Are you an EXPERIENCED recreational diver?

[johndiver999]

Oh well, it's a long story, and not a nice memory, but...


ps. havent been to sea ever since, my environment of choice is different.

All of that would almost be funny if it wasn't so serious. You made some many errors, and must have learned a lot of lessons. I interpret the description as a cascade of errors which was precipitated by seasickness. Sounds like you were so compromised that you were completely overwhelmed (even from the very start and getting the gear set up correctly). BTW one foot waves is pretty calm- even on a small boat.

Your instructor should have drilled you before the entry and tried to encourage you NOT to dive. Even if you would have still chose to dive, after one or two of the errors you should have bailed on the dive.

Once you are overwhelmed, pissed off, and sick (and scared), it really becomes unlikely that you are going to make good decisions. I would say that rather than learning that you don't like the sea, you might be better served by cutting yourself some slack early and be willing to bail on a dive when the situation begins to look too challenging. That would be my take away lesson.

Not to be critical of you or anyone who suffers from sea sickness, but when I envision a "good diver" I think much more about someone who can handle rough seas, currents and all the challenges of handling themselves and gear on a boat way, way before I think about perfect trim, super low air use or being able to swim backwards in a quarry.

 

[Blackcrusader]

Not to be critical of you or anyone who suffers from sea sickness, but when I envision a "good diver" I think much more about someone who can handle rough seas, currents and all the challenges of handling themselves and gear on a boat way, way before I think about perfect trim, super low air use or being able to swim backwards in a quarry.

Sometimes being a good diver is knowing when not to do a dive or to end a dive before you get into something you cannot handle on your own even though you dive with buddies. There were times I let peer group pressure override my concerns about a dive which I went on in my first few years.

Relying on others for your own safety is the wrong way to think. My buddy will take care of me if anything happens. Can you take care of your buddy if they are the one needing assistance? As Dody has found out sometimes you get a situation that was difficult to deal with. As he was in difficulty already how would he have helped another diver in the water not yet on the stairs who got picked up by the swell and carried into the rocks or stairs?

 

[TMHeimer]

Sometimes being a good diver is knowing when not to do a dive or to end a dive before you get into something you cannot handle on your own even though you dive with buddies. There were times I let peer group pressure override my concerns about a dive which I went on in my first few years.

Relying on others for your own safety is the wrong way to think. My buddy will take care of me if anything happens. Can you take care of your buddy if they are the one needing assistance? As Dody has found out sometimes you get a situation that was difficult to deal with. As he was in difficulty already how would he have helped another diver in the water not yet on the stairs who got picked up by the swell and carried into the rocks or stairs?

Excellent promo for everyone getting Rescue cert. as soon as they are comfortable diving.

 

[Blackcrusader]

For sure. That’s why I will never dive solo although I will not judge those who do.

Dody I have this philosophy. We are all solo divers just at times there are other divers in our vicinity who might be able to assist.
Let's say you are the last diver in a group following the others. Let's say you became incapacitated. Would the other divers even know as they are not always looking back behind them. What if you lost weights and then had no choice but to ascend how would you attract the attention of a nearby dive buddy? Two divers can get separated so then you initiate your search for 1 min then head to the surface. Many people keep searching instead of heading for the surface where your other dive buddy should be.

I am that fella at the back of the group very often as I dive with vacation divers and often at the same dive centers so the DM's and Instructors know me. In a sense I stay at the back of some groups as we keep the least experienced divers between the DM leading the dive and some more experienced divers at the back. Sometimes it's just myself and a regular dive buddy. When the unexpected happens all your plans go out the window. Wait till you get attacked by a trigger fish when they are brooding and you were not aware you were in their zone. Do you know the procedure to get out of that zone? Do you know their trigger is up as a warning. Some divers think wow what a nice large pretty fish and do not know they are being warned to back off. These fish can and do take large chunks of flesh out of people.

 

[Subcooled]

You made some many errors, and must have learned a lot of lessons. I interpret the description as a cascade of errors which was precipitated by seasickness.

In part, yes, but carrying lots of new gear while encountering currents and small waves for the first time really did not help. It was difficult to manage all the gear on the rocking boat too. I wasn't ready for so many new things at once. I had been focusing on ice diving and mine diving before, and wasn't interested in fish or wrecks, so there was serious lack in skill and experience at sea.

Seasickness and thus not knowing the plan however caused the cascade of events that led to OOA and more.

BTW one foot waves is pretty calm- even on a small boat.

Maybe they were a little bigger then, I do not know, but not huge, and it's the shape of the wave that's critical anyway. I can do well in a boat that speeds through sharp waves, but if its rocking gently, and my vision and sense of balance don't sync, I get seasick. Those movements that are not obvious to the eye are the worst.

I would say that rather than learning that you don't like the sea, you might be better served by cutting yourself some slack early and be willing to bail on a dive when the situation begins to look too challenging. That would be my take away lesson.

