(15 APR 04) Have you ever been close to meeting your maker while diving

[kabluton]

We had our dive plan ready and in we went. Here I am, in the water bobbing at the surface while watching people descend head first (never seen that before). I finally make it down to about 4 feet and I feel a hudge jerk on my fin, looking down I see that its my dive buddie pulling me to him. Here's where the first accident happens. At about 10 feet, I start descending very fast, in my mind I know I need to slow down. I added little puffs of air into my bc and fanned out my legs. I held my computer in one and tried to equalize with the other. At about 45 feet the viz went to maybe a foot, theres lots of blood in my mask and I have this horrible HORRIBLE!! pain in my right ear and then a small little pop and the pain was gone. At 97 feet I've finally managed to stop but the bubbles are all going sideways.. (wierd feeling) Thank God I had a fab. instructor, I kept hearing his voice telling me not to panic, take my time and figure the situation out. He had always said, trust your compass, and remember bubbles always go up.

Your dive buddy should not have pulled you down like that. He/she is likely what caused your eardrum to bust. I would have been POd. I don't like people touching me or crowding me when I dive.

 

[Creed]

My closest call was 45", in Tablerock Lake, MO. My buddy and I were diving along a wall, and we came to a tree that had fallen down. I got a little too close, and got tangled in monofiliment line(and a branch, though I was unaware of it at the time). To top off my stupidity, I hadn't brought a knife. Anyway, I watched my buddy swim off. Now I was in real trouble. I was getting ready to gnaw my way through the line, when my buddy reappeared. He quickly cut me free.

I bought the knife he used, and it has been strapped to my leg on every non-pool dive since.

 

[CEGator]

I really enjoy the diving in Jupiter. If you want an alternative to the 9.5 finger dive operation try Scuba Worx.

 

[NJDevil]

I just courious.
I like to read about others experiences. I like to take in the info and learn from it.
No flaming please. I don't want to hear about how dumb someone was, just what went wrong and how did you react to it. My closest call was last weekend and it got me thinking, along with pugs Post of
"If I should die while diving."
Fred

I got vertigo once and began to panic. But then I remembered I am breathing AIR not sucking down water so I began to relax as I convinced myself quickly that vertigo is just not knowing which way is up and I rely on AIR to live. At that time I noticed the boat downline and was able to still see the boat underside. Otherwise I would have looked for my bubbles. Was interesting because you hear of vertigo but until you experience it there is no telling how you will react.

Which also reminds me that other divers make fun of me because I tend to wear very bright neon colors including my tanks sometimes and wear items that just arent blue and black. To which I laugh as I watch them at either the down line on the way up or surfacing when they realize thats not their dive buddy. By all means buy a unique tank cover so your buddy stays with you and is easily idetifyable. It also increases visibility. I am originally a Jersey diver and visibility is key.

Buddy of mine got caught up on fishing line on a deep dive and I had to cut him free. I first made eye contact with him and signaled to him I would take care of it. If you dont do that first they will probably put you in danger by their frantic moving attempting to get free. The lesson learned is I dont think many divers learn how to take off their dive equipment underwater or are comfortable in doing so. He was stuck like a turtle and I had him out in 2 line cuts. Which also proves the buddy system. He is an experienced diver but it didnt dawn on him to take his BC off. For some reason people dont feel comfortable doing that but are fine swimming in their pool without their dive equipment on. I guess they think they will float away. You dont have to take the regulator out of your mouth to do this.

 

[Mad_diver]

. For some reason people dont feel comfortable doing that but are fine swimming in their pool without their dive equipment on. I guess they think they will float away. You dont have to take the regulator out of your mouth to do this.

I practice BC removal once a week in the pool. We even have a drill where we'll remove the BC in 12' (pool) surface and exit the pool then free dive down and don the gear. My 14 year old son even does it.
Flooded mask isn't any problem at all when you practice the drills often.

 

[baitedstorm]

I really enjoy the diving in Jupiter. If you want an alternative to the 9.5 finger dive operation try Scuba Worx.

That would be off of the Temptation with Captain Paul. Here's his web site click here


Excellent dive operation (love the shop too)!!!!!

 

[drbill]

In 44 years of off-and-on diving, I've had 1-2 incidents where I might have "eaten it." Thankfully good training got me out of those situations safely.

However, I have a different take on being close to "meeting my maker." I find every day that I dive I am experiencing a wondrous part of "God's" creation. The underwater realm is my cathedral. I feel so much closer to the "transcendent being" when I'm underwater. In that sense, I'm much closer to meeting my maker underwater!

 

[bgi]

Baitedstorm, are you AOW? I have dived the locations you mention in your post. They are definatly advanced dives. The Hole in the Wall is a dive where you can hit 140+. The Rankin often has a ripping current on it. We always dive both with a pony just in case, and more recently, we do decompression dives on both. I know the operator you 'didn not' mention. He has a habit of running Resort Nitrox classes on the boat on the way out to the dive sites. I don't agree with the PADI Resort Nitrox thing, but that's for another post. That being said, he is a good operator.

Oh, really? YOU CARE TO EXPLAIN THIS NOISE!? "he is a good operator"

That must be the stupidest thing I've ever read on this board.

 

[NJDevil]

I practice BC removal once a week in the pool. We even have a drill where we'll remove the BC in 12' (pool) surface and exit the pool then free dive down and don the gear. My 14 year old son even does it.
Flooded mask isn't any problem at all when you practice the drills often.

Thats good to hear when I was trained we had to do that but entanglement should be taught a little more since I believe it occurs more often it seems.

Too many times you hear the moment your dive buddy isnt looking is when someone gets tangled.

If I had to I would pull my pony bottle and surface with that. Things not often spoken about when in dive training.

 

[geraldp]

In 44 years of off-and-on diving, I've had 1-2 incidents where I might have "eaten it." Thankfully good training got me out of those situations safely.

I read with rapt interest about your emergency OOA ascent from 70 feet a year or two back. That caused me to go out and invest in a pony bottle.

However, I have a different take on being close to "meeting my maker." I find every day that I dive I am experiencing a wondrous part of "God's" creation. The underwater realm is my cathedral. I feel so much closer to the "transcendent being" when I'm underwater. In that sense, I'm much closer to meeting my maker underwater!

I hear you there... That's a primary reason I dive.

This is an old thread, but I just discovered it. It sure makes me feel better to know that I'm not the only one who has an occasional scary episode. Each one makes us wiser, hopefully.

Jerry