BlueGirlGoes
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I've been mulling this for a month, and am finally able to write about it.
My BF (~40ish dives) and I (~120ish) dove last month at Blue Angel in Coz. Most of our dives were great, Edgar was our DM and was very thorough. One afternoon we were rushed onto a boat with Jose, nine or eleven divers. Jose was in a hurry, throwing regs onto tanks, forgetting to turn the air on in a couple of cases.
My "bad feeling" radar turned on, especially when he asked "How deep have you been?" One solo diver had been with us the day before and I knew he was brand-new. I made sure Jose knew this. He chose Deep Columbia, and told the newb "You'll be my buddy."
The newb (late sixties, weighted too heavily, I found out later, and diving with no computer) jumped in and descended to the bottom almost immediately. I have a hard time equalizing and was going down slowly. Jose was nowhere near the newb, and my BF (M) and I went after him. At 80 feet, my reg started leaking heavily, and I stopped. M kept going. Three or four other pairs of divers and Jose just started their dive. Jose was a good fifty feet away, and watching, but seemed to think we were "handling" it, or that there was nothing to handle. I don't know.
As M was bringing the newb back toward the group (putting a little air in his BC), I took in a breath that was pure ocean. Way too far away from my buddy. I fumbled for what seemed like ages (but was only seconds) before freeing my second, clearing it and gasping. I've never had a reg flood before. I still don't know exactly what happened. I just fought the worst sensation of my life and every nerve screaming to bolt for the surface.
M got back to me. I was panicked about the second failing, and we continued our dive above the others, at about thirty feet. The newb stayed with the group for a bit, then bottomed again. Jose was NEVER close to him. At the end of the dive, near the others, the newb completely blew his safety stop and surfaced. M, knowing what his profile must be, left me again and brought him back to 15 feet.
When we all got back on the boat, Jose said, "What happened?" and when I told him my reg flooded he said, "Use your second." Um, thanks. What amazed me was that the other couples disembarked saying, "Great dive, Jose!" Really? REALLY? (The newb later cheerfully admitted that he couldn't see his gauges, and mentioned he might get a prescription mask.)
I made myself dive again the next day (with another reg, and another DM, who was competent) just because I felt if I didn't, I'd never get in the water again.
Next month I plan to get my AOW, because I'm still thinking about that feeling, that being unable to breathe and that awful panic. And I'm going to buy my own reg. My BF feels terrible, but thinks he did the right thing, going after the old guy. (We'll be talking to our AOW instructor about this.)
I guess my questions are: did we do the right thing? Why did my reg fill with water? And, if it ever happens again, is there anything I can do better or differently?
Thanks for listening.
My BF (~40ish dives) and I (~120ish) dove last month at Blue Angel in Coz. Most of our dives were great, Edgar was our DM and was very thorough. One afternoon we were rushed onto a boat with Jose, nine or eleven divers. Jose was in a hurry, throwing regs onto tanks, forgetting to turn the air on in a couple of cases.
My "bad feeling" radar turned on, especially when he asked "How deep have you been?" One solo diver had been with us the day before and I knew he was brand-new. I made sure Jose knew this. He chose Deep Columbia, and told the newb "You'll be my buddy."
The newb (late sixties, weighted too heavily, I found out later, and diving with no computer) jumped in and descended to the bottom almost immediately. I have a hard time equalizing and was going down slowly. Jose was nowhere near the newb, and my BF (M) and I went after him. At 80 feet, my reg started leaking heavily, and I stopped. M kept going. Three or four other pairs of divers and Jose just started their dive. Jose was a good fifty feet away, and watching, but seemed to think we were "handling" it, or that there was nothing to handle. I don't know.
As M was bringing the newb back toward the group (putting a little air in his BC), I took in a breath that was pure ocean. Way too far away from my buddy. I fumbled for what seemed like ages (but was only seconds) before freeing my second, clearing it and gasping. I've never had a reg flood before. I still don't know exactly what happened. I just fought the worst sensation of my life and every nerve screaming to bolt for the surface.
M got back to me. I was panicked about the second failing, and we continued our dive above the others, at about thirty feet. The newb stayed with the group for a bit, then bottomed again. Jose was NEVER close to him. At the end of the dive, near the others, the newb completely blew his safety stop and surfaced. M, knowing what his profile must be, left me again and brought him back to 15 feet.
When we all got back on the boat, Jose said, "What happened?" and when I told him my reg flooded he said, "Use your second." Um, thanks. What amazed me was that the other couples disembarked saying, "Great dive, Jose!" Really? REALLY? (The newb later cheerfully admitted that he couldn't see his gauges, and mentioned he might get a prescription mask.)
I made myself dive again the next day (with another reg, and another DM, who was competent) just because I felt if I didn't, I'd never get in the water again.
Next month I plan to get my AOW, because I'm still thinking about that feeling, that being unable to breathe and that awful panic. And I'm going to buy my own reg. My BF feels terrible, but thinks he did the right thing, going after the old guy. (We'll be talking to our AOW instructor about this.)
I guess my questions are: did we do the right thing? Why did my reg fill with water? And, if it ever happens again, is there anything I can do better or differently?
Thanks for listening.
