billt4sf
Contributor
In The Dampier Strait area of Raja Ampat, the dive site is called Cape Kri.
I am writing this 36 hours and one dive after a dive where I felt threatened from drowning -- twice. At the end of the dive I came up from 50 feet in about 5 or 10 secs with a zero reading on the SPG.
We began with a briefing that explained quite well that current was expected and we should stay with the guide who would try to route us best to reduce up and down currents which could be present. The dive plan was to go to 90 feet or so to check out a school of sweetlips, then return to 60 - 70 feet and proceed along the shelf (staying off the tip of the shelf where current was expected to be the strongest), reef hook in at the point, view pelagics, then drift along the wall (again, not over the top of the shelf) to where the current slowed, finally using our SMBs to ascend safely.
We followed the plan at first. Not much current, descended to 90 feet but found no sweetlips, proceeded along the wall in the direction of the current which got stronger and stronger. I was getting quite nervous and breathing pretty hard as I tried to calm myself. We hooked in, saw four or five sharks, and after a few minutes I signaled to the guide that I had 1000 lbs. We were about 65 - 70 feet.
He signaled us to unhook, which we did, and the wild ride began. We were all carried over top of the reef to about 25 feet by a very strong current, despite trying to stay off the top. Everyone was carried over the top, including the guides. My reef hook caught at about 30 feet. At that point I lost the guide and I was in fear of drowning. Somewhere around this time I saw one of my dive group and signalled madly "low on air" but there was nothing he could do although there a mere 10 feet between us and I remember thinking that this could be one of those moments when later he says "The last he was seen alive was...". I was flying like a horizontal flag and barely managed to pull myself along the reef hook line, grab a rock with one hand, and unhook. Another guy in our party, I discovered later, could not pull himself up and had to unhook from the BC, which he managed to do after considerable effort.
After unhooking we were flying and I looked at my SPG to see 400 lbs. I was at about 50 feet and being pulled up and down wildly. My computer was beeping and showing every alert possible. At one point I was down at 70 feet and was swimming madly up to no avail. Then suddenly I was at 30 feet. The cyclone finally spit me out at 50 feet. My SPG showed zero, this was the second time I was in fear of drowning, I swam for the surface through my safety stop and through a SLOW alert. I was panting, thank God my wing inflated and it was a few moments of breathing hard off the reg before I could summon my mind to take the reg out, clip it off, and try to relax.
After the dive my computer showed that I blew through a SLOW ascent and also through the safety stop. It gave me an alert to extend the surface interval and I did not dive any more that day -- yesterday. I had a medium headache and fatigue but not exhaustion and a tingling like when you're stoned but no other symptoms.
Others in our party had similar problems but didn't run out of air like I did. Everyone, including the guides, were deeply upset by what we experienced. Several people got pulled down to 100 ft. Had that happened to me I have a hard time imagining the scenario where I come out alive. No one had the presence of mind in the up and down currents to swim horizontally to get out and it wasn't covered in the dive briefing. Most did what I did -- kicked like hell in the down current and tried to vent air in the up currents. So that is obviously lesson number one.
Lesson two (for me) is that I should not have followed the guide down to 100 ft to look for the sweetlips. I knew in the back of my mind that it was not a good idea but I was focused on staying with the guide as my best chance to stay out of strong currents. Turns out no one could.
Lesson three is to continue to try to relax, even in difficult circumstances. I do go through air very fast, partially because I am big, partially because I need to work more on relaxing and "sipping" air (actually I have made a lot of progress on that, and other skills, on this trip). I did the one dive today and it was great, I was very relaxed and came up with plenty of air.
No doubt I could have flown with the currents more rather than resisting -- that sure is hard to do on up and down currents! I have been on drift dives in Coz and loved them. But usually currents where I have to position myself or try to achieve a goal cause me significant anxiety.
I am 64, and being aware of the need to be in shape to dive we do exercise regularly and vigorously. The dive was on 32% nitrox, and I have my computer set to the air settings.
