Averting a Do or Die Potential One-Way Scenario. . .

[uwxplorer]

Sometimes you have to yield to that gut feeling, to just stay surfaced and "let it go". . . In order to avert hubris -no matter how skilled or experienced or in-control you believe you might be.

I dropped and lost a disconnected QC6 gas source on surface recovery today -a configured UTD Z-system single tank sidemount AL100/13L tank with 50bar remaining gas pressure that was fumbled upon attempting to hand it up to a diveboat crew member, in 90msw open ocean waters, on the Oil Rigs off Southern California homewaters (currently 10°C and a murky 6m to 9m visibilty at 30msw).

The scary thing about it was for just an instant -and almost in an immediate impulsive reaction- I was about to dump/vent Wing Inflation to descend back down and try to catch up to the sinking cylinder, just as it began to accelerate down -but an inner subconscious voice of intuition intervened ("No! Let it go!").

Objectively and in hindsight, it would have been a "Do or Die" attempt to try and recover that cylinder -and with that tank being the sole source of Buoyancy Wing & Drysuit Inflation. But obviously and even more vital -chasing that tank down on descent with only 50bar of Air remaining in it was the only source of breathing gas left as well. . . A one-way, spiraling cascade of adversity, with a potential no-escape trap of tragic consequences.

(If I lost sight of that tank on the way down after it; or failed to reconnect that QC6 upon catching-up with it; or catching-up with it and successfully reconnecting BUT on the sea floor at 90msw and 50bar remaining??!! Any of the above scenarios, and I would not be here right now posting about it. . .)

Not mentioning that the dive goat's instructions are to not dive outside the rig and/or toward (implying under) the boat. Needless to say, if you ever had attempted such a cluster **** and survived it, you would have been banned from diving off that boat.
I believe THAT thought, deep inside, stopped you from acting stupidly
As the writing on the wall says: when everything else fails, try following the captain's instructions!
Glad you are here to tell the tale...

 

[Kevrumbo]

Not mentioning that the dive goat's instructions are to not dive outside the rig and/or toward (implying under) the boat. Needless to say, if you ever had attempted such a cluster **** and survived it, you would have been banned from diving off that boat.
I believe THAT thought, deep inside, stopped you from acting stupidly
As the writing on the wall says: when everything else fails, try following the captain's instructions!
Glad you are here to tell the tale...

The Captain's direction is fluid and can change at any time due to the variable surface conditions (wind, swell and current) within the span of a few hours from morning to afternoon.

If Captain or Crew yells & gestures at you to come swim directly to the Diveboat stern swim platform for pick-up -->you go swim directly out to the Diveboat stern swim platform; if he points toward a direction out and away from the platform structure downwind, downcurrent or downswell where the Diveboat will vector in and intercept you for pick-up -->then you swim out and away orthogonally from the Oil Rig Platform downcurrent and be aware as the Diveboat maneuvers in to parallel beside you for stern pick-up.

So tell me @uwxplorer , what were the exact surface conditions and circumstances that YOU saw yesterday on the actual Diveboat I was on which you believed "needless to say" and "not mentioning", motivated my self-preservation instinct, and warranted in your opinion -myself being banned from diving off that boat again?

IOW and to the point @uwxplorer , where you actually there??

 

[bergersau]

My last dive went that way - watching expensive gear sink.

Lost a dive computer overboard in 15-20m whilst gearing up, the elastic wrist strap was insufficiently tight as I was shrugging shoulders to settle backplate into place. Expletives followed it overboard..
My fins were still tucked into a side pocket on the boat and due to a 1.5m - 2m swell I opted to wait for my fins before entering the water. Hard to watch over $500 sink into the depths but with the surge I knew I'd encounter at the bottom - going in without fins was not a sensible option despite the temptation.

