Could have been much worse.

[Cali_diver]

I am happy that I am reading this here and not in the "other" forum. Glad you got you out safely. Thank you for sharing!

 

[lermontov]

that was close! however pat your self on the back too for working it out and finding a solution I like the follow the bubbles idea (as long as the cavern isnt invert pulling you deeper inside) so given the same scenario would you flag the dive?, or use line? personally I dont dive in poor vis as I go diving to see stuff, but you obviously thought it would improve- another factor is that you weren't terribly familiar with the pool that would cause anxiety not knowing the general structure of the rocks, walls etc

 

[Lake Hickory Scuba]

that was close! however pat your self on the back too for working it out and finding a solution I like the follow the bubbles idea (as long as the cavern isnt invert pulling you deeper inside) so given the same scenario would you flag the dive?, or use line? personally I dont dive in poor vis as I go diving to see stuff, but you obviously thought it would improve- another factor is that you weren't terribly familiar with the pool that would cause anxiety not knowing the general structure of the rocks, walls etc

Having taught several Rescue Diver Courses since this incident, I have used this video as a key component to my teaching aids. I have shown my students that no matter what level of Certification one holds, in my case a Course Director title, bad things still happen. It is how we deal with it in that moment that determines whether are not we are around later to talk about it. To answer your question would I have thumbed the dive, (my answer, not richiewrt's) probably not, however, I would have changed the variables, such as a larger capacity cylinder, with redundant air. Since there never were intentions of even going into an overhead environment, using a line would not be necessary, and there were so many open water students in the water that day, it could have been a mess if we would have used a line. The idea of the visibility clearing up is very common here on our lake. During the storm season (primarily late summer) the lake gets pretty murky (less than 2 feet of visibility). But since our lake is most of the time considered a moving body of water, at least in front of our shop, due to the hydro electric plant being less than 1000 yards away, most of the turbidity stays around 45 feet and shallower. Once you descend deeper than that it becomes very dark, but also very clear. You can look up above you and see a cloud of murk, but with a powerful flashlight can easily have 20 feet of visibility. As with most Springs, in my mind, I assumed that the visibility would have got better the deeper we went, assuming the Spring had a decent amount of flow coming through the mouth. On this day, that simply was not the case. The biggest thing I would like for people / divers to get from this incident, is no matter what problems you have underwater, always STOP, BREATHE, THINK, BREATHE, AND ACT, BREATHE. AND NEVER PANIC!!!!!

 

[Bob DBF]

The biggest thing I would like for people / divers to get from this incident, is no matter what problems you have underwater, always STOP, BREATHE, THINK, BREATHE, AND ACT, BREATHE. AND NEVER PANIC!!!!!

STOP, BREATHE, THINK, BREATHE, AND ACT, then repeat, as long as a diver is working the problem panic has a back seat. The best way is to avoid an incident, depending on how risk adverse and knowledgeable a diver is they can avoid them all, but once in the midst of a problem anything a diver knows about diving may come in handy, so know as much as possible. A bulls**t story from another diver, probably fourth generation considering the inconsistencies, gave me the ideas to keep working the problem that saved my a**. I didn't panic, but I knew when it was going to happen.

I want to thank both members of the team for sharing the details and possibly helping other divers avoid the situation, or possibly providing the information to help correct a lapse in judgement.


Bob
---------------------------
doesn't have the courage to share his mistakes on the internet.

 

[RandomGuy1]

that was close! however pat your self on the back too for working it out and finding a solution I like the follow the bubbles idea (as long as the cavern isnt invert pulling you deeper inside) so given the same scenario would you flag the dive?, or use line? personally I dont dive in poor vis as I go diving to see stuff, but you obviously thought it would improve- another factor is that you weren't terribly familiar with the pool that would cause anxiety not knowing the general structure of the rocks, walls etc

I would probably thumb the dive if similar circumstances happened again. Like I said in my lessons learned, a new dive site in low vis will be a no no for me in the future.

I want to thank both members of the team for sharing the details and possibly helping other divers avoid the situation, or possibly providing the information to help correct a lapse in judgement.


Bob
---------------------------
doesn't have the courage to share his mistakes on the internet.

Hopefully someone, somewhere can learn from my mistakes and maybe prevent / or get themselves out of a dicey situation. That to me is worth having to swallow my pride in admitting mistakes were made. After all, we are all human and make mistakes.

