Deep Solo Wreck Dive

[ligersandtions]

I'm just curious....did you talk with these divers afterwards? A quick (constructive) debrief can go a long way. Maybe they knew they screwed up....maybe they were embarassed and didn't want to look you in the eye. Maybe they thought everything was fine....or that they were unlucky momentarily, but it'll never happen again.

Some people need a swift kick in the ass to wake up and realize just how close they came to the end...


Edit: BTW, I think you did a good job rescuing these guys. It's good to hear that you still maintain that team focus, even when you are on a solo dive. I think you did good and certainly won't be flaming you.

 

[boomx5]

Thanks for sharing this with us. I remember going to salvage a boat motor one time that my uncle had dropped off the back of his boat. I think I was 16 years old at the time...I think that was in 1986 or 87. I was all dressed in my wetsuit and rental gear and heading down a line into some resevoir in the mountains with rental regs and jacket bc with a handy dandy CO2 emergency inflation system built in. My buddy was in rental gear but had forgot his weights so opted for some rather large rocks that barely fit into his bc's jacket pocket. We were anchored in just under 100' of water and though it was about 60'deeper than I had ever been, I was confident with 35 dives under my belt, I could easiler find and salvage the boat motor with my homemade lift bag. At 40', my buddy splits and bolts for the surface. I waited dangling on the line for a couple of minutes when all of a sudden I see something streak past head to the left, and then again to the right! It was then I realized my buddy was on the boat and throwing his homemade mother nature weights over the side of the boat that almost hit me! I decided to surface and he told me his regulator wasn't working and I told him he should've checked before he got in. After a brief exchange of words, I decided to go it alone and play the hero and find the motor.

Well, at about 75' the water got dark and cold, and I got narced! I sat there for a second with no light, narced and scared out of my brain when I realized that this probably was not a good idea, and decided to go home. For me, this one made me think long and hard about continuing to scuba dive. I actually learned a valuable lesson that day and one I've carried throughout my time as a scuba diver. No matter how much pressure you are under to do the dive, or what it took to get to the dive, nothing is worth dying for down there. Me and my buddies have an agreement that we can thumb the dive at anytime...even on the surface.

 

[bsee65]

In my view, doing something stupid where someone else needs to blow their plan to bail you out is deserving of a flame, so take a shot at the two "instructors".

Inviting or accepting a diver to go beyond their ability is worthy of a flame, so take a shot at your dive leader for enabling them. Maybe you can feel a little guilt for not stepping up. You didn't mention whether or not you voiced your concerns to the leader before he decided to have them along. Convincing the divers or the dive leader that they shouldn't go were the only options within your control that could have avoided the incident.

What do you think you should have done differently? Sit out the dive because the two instructors were going and you weren't sure that they'd be safe? They'd probably be dead. Allow them to struggle on their own until the safety team showed up? Maybe one or both would have survived, but could your conscience have dealt with that knowing that you could have assisted?

If anyone has a right to flame you, it's your family and loved ones for having an overdeveloped sense of heroism. Then again, they probably wouldn't want you any other way. Get over it. The guys you saved were probably over it by the time they got home.

 

[DCBC]

I'm just curious....did you talk with these divers afterwards?

I spoke with them before the dive. They acted like a couple of hot shots; you know the type, we're Instructors, no problem... They were diving as a buddy team, so I really didn't think that I would be involved with them at all, unless something occurred during the dive that required me to need assistance.

Afterwords, I spoke with them. No, that's not really accurate; I unloaded on them... I told them that they had no business being on the dive, as they obviously didn't have an ability to project their air consumption or were experienced enough with narcosis!! They just looked at the deck. I suppose I should have talked with them more professionally, but quite frankly I wasn't in the mood.

During decompression, they didn't look at me, nor did I go over to them. I can only describe it as a "Darth Maul moment," waiting for the force field (decompression times) to stop so I could tear into them.

The more I thought about it, the angrier I got. I try to look on the bright side; I was happy to get through the ordeal, but I had some unfinished business to take care of and I needed to unload it on them... And no, we didn't exchange contact information.

