RimGreaper
Guest
In the days of training
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My first post here, but I am a BIG believer in accident analysis (Sheck, You the man (RIP) ).
I would like to relate an incident that happened during my open water training. This was a decade ago (so details may be a bit fuzzy) .
We were in De Leon (i think) spring. In a pool with a max depth of 30 ft, so DCI risk was nearly nil. We had completed our class and pool work and this was our first "open water" experience. (In reality, we were in a murky pool that was a bit deeper than usual, and colder as i found out. When you are a skinny college kid in 70 degree water and a shortie, you get cold quick)) There was a fallen tree/ log that the 4 of us students sat on while our instructor stood about 10 feet in front of us and bekoned us out, one at a time, to him to practice mask clearing, reg recovery, etc. During this time, he had a firm grasp on our BC to keep us from floating away.
2 of us had completed our excursion, when a 3rd student went out. She did fine through the reg clearing. But when she removed her mask, something spooked her. When the water hit her face, she hit the power inflator and shot from our instuctor's grasp. She surfaced a bit faster than the recommended ascent rate. And although i don't know for a fact, I think she didn't concisously exhale during the ascent (the air was probably "knocked out of her")
Had she managed to lock up her lungs or had we been at 60 or 100 or bloody horror 130 ft, just think of the problems that could've arisen
ANALYSIS
1> Panic can kill.
We all know it. Train. Train. and train again. When your reason is bypassed by fear, you will fall backk on your training. As a side note, just because you've been diving for 50 years without having your mask fill or knocked off, doesnt mean you don't need to know how to clear it. Practice anyway (not just with the mask. Practice all those "weenie" skills. They can save your life)
2> Plan dives in unfamilar areas/environments with extra caution.
There's nothing "pussy" about using guides when diving in unfamiliar environments. The unfamilar environment probably contributed to this gal's panic. Dive smart, stay alive.
3> FOR INSTRUCTORS. Don't be afraid to "fail" your customers
This gal had to prove she could handle this. She was mad. she made threats. But our instructor made her redo this at a later time anyway. Good for you, Don! You guys are responsible for keeping your students alive. Or at least giving the tools for staying alive. Fail us if we cant "cut" it. Tech diving instructors do it. Openwater guys should too. Yours is the foundation of ALL training
I know its a bit basic. But i hope this entry is worthy!
--RimGreaper
-----------------------------
My first post here, but I am a BIG believer in accident analysis (Sheck, You the man (RIP) ).
I would like to relate an incident that happened during my open water training. This was a decade ago (so details may be a bit fuzzy) .
We were in De Leon (i think) spring. In a pool with a max depth of 30 ft, so DCI risk was nearly nil. We had completed our class and pool work and this was our first "open water" experience. (In reality, we were in a murky pool that was a bit deeper than usual, and colder as i found out. When you are a skinny college kid in 70 degree water and a shortie, you get cold quick)) There was a fallen tree/ log that the 4 of us students sat on while our instructor stood about 10 feet in front of us and bekoned us out, one at a time, to him to practice mask clearing, reg recovery, etc. During this time, he had a firm grasp on our BC to keep us from floating away.
2 of us had completed our excursion, when a 3rd student went out. She did fine through the reg clearing. But when she removed her mask, something spooked her. When the water hit her face, she hit the power inflator and shot from our instuctor's grasp. She surfaced a bit faster than the recommended ascent rate. And although i don't know for a fact, I think she didn't concisously exhale during the ascent (the air was probably "knocked out of her")
Had she managed to lock up her lungs or had we been at 60 or 100 or bloody horror 130 ft, just think of the problems that could've arisen
ANALYSIS
1> Panic can kill.
We all know it. Train. Train. and train again. When your reason is bypassed by fear, you will fall backk on your training. As a side note, just because you've been diving for 50 years without having your mask fill or knocked off, doesnt mean you don't need to know how to clear it. Practice anyway (not just with the mask. Practice all those "weenie" skills. They can save your life)
2> Plan dives in unfamilar areas/environments with extra caution.
There's nothing "pussy" about using guides when diving in unfamiliar environments. The unfamilar environment probably contributed to this gal's panic. Dive smart, stay alive.
3> FOR INSTRUCTORS. Don't be afraid to "fail" your customers
This gal had to prove she could handle this. She was mad. she made threats. But our instructor made her redo this at a later time anyway. Good for you, Don! You guys are responsible for keeping your students alive. Or at least giving the tools for staying alive. Fail us if we cant "cut" it. Tech diving instructors do it. Openwater guys should too. Yours is the foundation of ALL training
I know its a bit basic. But i hope this entry is worthy!
--RimGreaper
It felt like a true vacation being able to slack off on the navigation (just a bit) and being spoiled like that.