 

[Neilwood]

Just MHO, but by writing this post and honestly admitting that you made a grave mistake you make me want to sign up with you for a class at any time. I'm a lot more scared by people who try to present as the infallible expert than those who willingly admit mistakes and bring those along as learning and teaching moments.


Seconded.

Just read this thread and I have to agree with your sentiments about having an instructor like this. If an instructor pretends that bad things never happen and that they have never made a mistake, I would treat that with disbeleif and some contempt. Better to admit a mistake at which point you can learn from it.

Pretend a problem never existed and nothing changes (with potentially disastrous consequences).

 

[Shaun Delport]

There was an open water class being conducted, and a freediving class being conducted as well.

Lack of communication with the Instructors conducting the classes about conditions below is the root cause if this near miss. Local or up-to-date knowledge would have had the dive aborted at the surface.

Thanks for the honesty of all those involved, it will save lives for sure.

 

[flyboy08]

Great thread, thanks for posting...scared the beejesus out of me. This will never happen to me though! My dives are ALL ABOUT VIZ! I no see, I no dive...and by seeing I mean 50 plus feet...Yep, I'm a diving wimp! Oh, and I like temps above 78* too!

 

[gcarter]

Diver # 2's Point Of View

This is probably the most difficult response I have posted here on Scuba Board. Difficult because as a Dive Professional, I feel I hold a certain level of credibility which I must maintain, because diving is my livelihood. As Diver # 3 stated above, this was the end of our vacation, and we decided to make one last dive. This whole weekend redundancy seemed to be a mutual theme we all shared. Though I primarily used a single 100 cf steel cylinder, I always backed it up with a 30 cf pony system. For the ones that know me, know that I would consider myself well beyond advanced, even in extreme conditions (I currently teach for 5 different training agencies and hold a Course Director title along with 2 Instructor Trainer titles). Overhead environments and blacked out conditions is normal for me. As a Public Safety Diving Instructor and active Public Safety Diver, blacked out conditions is a day in day out variable that I'm used to. As an Ice Diving Instructor and active Ice Diver, having a canopy over my head is nothing new. Owning a Dive Shop that seconds as an Under Water Salvage Company, diving in less than favorable conditions is a normal thing. With all this being said, no matter how much training and experience one has, the most important thing outside of breathing, is for a diver not to PANIC. I do not intend on retelling the story that Diver # 3 published, I plan to show you first hand. This dive was recorded on video as you are about to watch. This is from my point of view. As stated by Diver # 3 our pre-dive safety check should have been the end of the dive. Whether or not this jeopardizes my credibility as a diving professional, as an Instructor I feel obligated to publish this and hope that it helps others not make the same mistake. Being adequately prepared, meaning having the appropriate equipment and even being mature enough to call a dive can be the difference between life and death. This dive should have been called during the pre-dive safety check, but over confidence led to a bad situation. A situation that I thank the Big Guy upstairs for getting me out of. I truly hope others learn from my mistakes. We as Diving Instructors are not Diving Gods, and we need to remember that we are role models. We are held to that higher standard. Never should we dive beyond our capabilities or certifications. And even if you hold hundreds of certifications, and even if you are experienced, sometimes you should just say NO, and abort. I hope this thread continues on for a very long time, and I hope it sparks conversations between thousands of divers. We should never let complacency dictate the way we dive. This dive is not something I want my legacy to be about, but if it helps save one life then it is something I am willing to live with. To all who read this and watch this video, understand the situation I found myself in was 100% unintentional. The environmental conditions led me into an overhead environment, without proper gear (my fault along), inadequate air supply, and pushed me to the verge of PANIC. Between prayers to get me back to the surface safely and thoughts of apology to my wife and child, I maintained my mental capacity long enough to free myself from my predicament. As you will see in the video, I swam into an overhead environment (CAVERN on a normal day)(but CAVE on this day, due to lack of ambient light from the surface). I became lodged temporarily within the limestone and had to find my way out simply by remaining calm and crawling along the canopy following the bubbles I just exhaled. At the first sign of ambient light, I became so very thankful I had to take several minutes to reflect and not bolt to the surface. After an extended safety stop, I met up with the other 2 divers, stuck my tail between my legs and headed home. My embarrassment of getting myself into a situation that I preached to others not to do, I pray will help save the life of many divers in the future.

Thank you for sharing that.