Diving Moments Of Grace...

[LeadTurn_SD]

My ultimate "Moment of Grace" came about 30 years ago. I was trying to assist my "less-experienced" dive buddy as we walked towards shore through waist-high surf at the end of a great dive in Kona. I saw a "rogue" chest high wave coming, so I warned her and took a step towards her so that I could prevent her getting "tumbled"... but I lost my balance just as I reached for her, the wave hit and tumbled ME (she was of course just fine and kept her balance). I was embarassed and a little sore but otherwise seemed "ok" as I stood back up, but the wide-eyed look she gave me made me take a closer look at myself: I had apparently been tumbled through several long-spined sea urchins, and now looked like a sea urchin myself, with numerous spines sticking out from my wetsuit

So much for impressing my "dive date"

 

[MaxBottomtime]

First boat dive, and the first dive of AOW, I am stepping through the tuna door onto the swim platform, sweating bullets both from the heat and from the nerves, tripped and fell over board.

 

[seaducer]

LOL, that could've been me!

 

[shoredivr]

This year I was doing a 3 km-long Chip Creek drift dive, the plan being for all to to send up lift bags at 50 min, surface and see where everyone else was. The viz was magnificent at 8 ft. I had been going in the shallower parts along the shore, looking for bottles, while the others went a bit deeper (max 30 ft), into the faster current. I came up just before a bend in the river, so couldn't see around to where the others were. No problem, I thought, I'll just get out here and walk downstream to the truck.

Of course I picked the muddiest place around, sank into the mud to the point I thought I'd pull a fin off. Finally I had to swim/crawl over the mud to the shore. I was a pretty amusing sight walking back to the truck in a mud-covered drysuit. Still haven't got all the mud out of my drysuit pockets.

 

[DiverLS]

Being land locked (Reno, NV) I usually boat dive since I need to drive so far. A dive club I was in had a trip planned to Ocean Cove, CA. I mostly went for the party.

So, on Saturday afternoon, everybody wanted to go diving. I sheepishly put on my drysuit (the water in N. CA is really cold ALL YEAR) and all the lead to hold me down. We were going to STILWATER cove so what's the problem.

Everything went fine, walked out to where the water was about waist deep and put on both fins. I felt real good. We did a rather shallow dive for about an hour then back to the small beach. When we surfaced, I could feel the wind blowing us into the shore. I did get onto my feet but when I tried to take off my fins, a wave hit and rolled me over like a ball. I ended up on my knees and with all that lead, there was no getting up. Two of the more burley club members came to my rescue, laughing real hard. It turns out the club president did the same thing.

 

[BioLogic]

It would have been easy to decide, before my last dive. In the OW confined dive we remove and replace weight belts. Well, I've got *totally* floaty feet, and hadn't yet gotten my ankle weights. So the belt comes off, and I move to hold it in front of my chest.........rooollllll. Now my arse is bobbing like a fishing cork at the surface, my mask a few inches from the pool bottom. I'm fine, I'm gradually working on getting the belt back on, but hey! What's that big rush of bubbles, is someone having a free flow?

No, ya dork, everybody in sight is laughing their regs out me. I should be handing out popcorn.


Then there's the dive I had to borrow a weight belt. Mine's got solid weight; when it shifts I feel it. This guy has soft weights, and I can't feel the rascal shift. So the whole second half of the dive I'm swimming sideways. I didn't realize how bad it was until I saw a pic someone else had taken during the dive, where I look amazingly like I'm doing the old Michael Jackson 'Thriller' zombie dance under water. Yeah. I'm so styling!

 

[seaducer]

Hmmm, I guess I have more stories than I thought at first

Doing the pool test for the volunteer program I dive with, one of our tasks was to remove/replace certain gear u/w. When it was my turn to get in, the only bcd they had left on deck was a medium. I prefer large, or XL, but it was getting late, I could sqeeeeeze into the medium, and I had a long drive home ahead of me so rather than wait for someone to finish, I put the little one on.

So into the pool I go, all constricted and uncomfortable, but its a pool, and I am super diver, no worries.

Mask clearing, couldn't get a full enough breath to clear the mask all the way, managed somehow to snort some water up my nose, there I am at 12 feet trying not to look like I am about to blow up in front of the DSO. After far longer than it should take, I clear.
Then it is time to remove and replace the bcd. I pop the buckles, which sound like depth charges, and I am sure all the extra parts of me oozed out from behind the material. I know it sure felt good I get the thing off and in front of me showing the DSO I am out and in control. Cool, he signals me to put it back on. Underwater.Did I mention it was 2 sizes to small for me?

After a couple of minutes of trying, tangling, and getting back out of the jacket again, the DSO gives me the ***? sign. I point to the size tag in the bcd, he gives me a louder ***? sign, but I can now see by his bubbles he is laughing.

Somehow I managed to get the thing halfway on, he gave me the OK sign, and I managed to pass the bouyancy section and diamond obstacle course even though the BCD wasn't on correctly, and was selected to join the team.

The really sad part is, not everyone at that pool test made it, so I wonder, who was worse than me?

 

[lmorin]

The thread about giant strides reminded me....

I took a giant stride from the dive platform at the stern of a dive boat just as a swell caused the stern to drop. Water covered the fin on my stepping foot just as I initiated the step. I could not lift my leading foot out of the water because it was impeded by the water and my center of gravity had already moved away from the boat. The net result was more like a "dwarf" than a "giant" stride and produced a wonderful face-plant. Rather funny, actually, even to me.

 

[DiverDurf]

The thread about giant strides reminded me....

I took a giant stride from the dive platform at the stern of a dive boat just as a swell caused the stern to drop. Water covered the fin on my stepping foot just as I initiated the step. I could not lift my leading foot out of the water because it was impeded by the water and my center of gravity had already moved away from the boat. The net result was more like a "dwarf" than a "giant" stride and produced a wonderful face-plant. Rather funny, actually, even to me.

LOL! That one had me in tears!!

 

[Staticdiver]

ya i have quite a few,but the best one is when i was in la paz. 1st dive of the trip. so i was excited and ready to get in the water. it was also hot out so i was in a hurry to get wet. i was talking with my sister also my buddy and i got up and went to the plattfrom and jumped in the water let all the air out of the bc. i didnt sink. i left my weight belt on the boat. she was laughing on the boat and so was everyone when i asked for someone to hand me my belt.