It's good advice. I've learned to bail a dive, though. When too much trouble starts to stack up, I do recall that nightmare of a dive some eight years ago, and I feel sick. Has happened once or twice, and it was always a good decision to skip the dive. And it's often all the problems prior to the dive, and what the team experiences while preparing, that reveal that it's not gonna be a good experience. Time pressure, equipment problems prior to the dive, forgotten stuff, badly serviced gear, incomplete buddy/team check, still trying to make the dive happen somehow, compromises, not prepared, not the right gear, not in optimal shape, lack of sleep, ... all these things. Bad things sometimes start prior to the dive already.

Not to be critical of you or anyone who suffers from sea sickness, but when I envision a "good diver" I think much more about someone who can handle rough seas, currents and all the challenges of handling themselves and gear on a boat way, way before I think about perfect trim, super low air use or being able to swim backwards in a quarry.

I'm not a good diver at sea, that I know. I've been crawling to some rather interesting places though with dive gear; dark, muddy and confined places But maybe I'll give wrecks a chance, some day.

 

[Dody]

Sometimes being a good diver is knowing when not to do a dive or to end a dive before you get into something you cannot handle on your own even though you dive with buddies. There were times I let peer group pressure override my concerns about a dive which I went on in my first few years.

Relying on others for your own safety is the wrong way to think. My buddy will take care of me if anything happens. Can you take care of your buddy if they are the one needing assistance? As Dody has found out sometimes you get a situation that was difficult to deal with. As he was in difficulty already how would he have helped another diver in the water not yet on the stairs who got picked up by the swell and carried into the rocks or stairs?

I called my first dive yesterday morning. Had two boat dives planned. I did not feel quite well but could not pinpoint the reason why. Halfway through the first dive, I found myself so unwell that I was afraid I would throw out in my regulator. I looked at my watch and it was 20 minutes into a 40 minutes dive. For the first time since I started diving I was eager to see the end coming. When we surfaced, I realized that my wife had the same symptoms so we happily canceled the second dive together. Must have been something we ate the day before. Back on shore, an hour later, we both threw out and immediately felt better although very weak. Making this second dive would have been a disaster. Some people say that you can vomit through your reg, but when I vomit at the surface, the first one or two backflows are so painful that it bends my body and I absolutely don't know what effect it would have underwater.

 

[Edward3c]

I called my first dive yesterday morning. Had two boat dives planned. I did not feel quite well but could not pinpoint the reason why. Halfway through the first dive, I found myself so unwell that I was afraid I would throw out in my regulator. I looked at my watch and it was 20 minutes into a 40 minutes dive. For the first time since I started diving I was eager to see the end coming. When we surfaced, I realized that my wife had the same symptoms so we happily canceled the second dive together. Must have been something we ate the day before. Back on shore, an hour later, we both threw out and immediately felt better although very weak. Making this second dive would have been a disaster. Some people say that you can vomit through your reg, but when I vomit at the surface, the first one or two backflows are so painful that it bends my body and I absolutely don't know what effect it would have underwater.

Sounds more like bad fills.

 

[johndiver999]

Bad fills should definitely be considered, especially of both of your symptoms disappear over the next 12 hours or so.

 

[Blackcrusader]

Back on shore, an hour later, we both threw out and immediately felt better although very weak. Making this second dive would have been a disaster. Some people say that you can vomit through your reg, but when I vomit at the surface, the first one or two backflows are so painful that it bends my body and I absolutely don't know what effect it would have underwater.

I was trained for this using an agent that caused one to vomit so we would know the feeling and what to do. Feeding the fish underwater can be fun even when you have no choice about it. Of course you can vomit through your reg and knowing that you will have that urge to puke without control you learn that maybe holding that reg in is a good thing. Uncontrolled vomiting is uncomfortable but you can deal with it It will happen one a dive and the experience will be good for you. Whatever caused you both to be ill needs to be checked out. Bad food? People react differently and if you had food poisoning from bad food could be sick for a couple of days. If you suspect bad air then perhaps you recover in several hours.

Were you feeling sick before the dive? If so then perhaps not bad air from tanks. If you were well before the dive then perhaps bad air. You should bring that up with the dive operation as they may want to check their equipment could be bad filters. Did you notice if the air from the tank tasted or smelled strange before the dive?

 

[Blackcrusader]

Halfway through the first dive, I found myself so unwell that I was afraid I would throw out in my regulator. I looked at my watch and it was 20 minutes into a 40 minutes dive. For the first time since I started diving I was eager to see the end coming. When we surfaced, I realized that my wife had the same symptoms so we happily canceled the second dive together.

For me If I was that sick and wanting to end the dive I would have done so immediately and not waited for the end of the dive. Your thoughts telling you that you want the end of the dive can be heeded right away. Also one thing, for me it seems your wife waits for your decisions and does not make her own as she follows you. She too needs to know she can call a dive at any time and not wait.
Vomiting can be unpleasant and the first time if unexpected can come as a shock when you are still on a dive.

Am am not saying you did anything wrong by finishing the dive but ignoring warning signs is why people can get into incidents they would rather avoid. Hope you are both feeling better.