A Funny but Serious Teaching monent

[logansar]

I returned last Sunday from Cozumel from 6 days of diving. The purpose of the dive trip was for me to get dive time in my new Sidemount setup before my upcoming trip to Truk Lagoon.

We were diving in a medium size boat and the were either 6 or 8 divers each day. All but an older couple and me typically would do a backwards roll into the water. The older couple would do a giant stride off the rear as I would. My routine was to put my SMS-50 on, mask and fins and the boat crew would set my two tanks on the rear part of the boat where I could stand on the swim deck, clip the tanks into the top D ring and then turn and do a giant stride. I would clip both tanks in at the bottom, put on the bungee cords and get my long hose on the right tank in place as I descended. By the time I was at depth I would be set for my dive.

I had 10 pounds of weight on my SMS50, a 4 pound weight on each tank and was diving with 2 AL 80s. I had plenty of lift yet enough weight to do safety stops with both tanks at 500 psi. As the week progressed I became relaxed in the routine. On the first dive of the 3rd morning the rest of the divers were rolling into he water, the boat crew grabbed my tanks had them ready for me. I put my fins by my tanks stepped onto the swim platform with the idea to step around (swing around) the boarding ladder to where my tanks were.

As I swung around the ladder I suddenly realized that the single ladder placed in the middle on the platform did not "latch" and was free to fold into the water. As this realization hit me also was the immediate thought of wearing my SMS50 BC with 10 pounds on weight, no fins on, no mask on and ZERO air in the badder. As I hit the water (while the divers and crew watched) my only thought was to NOT loose grip of the ladder! Luckily I kept my grip and was able to climb right back up, hook up, get fins and mask on and step in for my dive.

The obvious lesson here is to insure you don't get lax, keep air in the BC - especially one where you can't ditch weights (they were strung on the webbing) and be sure you understand even the simple things about the operation on the boat. With 40 feet of water below it would have been interesting to try to kick back up with boots on.

So that was my lesson learned from last week!



Sarge
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[Glenn08]

So you were ready to dive, except for not having put on your mask or fins, and no weight that you could drop ? (Used to be that a weight belt was used, and could be dropped.)

 

[logansar]

I stepped back to the rear of the boat to put on fins; I had my mask on backwards and the weights with he exception of those on tank bands are on the webbing of the BC. Maybe I wasn't clear, at the rear of the boat I would get ready for the dive.

I made a stupid mistake of assuming the ladder was secure. I made a mistake being lax. I thought it would be helpful to point out no matter how comfortable and competent you are as a diver becoming lax is not a good thing.

I learned a long time ago sharing these type things in debriefs after a operation not only helps in learning but may prevent it in the future. I find it refreshing to see this information being shared as thought provoking and a learning opportunity.


Sarge
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[TSandM]

Sarge, this story is very informative for me.

I just spent a week doing a cold water sidemount class using the Razor. In warm water, all the weights are mounted on the harness. That didn't work well for me, and by the end of the class, I was back to my weight belt, which is ditchable (although ditching it with the Razor harness, as snug as it is worn, might be interesting).

Ever since we had a death in Puget Sound related to not having any air in the BC when adjacent to the water, I have been religious about making sure I have gas in my wing before jumping, unless we are doing a hot drop somewhere. And of course, it was where we were doing a hot drop that I fell off the dive boat with no air in my wing . . . luckily, with tanks on and a bungied backup reg I could instantly reach. One should always be prepared for an unexpected trip into the water!

 

[Quero]

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[logansar]

TsandM - I too am not hip on the non-ditchable weights. A couple issue comes up with Sidemount / Tech diving as you know. Loosing weights on a decompression dive means immediate problems. On Tech divers who do wear a weight belt they always have 2 buckles on them to prevent the accidental releasing of their weights.

On my tank bands I have weight pockets so those weights could be pulled out but as you noted the weights on the Sidemount rig are strung on the webbing. What I'm going to do is use weight pockets on the waist belt which would allow the removal of weights if needed.

But in my incident you nailed the precaution..... Always have air in the bladder. A lesson learned.

A guy that was diving a Hollis SMS100 had an attachment on the back (where doubles typically would be) that had 9 weight pockets. Secure, but impossible to get rid of. He was from the East coast and wore a 6mil+ typically so the need for weight was even more.

This is one thing I really like about Sidemount .. It is very adaptable.

Sarge

 

[dive_turkey]

I think this is a great example of not only dive safety, but boat safety. Thanks for sharing!

 

[logansar]

Ludwigsv you are "spot on"!




Sarge
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[chillyinCanada]

Glad it worked out well and became a teaching moment. The situation of divers wandering around on the dive boat wearing their weightbelts when not prepared to dive has long been a concern of mine. I realize this was not exactly your case but it certainly should serve as reinforcement and more than food for thought. Thanks for sharing.

 

[logansar]

Roger that Chilly!


Sarge
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