Craptacular dives on a beautiful day

[newmanl]

Thanks for posting - not always the easiest to admit screwing up, but as Steve_C said, you likely learned a lot from those dives. Your description of the dives underscores the importance of taking a step back to go forward whenever you change a piece of gear. Of course, that may not apply equally to the various bits of gear one would likely change, but it is often useful advice. Don't beat yourself up - we've all been there! The fact that you took some humility from the dives and are going back armed with new info is exactly the tact to take. Assuming you did a thorough debrief with your buddy, you can use the things that went wrong to plan for a better outcome. Hopefully you were warmer in the 400 - good luck and have fun on your next dives!

 

[T.C.]

Ok, I've never been in a low vis situation. Are you saying that you can get disorientated/turned around just by glancing away from the compass if you don't have another visual reference mark? I get that being task loaded will add to that.

Well, on second thought I suppose night dives count as low vis...might be why I don't like them too much, unless I'm hanging on the anchor line...

Yes. Any person, deprived of reference marks will get lost. Vertigo will set in, you will turn off your heading. Even staring at your compass won't prevent it, but it can help control it if you have the discipline to, as pilots in IFR say, make the needle behave.

 

[Lorenzoid]

That's good info on the weighting, as I'm thinking of getting a 400g undergarment for dives when the 200g I have been using isn't enough.

Do you ever dive in Lake Jocassee, SC? I like it better than quarry diving.

 

[stretchthepenn]

That's good info on the weighting, as I'm thinking of getting a 400g undergarment for dives when the 200g I have been using isn't enough.

Do you ever dive in Lake Jocassee, SC? I like it better than quarry diving.

I've gone to Lake Jocassee a few times, and although I've enjoyed it well enough, I've not been overwhelmed by OMG teh awsum. Then again, there's probably more to see/do than I've experienced. I've mostly followed the rope courses--through and past the "graveyard" to the left; down to the treetops; through and past the platforms/pontoon boat to the right--and explored the shallow bay off to the right. I typically dive at Kraken Springs (until recently Dive Georgia Quarry), in White, GA, as it's only 20 minutes from my house.

 

[stretchthepenn]

Wow. I'd be frustrated too, as well as determined to get it right just like you. I understand the buoyancy issue but do you know why you (both) were getting lost? Metal confusing your compass??

Edit* Thanks for posting

Both @Steve_C and @T.C. (thanks, fellows) identified the central problems. It's easy to get disoriented in low viz, even when staring directly at a compass, and my buddy and I needed to be closer. I was a foot or two ahead and to his right (east), so I suspect that turning my head west to look at my buddy was a contributing factor to going off course.

I might also need to consider using an independent compass. I was navigating with the compass in my Petrel 2 computer, and with a drysuit on, I found it difficult to bring my wrist all the way in front of me so that I had a good, steady bearing. That factor certainly could've contributed to going off course.

Another possibility (suggested by the quarry manager) is that we ran into an anomalous current. The floating docks have shifted a bit to the west, and the manager reported that on the previous day, when he was working on some of the training platforms, he'd felt a current. Considering that I was heading north and showing a large cross-section, especially with the HP 120s I was carrying, it's conceivable that a west-flowing current would've caught me broadside. I'll reserve judgement on that one, though, and stick with the other explanations.

 

[ScubaWithTurk]

Thanks for posting this. It is not always easy to admit when we make mistakes however sharing them for others is quite educational. I made my first big error a couple months ago in losing a buddy. Thankfully it didn't turn out bad but I learned a few lessons that day I am sure to never forget.

 

[geogator]

I was taught to use an independent wrist compass and wear it on my left wrist. (I'm right handed.) To navigate, put my right arm straight out in front of me, then bend my left arm at a 90 degree angle in front of me and grab my right elbow with my left hand. In essence, like crossing both arms in front but then keep the right one straight out in front. This helps keep the compass steady and you can just glance down a little to read it. Your buddy, as was previously stated, stays close and even to you and monitors depth and any other reference points. I've seen people use console integrated compasses and end up off course a lot because your hand isn't steady the whole time and just a few degrees here or there add up quickly over a long straight trek. Just my 2 psi.

 

[InTheDrink]

My instructor always told me if you have to revert to your compass you’ve already ****** up.

I had a group on a boat a couple years back where we specifically said during the briefing compasses are pointless in this location. If you lose visual reference shoot an SMB abd surface immediately.

Naturally the big swinging dick dive leader did exactly the opposite, lost visual reference and tried to get back to the reef using his compass (entirely pointless in very strong current and no visual referenc).

We picked them up about a km away.

Annoyingly they had an awesome dive (although some were petrified) as they got a lot of attention from Oceanic White Tips as they were drifting south.

Main message: in general try to navigate without a compass. Even in low viz environments it’s usually possible. Just find the next stone or whatever.

Second message: go to the pool with any new kit, especially something as intrinsic as a change to your dry suit.

Thanks for sharing. As others have said, we’ve all been there. Me probably more than most

 

[stretchthepenn]

My instructor always told me if you have to revert to your compass you’ve already ****** up. <snip> Main message: in general try to navigate without a compass. Even in low viz environments it’s usually possible. Just find the next stone or whatever.

Well...sort of. This dive was planned around compass navigation through super-dark conditions in 5-foot viz. I get your point, but with the bottom not being where we thought it was, using natural navigation wasn't an option.

Thanks for sharing. As others have said, we’ve all been there. Me probably more than most

Thanks for replying.

 

[stretchthepenn]

An update... The next time the quarry opened up, my buddy and modified our failed dive plan and retried (and re-retried) the basic idea.

First, I got myself a DUI weight harness and concentrated my weights around my waist. Ah, the difference that being correctly weighted makes! Stable, secure... Yeah.

Second, and on a related note, we built a buoyancy-check component into our plan. After descending to a familiar, moderate-depth (40') rally point, we spent a few minutes putzing around, just working on hovering.

Third, my buddy and I altered our buddy-positioning protocol. Instead of one leading and the other following, we stayed parallel and split our tasks. I navigated. He watched depth limits.

Fourth, we changed our departure point. Instead of descending from the dock to 60' and immediately setting a 0-degree course for the far wall, we descended from the dock, navigated east to a known rally point (a sunken sailboat) at 40', then took a compass heading and set out.

This new plan worked much better...but we still didn't get our navigation right. We'd planned the dive around the heading from our original departure point, so the bottom didn't drop as we thought it would, and we encountered the far wall long before we expected to. So we modified our plan again for the next dive, and this time took a compass heading of 315 degrees.

Success! The bottom was right where we expected at ~80', we used a combo of natural and compass navigation to find our intended destination, and then had enough time and air to go exploring once we got there. It turned out to be an awesome dive.

Lessons learned?

1) Get weighted correctly. Always.
2) Practice hovering. It's a perishable skill, especially with newish gear.
3) Avoid task-loading. Make your processes as simple as possible.
4) Doublecheck compass headings. A small change at the outset can make a big end difference at the end.