Grabbed my fins as the skipper circled back on the mark and I rolled in solo to search. No luck, too much kelp and crevices. I timed the dive based on the known approximate depth from the sounder and the pressure drop on my SPG based on my SAC. I used my DSMB to gauge and hold a slow, controlled ascent and a safety stop. My actual run time was 40 mins - 5mins shorter than my estimate of 45mins.
Ideal - No.
Dangerous - not particularly.
If you know your depth and normal air consumption then it's not hard to monitor runtime if you've enough experience under similar conditions. I know I normally surface with 100 Bar remaining on comparable dives with that size tank.

I wouldn't call it 'do or die' - Just not doing something impulsive and stupid.

 

[Kevrumbo]

My last dive went that way - watching expensive gear sink.

Lost a dive computer overboard in 15-20m whilst gearing up, the elastic wrist strap was insufficiently tight as I was shrugging shoulders to settle backplate into place. Expletives followed it overboard..
My fins were still tucked into a side pocket on the boat and due to a 1.5m - 2m swell I opted to wait for my fins before entering the water. Hard to watch over $500 sink into the depths but with the surge I knew I'd encounter at the bottom - going in without fins was not a sensible option despite the temptation.

Grabbed my fins as the skipper circled back on the mark and I rolled in solo to search. No luck, too much kelp and crevices. I timed the dive based on the known approximate depth from the sounder and the pressure drop on my SPG based on my SAC. I used my DSMB to gauge and hold a slow, controlled ascent and a safety stop. My actual run time was 40 mins - 5mins shorter than my estimate of 45mins.
Ideal - No.
Dangerous - not particularly.
If you know your depth and normal air consumption then it's not hard to monitor runtime if you've enough experience under similar conditions. I know I normally surface with 100 Bar remaining on comparable dives with that size tank.

I wouldn't call it 'do or die' - Just not doing something impulsive and stupid.

Cognitively, it's about the trap of goal oriented behavior in a reactionary impulsive moment without conscious forethought, and an intuitively surreal but nonetheless real innate self-preservation gut instinct firmly inhibiting a response to act on that behavior, again without any conscious forethought -and not to any general disposition to mental "stupidity" or even judgmental attribution to "carelessness" per se. Do you understand?

Because of Drysuit squeeze and immobility, the best I could have physically done was only to dump two 2.5kg lead weight pockets on my waist belt out of a total of 10kg. . .

It was 'do or die' in my case, because if I didn't catch up with that tank for Buoyancy Wing/Drysuit Inflation in perhaps as shallow as 3 meters depth -let alone accessing vital breathing gas- I probably would have been too negatively buoyant and immobile enough, "straight-jacketed" by constriction of the Drysuit, and hence physically unable to make a swimming ascent to surface again.

 

[uwxplorer]

The Captain's direction is fluid and can change at any time due to the variable surface conditions (wind, swell and current) within the span of a few hours from morning to afternoon.

If Captain or Crew yells & gestures at you to come swim directly to the Diveboat stern swim platform for pick-up -->you go swim directly out to the Diveboat stern swim platform; if he points toward a direction out and away from the platform structure downwind, downcurrent or downswell where the Diveboat will vector in and intercept you for pick-up -->then you swim out and away orthogonally from the Oil Rig Platform downcurrent and be aware as the Diveboat maneuvers in to parallel beside you for stern pick-up.

So tell me @uwxplorer , what were the exact surface conditions and circumstances that YOU saw yesterday on the actual Diveboat I was on which you believed "needless to say" and "not mentioning", motivated my self-preservation instinct, and warranted in your opinion myself being banned from diving off that boat again?

IOW and to the point @uwxplorer , where you actually there??

OK, slight misunderstanding here... I was not here and was not casting any judgment as should have been clear. My bad if the intention was not as clear as I intended.
I was simply referring to the last phase of your boarding: when your tank sunk. Diving to catch it would have not only put you in danger of drowning (as you explained. Good on you for refraining to do that), but would have had you under the boat outside the rig. A big no no, no matter what the sea conditions.
My point (partly pun) was that this was this well-ingrained interdiction that prevented you from diving for your tank. And so in short, the oft repeated instructions of all captains did contribute to save your life.