Comments welcome. No flames to me or anyone please.
- Bill
I am writing this 36 hours and one dive after a dive where I felt threatened from drowning -- twice. At the end of the dive I came up from 50 feet in about 5 or 10 secs with a zero reading on the SPG.
We began with a briefing that explained quite well that current was expected and we should stay with the guide who would try to route us best to reduce up and down currents which could be present. The dive plan was to go to 90 feet or so to check out a school of sweetlips, then return to 60 - 70 feet and proceed along the shelf (staying off the tip of the shelf where current was expected to be the strongest), reef hook in at the point, view pelagics, then drift along the wall (again, not over the top of the shelf) to where the current slowed, finally using our SMBs to ascend safely.
We followed the plan at first. Not much current, descended to 90 feet but found no sweetlips, proceeded along the wall in the direction of the current which got stronger and stronger. I was getting quite nervous and breathing pretty hard as I tried to calm myself. We hooked in, saw four or five sharks, and after a few minutes I signaled to the guide that I had 1000 lbs. We were about 65 - 70 feet.
He signaled us to unhook, which we did, and the wild ride began. We were all carried over top of the reef to about 25 feet by a very strong current, despite trying to stay off the top. Everyone was carried over the top, including the guides. My reef hook caught at about 30 feet. At that point I lost the guide and I was in fear of drowning. Somewhere around this time I saw one of my dive group and signalled madly "low on air" but there was nothing he could do although there a mere 10 feet between us and I remember thinking that this could be one of those moments when later he says "The last he was seen alive was...". I was flying like a horizontal flag and barely managed to pull myself along the reef hook line, grab a rock with one hand, and unhook. Another guy in our party, I discovered later, could not pull himself up and had to unhook from the BC, which he managed to do after considerable effort.
After unhooking we were flying and I looked at my SPG to see 400 lbs. I was at about 50 feet and being pulled up and down wildly. My computer was beeping and showing every alert possible. At one point I was down at 70 feet and was swimming madly up to no avail. Then suddenly I was at 30 feet. The cyclone finally spit me out at 50 feet. My SPG showed zero, this was the second time I was in fear of drowning, I swam for the surface through my safety stop and through a SLOW alert. I was panting, thank God my wing inflated and it was a few moments of breathing hard off the reg before I could summon my mind to take the reg out, clip it off, and try to relax.
After the dive my computer showed that I blew through a SLOW ascent and also through the safety stop. It gave me an alert to extend the surface interval and I did not dive any more that day -- yesterday. I had a medium headache and fatigue but not exhaustion and a tingling like when you're stoned but no other symptoms.
Others in our party had similar problems but didn't run out of air like I did. Everyone, including the guides, were deeply upset by what we experienced. Several people got pulled down to 100 ft. Had that happened to me I have a hard time imagining the scenario where I come out alive. No one had the presence of mind in the up and down currents to swim horizontally to get out and it wasn't covered in the dive briefing. Most did what I did -- kicked like hell in the down current and tried to vent air in the up currents. So that is obviously lesson number one.
Lesson two (for me) is that I should not have followed the guide down to 100 ft to look for the sweetlips. I knew in the back of my mind that it was not a good idea but I was focused on staying with the guide as my best chance to stay out of strong currents. Turns out no one could.
Lesson three is to continue to try to relax, even in difficult circumstances. I do go through air very fast, partially because I am big, partially because I need to work more on relaxing and "sipping" air (actually I have made a lot of progress on that, and other skills, on this trip). I did the one dive today and it was great, I was very relaxed and came up with plenty of air.
No doubt I could have flown with the currents more rather than resisting -- that sure is hard to do on up and down currents! I have been on drift dives in Coz and loved them. But usually currents where I have to position myself or try to achieve a goal cause me significant anxiety.
I am 64, and being aware of the need to be in shape to dive we do exercise regularly and vigorously. The dive was on 32% nitrox, and I have my computer set to the air settings.
Comments welcome. No flames to me or anyone please.
- Bill
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