Buddy got bent etc.

[wolf eel]

[Gary D.]I just typed this on another thread earlier today and I can't stress it enough.
DO NOT LET PEER PRESSURE PUSH YOU INTO ANYTHING YOU DON'T FEEL COMFORTABLE DOING!"

What does bending into peer pressure mean?
"JOB SECURITY"

Being a new diver getting stressed out, with unfamilier gear and getting mad on top of all that equals one thing.
"JOB SECURITY"

I have only one thing to add:"DO NOT LET PEER PRESSURE PUSH YOU INTO ANYTHING YOU DO NOT FEEL COMFORTABLE DOING!"]

I second that. It may not be job security for me but what he said is bang on.
Cheers
Derek

 

[Scubamedicjoe]

hum did he have to be flown out by chance couple divers this week had to be flown out , was told from buddy of mine works coast guard helicopter . Both with very erratic profiles which caused both to get bent .

 

[DEEPLOU]

I just back off the line and let 'em go. Besides, it's good practice to just do my ascents and stops free of the line

I disagree whole heartedly.
When wreck diving (which I presume you were doing in NC) always down the anchor line and up the anchor line. It can be used to ensure proper ascent rate.

Only place I do free ascent is in carribean crystal clear water or Florida clear water drift dives. (only up line is line on flag)

Too often free ascents are too fast and manage to miss their safety stop.

BTW: don't just wait for 15 ft to do safety stop. At abt half of max depth, do a minute or two as a deep stop. Everything I have read indicates it can only help.

 

[RiverRat]

hum did he have to be flown out by chance couple divers this week had to be flown out , was told from buddy of mine works coast guard helicopter . Both with very erratic profiles which caused both to get bent .

Nope, I drove him to a nearby chamber. Turns out he may not have been bent. I'm assuming his arm pain did not go away after multiple chamber rides indicating it may have been a pulled muscle or something. We may never know if he was really bent or not.

I do respect the docs decision to put him in given his description of his symptoms, pain "radiating" down his arm, indicitive of a possible CNS injury. Better to be safe. Especially given his careless attitude.

I hope this guy learns something from all this. Choosing to smoke and dive is one thing, but chain smoking just before deep dives is another. I believe it's recommended that if you smoke you abstain at least 2 hours before diving. He's lucky.

Even if he was not bent he was looking pretty beat as we swam back to the boat. I really thought I was gonna have to tow him in.

I also heard this guy may have been smoking between chamber dives, that really disgusts me. Some folks went back over to see him, brought him Gatorade and stuff to keep him hydrated and then you go and destroy all the benefits of the chamber/O2? I won't be diving with this guy again.....

 

[RiverRat]

I disagree whole heartedly.
When wreck diving (which I presume you were doing in NC) always down the anchor line and up the anchor line. It can be used to ensure proper ascent rate.

Only place I do free ascent is in carribean crystal clear water or Florida clear water drift dives. (only up line is line on flag)

Too often free ascents are too fast and manage to miss their safety stop.

BTW: don't just wait for 15 ft to do safety stop. At abt half of max depth, do a minute or two as a deep stop. Everything I have read indicates it can only help.

I hear ya. Even though at times I was "off the line" I had it in my sight. I'll tell ya though, at times the line was moving up and down so much I just let it slide through my hand, you could not hold a steady depth if you held onto that sucker.

I also feel one SHOULD be able to do a stop and proper ascent rate in open water, I had to do one when we surfaced at the stern of a wreck because we got turned around in the bad vis (I'll be using a reel next time...). The other diver I was with wanted to go straight up but I convinced him to slow down and to do our stop together. It worked out well.

I agree, deep stops seem to be the way to go.

I also feel that SLOW ascents from the safety stop are also advantageous. The last 15-20 feet are where the most dramatic pressure changes occur.

 

[RiverRat]

I second that. It may not be job security for me but what he said is bang on.
Cheers
Derek

Hey Gary D and Wolf Eel, Thanks, yes you are correct, it's not good at all to give into peer pressure. Gary D sees this all the time I'm sure.
I should have declined the invite and went with my gut just like the rest of my group did.
Actually I wanted to dive, and the conditions did not really bother me. The big issue for me was I let my stubborness and temper get ahold of my better judgement after I comitted to the dive. It was not really fair to the guy I buddied up with either.
I recently took Rescue training and I failed on one point, SELF RESCUE. Take care of yourself first or you can't expect to help anyone else. By diving with a hot head I was already compromised. Luckily I blew it off early on and got ahold of myself. Considering the poor vis, the "unknown, distressed dive buddy", the free ascent at the stern, etc. we were lucky the dive went as well as it did.

Now that I look back both of us were the worst buddy combo you could have had at the time.

Anyway, thanks for all the input, I respect everyone's input on this board, it really helps to learn from all of you as there is quite a diverse group of divers here.

 

[Scubamedicjoe]

Now that I look back both of us were the worst buddy combo you could have had at the time.

.

I disagree first there is some good in this dive .
believe it or not you learned and you both lived with that the above statment was little hard on yourself.

 

[lamont]

Where can you find out more about the 5 minute neurological exam and/or get training on it?

Thanks for sharing your story.

One handy tool to have available is the 5 minute neurological exam.
If you, and your buddy do the exam on each other before and after diving you can tell real quick if there is a serious problem.

Example, if your buddy is saying "It is just a twinge" and his grip that nearly crushed your hand this morning is now flacid and trembling, you KNOW that it is time to activate EMS, start O2 and call DAN.

 

[Rick Inman]

Only place I do free ascent is in carribean crystal clear water or Florida clear water drift dives. (only up line is line on flag)

DEEPLOU,
Around these parts, a nice slow ascent in low vis with no line, including hanging steady without a reference during the safety stop, is generally an assumed skill. In fact, there's been a lot of talk about watching the little critters, or the particles in the water, or even being able to feel you if you're ascending/descending or not.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't ascending in low vis without a line something everyone should be able to do?

 

[Gary D.]

DEEPLOU,
Around these parts, a nice slow ascent in low vis with no line, including hanging steady without a reference during the safety stop, is generally an assumed skill. In fact, there's been a lot of talk about watching the little critters, or the particles in the water, or even being able to feel you if you're ascending/descending or not.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't ascending in low vis without a line something everyone should be able to do?

Not just here but everywhere and everyone SHOULD be able to do it and do it with ease. If they can't they need to go back and study buoyancy 101. That line may not always be there.

Gary D.