 

[Kevrumbo]

OK, slight misunderstanding here... I was not here and was not casting any judgment as should have been clear. My bad if the intention was not as clear as I intended.
I was simply referring to the last phase of your boarding: when your tank sunk. Diving to catch it would have not only put you in danger of drowning (as you explained. Good on you for refraining to do that), but would have had you under the boat outside the rig. A big no no, no matter what the sea conditions.
My point (partly pun) was that this was this well-ingrained interdiction that prevented you from diving for your tank. And so in short, the oft repeated instructions of all captains did contribute to save your life.

Very well and fair enough. . .

More Lessons Learned Analysis:

There was a infamous, very sad and awful tragedy some seventeen years ago in San Diego, that similarly began with what in hindsight was a bad impulsive goal-oriented decision:

Unsafe diving methods, gear failure cited in woman's death

By Terry Rodgers UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER February 7, 2001

A prominent San Diego marine biologist drowned as a result of unsafe diving procedures and the apparent failure of a weight-release device that would have allowed her to surface quickly.

That's the conclusion of a team of diving experts asked by the San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office to examine evidence gathered after the Jan. 7 death of ocean scientist Mia Tegner.

Tegner, 53, an expert diver and researcher with UCSD's Scripps Institution of Oceanography, had been diving at Wreck Alley off Mission Beach to chart the growth of marine life. She was with four other divers, including her husband, Eric Hanauer.

The report by the Diving Death Review Committee, chaired by San Diego Lifeguard Lt. Brant Bass, provides the following account of Tegner's last dive:

Tegner, who was on her second dive that afternoon, was exploring a shipwreck in 85 feet of water with her husband, who was her diving partner. After being down for 20 minutes, Hanauer started to run out of air, and he surfaced.

Tegner continued her dive alone. Shortly thereafter, her air supply also became low, and she ascended.

Upon reaching the surface, Tegner told someone aboard the boat that her diver's computer was telling her she needed additional decompression time. She grabbed another diver's partially depleted air tank, which still had a buoyancy vest attached, and descended with it under her arm.

About four minutes later, the air tank and buoyancy vest bobbed to the surface.

Tegner's husband immediately went down to look for her, but ran low on air before he could find her. A San Diego lifeguard diver later discovered her body on the ocean floor.

The expert panel believes Tegner ran out of air before completing her "safety stop," a final pause of three to five minutes in 15 to 25 feet of water. It's a routine procedure to provide an extra margin of safety to eliminate any remaining nitrogen bubbles in a diver's blood.

It appears Tegner used some of her limited air supply to inflate the buoyancy vest attached to the second air tank, which probably slipped from her grasp, the report stated.

She couldn't rise to the surface without inflating her buoyancy vest or injecting air into her diving suit, the report states, which wasn't possible because her own air tank was depleted.

"Her motor skills may have been impaired by diving decompression sickness or an arterial gas embolism, which may have led to her losing her grasp of the second tank, which was most likely her only source of air and buoyancy at the time," the report states.

Tegner also was carrying 40.5 pounds of weights, which may have been too much, the report suggests.

Tegner could have saved herself by releasing the diver's weights attached to her buoyancy vest. However, an examination of her weight device -- a case containing lead balls rather than the traditional dive belt -- found that the release pin "was bent to a degree that the weights would have been very difficult to release," the report states.

Having run out of air and sinking, Tegner was unable to unbuckle and remove her weights. The report says decompression sickness -- also called the bends -- may have impaired her judgment.

An autopsy found she had an air embolism, but that could have occurred after death when divers recovered her body, Bass said.

The report concluded the accident could have been avoided if at least four procedures had been followed:

If Tegner had "maintained her gear in such a way that dropping the weights could have been accomplished." If she had been diving with less weight. If she had stayed with her diving partner. If she had "managed her air and her dive profile in a way that would have left adequate reserves for a decompression safety stop and buoyancy."

Another San Diego Tragedy...