What are some of your worst entanglement experiences?

Please register or login

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.

Benefits of registering include

  • Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
  • A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
  • You can make this box go away

Joining is quick and easy. Log in or Register now!

I try to clean up fishing lines when I can, that often results in a bit of entanglement. So far nothing really bad. Entanglements are high on my list of scary things. I carry multiple cutting tools.

Some of @squalus357's youtube videos show truly horrific low-viz entanglement hazards if you're into watching such things.

nice, and ill check out some of @Squalus stuff
 
I've been hooked twice by fishermen on shore, each time in shallow water so no real problem. Once in FL and once in NJ.
In SPI, TX I was momentarily caught in fishing line but didn't need to cut it to escape.
Nothing much to get caught in shore diving in Nova Scotia, but diving solo I stay clear of mountains of kelp and really tall eel (sea) grass.
that must have hurt! I haven't even given thought to actually being hooked, thanks for sharing
 
665 dives and I’ve never been seriously entangled. I’ve had a couple minor hang ups on fishing line that I could easily clear. I’ve used my line cutter twice to cut line that was slightly hung up on me. I most likely could have untangled it but it was just easier to cut it than mess with it. I’ve used it other times to cut line off of wrecks, reef and a sea turtle once.

I wear two cutting devices on my waist band. One is a trilobite eezycut. These work incredibly well on fishing line.

EEZYCUT Trilobite Line Cutter

I also have a small blunt tip titanium line cutter.

DGX Gears Titanium Tek Line Cutter w/Waistbelt Sheath
nice, ill check those out thanks
 
The entanglement itself doesn't have to be catastrophic event, the trick is reacting to it appropriately.

Like the example from @Wookie that took 22 tanks to clear, you can infer from the description it was just something that needed to be done, so let's get to it.

What works for me is to NOT use force, stop and try to softly follow whatever it is holding you up (line, mono, net, whatever) to contact point.
Many times it is to the 1st stage/tank valve assembly , just relax and softly work it out however you can. As long as you don't panic it shouldn't be terrible.

Granted if you purposely swim into a bunch of fouled nets, you better have lots of air and a reasonable strategy, but typically it will be something you are carrying that is going to wrap around you.

I've seen people loosing their $hitt when the current changes direction and the flag line just touches the back of their head. From there this person proceeded to tangle himself to a tamale.
Over-reacting underwater seldom ends on a positive note.
very good points, and I totally agree with "over-reacting underwater seldom ends on a positive note." Thanks for sharing
 
Its good to practice entanglement scenarios. Get in a pool with some cheap string and wrap yourself up in it (or have a buddy tangle you) then practice unwrapping and using your cutting tools. Start easy, you can always make it harder.

Only do this with an attentive buddy ready to free you or provide air.
 
The only time I've been remotely entangled was caught in some fishing line under town pier in Bonaire. My buddy did her job - noticed, got my attention to stop, and took care of it.

I think a good buddy is your best tool, way easier for someone else to see what is going on and help. Situational awareness is good too, I might have thought about the fact that I was diving under a pier and paid more attention, though the stuff is pretty hard to see. As far as a cutting device, things like EMT scissors or line cutters tend to be more useful than knives.
Having an alert buddy is helpful, indeed. My 2 stories do not fit the conventional definition of entanglement (with fishing line), but here goes:

1. I enjoy diving Canada's west coast, off Vancouver Island. I was told this story by a diver who frequently does trips to see the Steller Sea Lions. One diver, a female small in stature, was stretched out on the sand taking photos. Unbeknownst to her, a large, male steller was cruising behind her, mounted her back and pinned her down. Her alert buddy intervened to distract the sea lion's attention, enabling her to get out from under.

2. On one of my trips to the Galapagos we were diving a site off Fernandina. I believe this region is especially volatile for volcanic eruptions. The dive site was rocky, with large boulders and small ones that had cascaded down a slope. My hands were placed lightly on 1 or 2 boulders (foolish me) and they started to shift and tumble. I got out of the way very quickly with no harm done, but had some body part become lodged and stuck in the tumbling action, I would have needed help from an alert buddy. My buddy was 20+ feet away, and we were in low viz. I would have tried to use a clip (double ender) to hammer my tank, or use my flashlight to attract attention.
 
1. I enjoy diving Canada's west coast, off Vancouver Island. I was told this story by a diver who frequently does trips to see the Steller Sea Lions. One diver, a female small in stature, was stretched out on the sand taking photos. Unbeknownst to her, a large, male steller was cruising behind her, mounted her back and pinned her down. Her alert buddy intervened to distract the sea lion's attention, enabling her to get out from under.

Holy Fat Marine Mammal Batman!!! That is quite the scenario!

My mind is racing thinking of ways to practice the skill necessary to extricate yourself or your buddy from underneath an amorous 2,000 lb male marine mammal. :cool:

Reminds me of conversations with the female dive guides here in South FL. They learn that they have to watch out for the male dolphins. Just one more thing that us males don't have a clue about!
 
