I f*** up and I am ashamed

[Dody]

Thanks. I did not set the standards for being a DM. And I do not dive as a DM so this issue is irrelevant. What matters to me is to share my experience. Especially when a problem occurs. Comments like your instructor is crap or you should have learnt X+Y= Z are f… useless. We are living in the real world. And I get a lot a very useful advice from all of you. To finish, I am 100% in agreement to say that the DM certification is overated. You need more experience to take care of other people.

 

[johndiver999]

The OP has somewhat explained that he felt less lead was better. He also indicates he is concerned about ascents, using no air in BC on ascent from 100 feet. He also indicated he is now going to get a new regulator that is better because his current one somehow gave him some water at a depth of 6 feet when he was stuck on the ceiling in the dark.

Perhaps this is obvious, but he needs more lead, He also needs to no longer be afraid of ascending with air in a BC, a little air in the BC is easily managed by a competent diver. A normal ascent should be approaching a condition where the body is motionless with a gentle drifting upward and precise control of buoyancy with BC and lungs.

He mentions relying heavily on the dive computer and watching it like a hawk on ascent. I too, like the "crutch" of a dive computer on ascent, but his confidence and skills will improve quickly if he practices ascents using just the particles in the water (as a guide) and how it "feels" and just refer to the computer for a quick check here and there. Gaining this skill will drastically reduce the fear of an uncontrolled ascent.

Lastly, it sounds like things got really out of control on the ceiling. If he was a weighted a little light, then when he got shallow and scared he most certainly is going to be taking deep breaths and probably not exhaling fully. A very natural response to stress under water.

The fact that he said he could see nothing, had no light and it was very dark and visibility was terrible and then his regulator started filling up with water. That indicates to me that the diver was PROBABLY disoriented. He got a little distracted and some water got past his mouth piece and he was more or less upside down. Once the reg is upside down it will not vent water properly. It CAN Be a very minor inconvenience if you are calm and breathing gently and can deal with the gurgling, but if you are having a problem, this can feel very bad and could cause panic by itself.

With respect to this last point, I suggest the OP try a little upside down boat cleaning (or something similar) and deliberately allow some water in second stage and experience how it does not vent well on exhalation when completely upside down. Getting used to this will probably make him much safer and may save a good bit of $$, which will probably be wasted when he finds a "better' second stage performs very similarly. Hint: pressing the purge may help a little, but you just need to flip around for a moment, get the second stage in a proper orientation and exhale - and then you can go back to your upside down boat cleaning task.

 

[Blackcrusader]

Thanks. I did not set the standards for being a DM. And I do not dive as a DM so this issue is irrelevant. What matters to me is to share my experience. Especially when a problem occurs. Comments like your instructor is crap or you should have learnt X+Y= Z are f… useless. We are living in the real world. And I get a lot a very useful advice from all of you. To finish, I am 100% in agreement to say that the DM certification is overated. You need more experience to take care of other people.

You should dive as a DM as you are recently trained as a DM. regardless of training we discussed before about knowing when to end a dive. Your training should have told you, I have no torch, I cannot contact my dive buddies, there is a dark cavern / cave I cannot see in. I know I am underweighted... abort the dive should have been coming to mind. Not I am a macho man I have to take care of my wife. Is she not also a trained qualified diver who can do things without you? It seems you put too much into taking care of your wife we see this in many of your posts.

Perhaps you were over confident and played follow the leader. It's fine to not always follow a guide. It's fine to control the urge to be a macho man. Being able to self rescue is very important. Your situation was probably accentuated by being very anxious and stressed but you did not panic. You managed to sort yourself and find you wife and guide even though that was 5 minutes later. The guide is also at fault as the guide was not paying attention to you as well as your wife.

Diving in three person teams can be great but you all need to pay attention to each other. Situational awareness was not there by your wife or guide as to where you were.

DM certifications are not over rated. If you think they are perhaps it is due to the level of instruction you received. How long was your DM course?

 

[BoltSnap]

DM certification is overated. You need more experience to take care of other people.

DM rating doesn't make you a better diver nor supposed to teach you diving skills. DM training is supposed to teach you how to be a dive leader. You need to have good diving skills and experience before you get into DM training. If I have to teach a DM candidate how to dive or if I have any hesitation about their diving skills, I won't take them into the DM program at all. In fact, I run DM (AI and even Instructor) candidates through a rigorous evaluation and testing program before they start their respective leadership training, if they fail it, they don't proceed to the actual leadership training. I teach how to be a leader in leadership courses not how to dive.

 

[scubadada]

@Dody

Your diving knowledge is deficient, for any level of training. You have demonstrated this repetitively in your numerous posts.

 

[Blackcrusader]

@Dody

Your diving knowledge is deficient, for any level of training. You have demonstrated this repetitively in your numerous posts.

Ouch. Dody the members here are trying to help you. I think perhaps you have been in a rush to get certificates rather than do more different types of dives which test your skills and gain experience.

Could you lead a night dive? How many of your dives have been night dives?

How many dives have you struggled with into a strong current? How many dives have to had to assist another diver who is stressed on a dive? Have you ever assisted a diver who got injured on the dive? Many of us have these experiences and you cannot get them from certifications. We have all made errors on dives.

 

[drrich2]

I use a jacket BCD. If I ever have a heart attack, at least I will surface face up .

Every bc/wing that I came across had specifically said it is NOT a life jacket.

I think it was a mild joke (note the smily face), since jacket BCDs tend to float people upright, vs. a BP/W setup that may pitch forward a little. Probably an attempt to lighten the mood (which has gotten a little abrasive). Not a serious assertion that a diver will bob like a cork, head facing up, if medically compromised.

 

[Centrals]

I think it was a mild joke (note the smily face), since jacket BCDs tend to float people upright, vs. a BP/W setup that may pitch forward a little. Probably an attempt to lighten the mood (which has gotten a little abrasive). Not a serious assertion that a diver will bob like a cork, head facing up, if medically compromised.

Benefit of the doubt? Should had chosen a more appropriate example instead of adding more fuel.
He has given far too many away eg. diving with light not properly working.

 

[Cdncoldwater]

He's certified as he took the course but he's not acting as a dive master.

Well, I have expectation of someone who is certified as a pro, my buddies worked hard for theirs and I trust them implicitly personally and with my son. Maybe it's the army in me but certification means something to me.

 

[Marie13]

Too many people push for as little weight as possible, like it’s some sort of contest.