A very PERSONAL Close Call incident

[Big-t-2538]

What time of year did you do your checkouts? If it was AUG, SEPT, OCT, the water is a whole hell of a lot warmer than it is in MAY.

If you are going to continue to dive in water that is 55 on the surface, and colder at depth, you need a hood, and better thermal protection. With that said, you'll also need to do some weight balancing with the new buoyancy characteristis of your diving set-up.

 

[double125's]

I agree that you should get medical clearance before diving again. If you do return to diving, you just recieved a world of experience in two dives. Be sure to share your experiences in upcoming classes. this is how others learn as well. You did not mention what the surface temp was or what the thermocline was. I've been in quarries with 70 degree surface temp and the first thermocline was 45 degrees. If this was the case with you I am speculating your body might have went into shock that triggered the other symptoms. Good luck in the future and let us know what the doc says.

 

[Uncle Pug]

Hypothermia isn't instantaneous in onset or resolution... so while that would have eventually been a life threatening problem it wasn't your immediate problem.

Over weighted sounds more like it coupled with panic brought on by the psychological shock of the cold, the decrease in buoyancy as the wetsuit compressed and the disappearance of your *buddies*.

You had plenty of air and were not in immediate danger except for your state of panic... and that almost led you to really complicate your situation: releasing your fin straps would have been a very bad move.

 

[bwerb]

Dxtreme once bubbled...
With water temperature in the mid 55 on the surface, foolishly i only equipped myself with a single piece long sleeve hoodless 2/3mm suit.

Clear and simple, it all starts here. If you don't have the right gear...and you knew you didn't from your comment "foolishly"...then you should not have done the dive...I seem to remember this exact example from the OW and Rescue diver manual...a diver who shows up with the totally wrong exposure protection for a dive should not be allowed to dive until dressed properly, why did you buddies let you in the water wearing a 2/3mm and no gloves, no hood? :cold:

Once you hit the thermocline, the temp would have dropped significantly below the 55 of the surface...I regularly dive in water which ranges between 45 and 55 degrees on the surface...I wear a full hood, gloves and a trilaminate drysuit.

I agree fully with everthing that has been said but I would add that your "buddy's" skills and pre-dive checks leave much to be desired as well.

Glad you're safe, just think it through a bit more next time.

 

[ElectricZombie]

Sounds like the combination of cold water, inexperience/panic and possible overweighting were the main culprets. 2/3 in 55 degree water is insane...you're tougher than I am.

You should think about looking for a new buddy as well. He probably never even knew you were gone.

I would take the money that you would spend on a pony/new reg, and invest in more advanced training and/or more dives to gain experience. A pony will not do you any good for all the reasons NetDoc mentioned and more.

Glad you're ok though. Just take this as a reason to practice harder.

 

[Charlie99]

What were you thinking when you started the 2nd dive without understanding what happened on the first?

 

[Dxtreme]

Thinking back to the incident yesterday, i agreed with a lot of you guys.

1) Upon hitting the first thermocline, i should have abandon the dive and not wait till the second thermocline in deeper depth AND I SHOULD HAVE CALL IT A DAY AND NOT DIVE WITHOUT THE PROPER THERMAL PROTECTION !!!!

2) I am 165 lbs and diving with 22 lbs of weights in 2/3mm suits. I dont think that i am seriously overweighted.

3) Actually my buoyancy control has improved a lot since the last time i dove. I agreed, more practice on the local pool

4) Uncle Pug was correct: Panic is the main reason for this incident. The thought of entanglement without having a knive on hand, Stirring up the bottom to 2 ft of visibility, the disappearence of 4 of the other diver all transformed me to the state of panic.

5) Having an extra pony bottle or diving a doubles would allowed more time to response to such emergency. With time, maybe other divers would stumbled upon me or would allowed more time to counter the situation.


------ Lessons Learned -----

1) Get a REAL* buddy. A bad buddy system is essentially the same as solo diving. Just because there is another human being diving with you doesnt mean that he/she is a buddy. Tell them about your specifics, in my case, i am a slow swimmer and a new diver.

2) DONT DIVE WITHOUT PROPER AND EXTRA THERMAL PROTECTION. Cold water WILL SHOCK YOU.

3) Cannot have enough of pool training on equipment, weightings and buoyancy.

I used to think that, there is nothing to be panic about underwater, you got the regs on the mouth and O2 from the tanks. Now i learned to respect the diving and its inherit danger.

FOr your info, on the state of panic, i lost 600 -800 Psi in less than 6 minutes. Upon reaching the surface, i swam 1 mile and a half and only used up 300 PSI.

I ended the dive with around 800 PSI of air. Have i panicked more, its really easy to be OOA in very little time.


** IF I WOULD HAVE A GOOD BUDDY, ALL OF THESE WOULD HAVE NOT HAPPENED. FIRST, A GOOD BUDDY WOULD NOT HAVE ALLOWED ME TO DIVE WITH A 2/3mm SUIT UNDER THAT CONDITION. SECOND WITH A LITTLE ASSURANCE AND A LITTLE MORE AIR ON MY BC, I WOULD NOT HAVE BE STAGNANT UNDERWATER.


A LESSON THAT I WOULD NOT FORGET FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE.

 

[DivePartner1]

Aside from the very sound advice provided by many above (be better prepared), I'd suggest weaning your 'buddies' away from the follow-the-leader method in favor of a side-by-side team--liking swimming wingmen.

The side by side system prevents one of you from outspritting the other, keeps you together and forces each to at least note the presence and condition of the buddy. Also, I find that it makes a more enjoyable dive to be able to communicate good stuff as well as trouble. UP has suggested this in the past and I try to raise this in each pre-dive ritual with prospective buddies.

 

[Grajan]

Re: 2) I am 165 lbs and diving with 22 lbs of weights in 2/3mm suits. I dont think that i am seriously overweighted.

I am about the same weight as you and when diving a 3mm suit in fresh water I need about 6 to 8lbs of weight.

 

[SeaJay]

Dude, if you're 165 lbs and diving with a 3/2 mil in fresh water, there's a pretty good chance you're totally overweighted with 22 pounds.

You should be diving 5-10 pounds.

Try diving in a pool, with a relatively empty tank. Wear all of your "normal" gear and do the following:

Deflate your BC completely. At the surface, take a full breath (not overly full, but full) and hold it. With a nearly empty tank (<500 psi), you should float perfectly at eye level. The surface of the water should cross right across your mask.

Remove weight until this works.

You'll have to do this in salt water too, to get your weighting right in salt water. I predict that you'll find that your freshwater weights plus 4-6 pounds is going to do you right in salt water.

Getting rid of all of that weight is going to improve your buoyancy and trim, as well as your overall enjoyment of the sport, considerably.