Called Dive

[sambolino44]

A bunch of little things added up, and we called the dive. We may have been able to pull it off, but in hindsight I think it was a good thing. A combination of poor planning, minor gear problems, and mainly, just not having our heads in the right place all compounded each other.

Where to start? First time on our friend's boat, he wasn't real familiar or comfortable with the area we went, and we didn't thoroughly discuss the plan before we splashed. It wasn't until we were heading back that we discovered that the boat's depth finder had been on "Demo Mode" the whole time. Duh!

My buddy's wetsuit has mysteriously "shrunk" several inches around the waist since his last dive, and he was squeezed in so tight he could barely draw a breath.

We knew there was a current running, and instead of waiting for slack or going to another place, we thought we'd be able to swim against it. Bad plan.

Once we got in the water, my buddy didn't have enough weight to submerge. I had a few extra pounds I could have given him (I was planning to check my weight, and probably put them back on the boat), but the thought processes just weren't hitting on all eight. After a few minutes of futzing around on the surface, we decided to give up. Instead of trying to fight the current back to the boat, we just hollered and he came and got us.

Once we got back on the boat, we were a little tired, and mainly our spirit was down because we realized how dumb it was to try that location in a current. I never felt like we were ever in any real danger, but then sometimes you don't see it coming, do you?

So what did we learn? Plan, communicate, and prepare. Well, I guess we already knew that, so really the lesson is, don't just talk about it, do it! Next time we'll make sure the captain is good with the plan, we'll check the depth finder, we'll get a suit that fits, and we won't try to fight the current. But mainly what we need to do is pull our heads out of our

It could have been worse; we could have been stubborn and pushed it.

 

[KazooDiver]

I think you made the right decision....better to come back alive then be another statistic.

 

[Derek S]

Never, ever doubt yourself on a called dive. You did the right thing. This isn't a pickup game of hoops where the worst thing that could happen is a skinned knee or a bruised ego. I will always respect the right of any of my dive buddies to call a dive and I expect that respect will be returned. I would not dive with anyone who didn't respect that right.

Tomorrow is a new day! (besides, I have it on good authority that dives are so much better when you are on your game and everything is clicking )

 

[Doc]

Beers are in order.

Great time to go over a preliminary dive checklist.

 

[Marvel]

Sam- good call. Unfortunately, there is still a universal tendancy toward the macho or (call it) denial of instinct in diving. Not to mention that if you are the one to call the dive, you are the one who gets questioned in many instances. Bottom line....

I think you made the right decision....better to come back alive then be another statistic.

Makes sense to me!

 

[sambolino44]

Yeah, there was plenty of denial involved at first. But pretty soon there was no denying that we'd be in bad shape if we pressed on. And we still had a great day riding around on the boat! Actually, it's a relief to know that it's not such a big deal to call the dive.

I'm the kind of guy who doesn't want to buy expensive weight pouches because I'm so cheap I'd probably get in trouble instead of dumping them. And I always wondered what would happen if I ran into a situation like this on an expensive trip. The best insurance is to always have a plan B for the day. Beer starts with B.

 

[tc]

The best insurance is to always have a plan B for the day. Beer starts with B.

I like the way you think.

Call it a shakedown cruise, work out the bugs and have a good dive the next time!