Nearly 1000 dives and I've gotten entangled a couple of times. On monofilament fishing line. Fortunately it only hooked a fin on one occasion and the other it got hung up on a stage bottle swimming through vegetation. EEzy Cut to the rescue. I saw a couple of post about people going under lines, ropes, etc. NEVER go under a line if you can avoid it.
I also do a workshop on entanglements to illustrate the dangers and also show them that many times, by the time you realize you are entangled, it's almost too late. It's not as if it always results in you suddenly coming to a halt. You may swim for a ways before you realize it and when you do seem to be dragging something, people will often turn suddenly and wrap themselves up.
Situational awareness will prevent many issues. If I'm diving where fishing takes place, I assume there will be numerous places to get hung up so I slow down even more and keep my eyes open to as much as I can.
Another item to consider is picking your sites and buddies so that you don't raise the risk and if it happens, your buddy can help you out of it.
 
The entanglement itself doesn't have to be catastrophic event, the trick is reacting to it appropriately.
Absolutely. There's a concept I've heard, which is something like "Stop, Think, Decide, Act (and repeat)" In scuba, there is almost NEVER a reason to rush, panic, or act quickly.

For example, in even in perhaps the only "rush" scenario, being out-of-air , you're usually worse off if you immediately jump into action. You start burning through air faster, increase your natural propensity to panic, risk making the wrong move, and risk causing additional problems with frantic or imprecise movements (like entanglement, losing a mask, etc).


This video is a little long, but about half way through, the diver describes how he told himself (paraphrased) "I'm not going to make any movements, unless that movement has a specific purpose." The scenario he described was arguably more dangerous in any moment, than if you added up the danger divers are likely to face in hundreds of dives added together. Lost fin, lost regulator, lost buddy, lost visibility, lost guideline, and more.

Oh the number of times I've gotten the flag line wrapped around my foot/fin at BHB :rofl3: I'm sure I look quite humorous sometimes getting untangled especially when it has gotten wrapped around it a couple of times. I refuse to surface even though the depth is so shallow. I see it as a challenge to my manhood to fix it underwater. :cool:
If you've got a backup plan, such as near the surface, you might as well. It's more like a safety-drill at that point.

glad you got out of that, never know what is in murky rivers
When diving zero-visibility, I often use a 2ft aluminum pointer to feel ahead. It certainly helps, but doesn't make me immune to entanglements or occasionally bumping into something.

Its good to practice entanglement scenarios. Get in a pool with some cheap string and wrap yourself up in it (or have a buddy tangle you) then practice unwrapping and using your cutting tools. Start easy, you can always make it harder.

Only do this with an attentive buddy ready to free you or provide air.
I'd add, do it in the shallow-end, where they can drag your head above water, in the worst-case scenario. A really bad entanglement could theoretically make air-share impossible or impractical.

A shallow non-rocky beach with little-to-no current or waves is also a good alternative to a pool.

Nearly 1000 dives and I've gotten entangled a couple of times. On monofilament fishing line. Fortunately it only hooked a fin on one occasion and the other it got hung up on a stage bottle swimming through vegetation. EEzy Cut to the rescue. I saw a couple of post about people going under lines, ropes, etc. NEVER go under a line if you can avoid it.
I also do a workshop on entanglements to illustrate the dangers and also show them that many times, by the time you realize you are entangled, it's almost too late. It's not as if it always results in you suddenly coming to a halt. You may swim for a ways before you realize it and when you do seem to be dragging something, people will often turn suddenly and wrap themselves up.
Situational awareness will prevent many issues. If I'm diving where fishing takes place, I assume there will be numerous places to get hung up so I slow down even more and keep my eyes open to as much as I can.
Another item to consider is picking your sites and buddies so that you don't raise the risk and if it happens, your buddy can help you out of it.
This is especially true with backmount (standard) configuration. Everything appears larger underwater, There are number of times where I thought I had more than enough room to swim under something, only to have my tank or regulators bump into the overhead object. I generally avoid any overhead environments, but when I do I always make sure I have plenty of exits, and go very slow.

Swimming under any sort of rope/line/cable is a no-go for me.
 
Having an alert buddy is helpful, indeed. My 2 stories do not fit the conventional definition of entanglement (with fishing line), but here goes:

1. I enjoy diving Canada's west coast, off Vancouver Island. I was told this story by a diver who frequently does trips to see the Steller Sea Lions. One diver, a female small in stature, was stretched out on the sand taking photos. Unbeknownst to her, a large, male steller was cruising behind her, mounted her back and pinned her down. Her alert buddy intervened to distract the sea lion's attention, enabling her to get out from under.

2. On one of my trips to the Galapagos we were diving a site off Fernandina. I believe this region is especially volatile for volcanic eruptions. The dive site was rocky, with large boulders and small ones that had cascaded down a slope. My hands were placed lightly on 1 or 2 boulders (foolish me) and they started to shift and tumble. I got out of the way very quickly with no harm done, but had some body part become lodged and stuck in the tumbling action, I would have needed help from an alert buddy. My buddy was 20+ feet away, and we were in low viz. I would have tried to use a clip (double ender) to hammer my tank, or use my flashlight to attract attention.
wow im glad that she wasn't killed by that sea lion! That would be quite a way to go! Diving on a active volcano sounds awesome, but scary
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

Back
Top Bottom