Catalogue of bad omens lead to disasterous dive.

[Lonefox]

I should have called it a day from the moment the first thing went wrong, but didn't, here's what happened.

1) Running late, couldn't find the power lead for the printer to print route map for journey to dive centre/lake.

2) Arrived at dive lake 2 Hours early after finding we'd got the wrong time, decided to relax and check kit.

3) Discover bag containing masks, snorkels, Boots, Gloves, Smb and dive computer isn't in car. Presumed to be still in kitchen 50 miles away.

4) Decide to head back and collect bag, having paid for a days diving, and having enough time to do so due to being early.

5) Get home, Find bag, begin return journey.

6) On route to Dive lake for second time, two songs play on radio, American Pie - Don McClean, and End of the World - REM. Radio stops working shortly after, anyone knowing these songs, will know the significance.

7) Arrive at dive lake to be told to take long route to dive area, as a rescue helicopter is landing, take long route only to be sent back again to original route as rescue helicopter is other side of our dive site. Arrive at dive site just in time to get ready.

8) Myself and Buddy get geared up, inadvertently put his (Smaller) wetsuit on, and have to remove it, also I find myself wearing buddy's boots (3 sizes too small) and him wearing mine, stop short of making same mistake with Gloves. (Should have got different colour kit)

9) Move equipment down to lakeside, Collect Weights, and belt from training centre van.

10) Buddy struggles to lift 15 litre Steel Faber onto his back, assist, and find both of us exhausted.

11) Finish gearing up, Sit at waters edge and put on fins. Promptly lose one, and have to find it.

12) Replace fin, lose other one.

13) Getting pissed off with myself for looking useless, find buddy having problems with weighting.

14) Finally ready to swim out to dive site.

15) Reach Dive site, lose fin again.

16) Replace Fin, Prepare for descent, buddy equalisation problems, likewise me too, mask keeps flooding, underweighted. Adjust mask, and pull self down rope, sort ears on the way. Try to relax at bottom, let go of rope to follow buddy, and float back to surface again.

17) Second attempt to descend, finally got all my issues under control, look up to see buddy on surface, so return to surface in time to find instructor and buddy trying to sort out freeflowing 2nd Stage, a few taps, and the 2nd Stage jettisons into the water and sinks, LP hose goes wild whapping about in the air, clonking buddy 2 or 3 times in the head. (Regsets were serviced 3 weeks ago, and this was their first dive since)

Decide to call the dive at this point. (Should have stayed in bed).

 

[neonstingray]

Wow. How did you keep losing the fins? Also, I'm guessing you realize it now but you don't really want to be weighted so that you have to pull yourself down. Otherwise later in the dive you can have problem's staying under near the surface as your tank gets lighter. This happened to me once and I ended up carrying around a rock I found on the bottom. Where did the 2nd stage detach from the hose? At the swivel? Or did the hose seperate from the crimping? Glad you're ok either way.

Austin

 

[almitywife]

yep - somedays you just got to acknowledge someone is trying to tell you something.

i once called a dive while standing knee depth in the water - for me my reg freeflowing was the last "sign" and i called it quits.

 

[riguerin]

UNCLE ! Sounds like you made a good call to thumb dive. Hope you have better luck next time.

 

[Charlie99]

I'll ignore a problem or two. OTOH, if Murphy or the gods try to tell me something THREE TIMES, then I'm going to listen.

 

[Floridawannabe]

Sorry about the bad dive and I hope you have better dives now that it is out of your system.

 

[TSandM]

I had a dive like that, and it ended up with the hose coming loose from my primary second stage, although the reg didn't come completely off. Some days you just aren't meant to dive.

 

[bjpell]

WOW! sounds like one heck of a day... Ever find out what was going on with the resuce chopper??

 

[Ken abucs]

As we've learned from some recent, tragic events, the most important thing is to live to dive again. I'm glad you're here to share your experience.

Stay safe.

 

[Lonefox]

The dive lake we use is on a navy base, the emergency services use a heli-pad there for airlifting people brought in by ambulance, there were two lifts in the time we were there, none diving related.

We're unsure how the second stage came apart, as I said this was the first dive on it since servicing. Though admittedly it was second hand before the service, though only a year old.

My problems with my fins I think were due to the way I put them on in the first place, i'll acknowledge that some of our issues were related to being n00bs and disorganised. but some other issues were just bad luck.

Next time we'll try to be organised, and calm, though I am natuarally a calamity and the more I try to be organised, the more I drop things, and do things wrong.