one and used it on their dry suits. They also used full-face masks, so oral inflation was not possible. There were many other events which played into this fatality, but it has some similarities to this situation.
One final thought, not mentioned by the others. When I was a USAF Pararescueman, I took a long flight with SMSgt. Jerome C. Gorney, who had been in Pararescue for many years. He told me, "John, attention to detail. You get the details right, and the jump (dive) will go off well. You don't get the details right, and all sorts of **** can happen." (Or, something to that effect.) You get the drift. These dives are rather complex undertakings, and you need to pay attention to the details, in the planning stage as well as in the execution stage. It is in the planning stage that we set ourselves up for success, or an incident/accident.
SeaRat
NAUI #2710 (inactive)