 

[DCBC]

Inviting or accepting a diver to go beyond their ability is worthy of a flame, so take a shot at your dive leader for enabling them. Maybe you can feel a little guilt for not stepping up. You didn't mention whether or not you voiced your concerns to the leader before he decided to have them along. Convincing the divers or the dive leader that they shouldn't go were the only options within your control that could have avoided the incident.

I spoke with the Instructor who organized the dive about the dive plan in concert with his friend (who would also be on the dive). Both had been on the wreck several times, so I was reassured that they would be fine. The NY Instructors were added, the morning of the dive. The leader was aware that I was a bit hesitant; he told me that he was satisfied and the dive was a go.

I had been looking forward to the dive and started preparations the day before. For me it's all about getting mentally prepared, psyched if you will. I had no alcohol the night before (I was on vacation so it gives you a sense of how seriously I took it) and got to bed early. I always approach a "deep air" dive like a Gladiator going into the Roman Colosseum. It's serious and I know I have to be on my game.

I made sure to emphasize before the dive that everyone was on their own at depth. Everyone agreed. I know better than to say these words now and don't really know why I said them then.

I'm far more discriminating of who's in the party. I don't do deep air with anyone that I'm not 100% satisfied with. Lesson learned.

 

[bsee65]

So, if you woke up to Sonny and Cher on the radio and found yourself on the same boat with the same group headed to the same wreck, what would you do differently?

One issue is that things seem okay right up until they don't. In the meantime, there is a momentum that such a trip would gain. How does one recognize the point when things go from a great dive to an opportunity for disaster? How does one put the brakes on the train at that point other than bowing out? If I thought they were heading off for likely trouble, I'm not sure I could just walk away, but I wouldn't want to get sucked down with them.

 

[DCBC]

So, if you woke up to Sonny and Cher on the radio and found yourself on the same boat with the same group headed to the same wreck, what would you do differently?

Oh NO Groundhog day! I'd take up piano lessons just like Bill Murray...

If I knew the skill level of these divers, I'd decline the dive; have a few Amstel the night before, sleep in and dive my brains out on the reef with my friends. If I had to redo the dive, I'd take another bottle with me.

I never want to feel that I have to give away my back air again. If someone told me that I'd find myself in this situation, I'd have called them crazy! Decompression diving with Fins, Mask and Snorkel isn't my idea of a good time. LOL

How does one recognize the point when things go from a great dive to an opportunity for disaster?

As soon as the first guy looked at me and pointed to his mouth-piece, I knew it would be a memorable dive. When I realized the second guy was completely narced, I honestly thought that someone was going to die. I was just hoping that it wasn't going to be me. :reaper:

I trained all of the guys acting in a safety role that day. Often an Instructor teaches people that he may never see again. You hope that the training you provide will make a difference for them one day, but I never thought that I would end up personally be the one receiving the benefit. The circle came all-the-way around.

 

[ScubaInChicago]

I commend you for sharing your story and helping everyone understand the dangers of the dive. I only wish the people who were in need of help that day (or ones who could share the same first hand wisdom) would be so forthcoming and tell others how exponentially dangerous a deep dive can be. It seems that only the macho, "I Did It and Survived" and you can, and should types are the ones posting and stirring up deeply entrenched debates. It's hard to argue with someone who can admit their mistakes, it can only make you respect them more for their honesty.....Nice report...

 

[ianr33]

Did you do this on singles?

 

[bsee65]

How does one recognize the point when things go from a great dive to an opportunity for disaster?

As soon as the first guy looked at me and pointed to his mouth-piece, I knew it would be a memorable dive. When I realized the second guy was completely narced, I honestly thought that someone was going to die. I was just hoping that it wasn't going to be me. :reaper:

I was thinking more along the lines of pre-dive. Ideally, one would recognize that a dive was going to end badly before getting in the water. Clearly, you had concerns, but they never got to the point of scaring you off the dive. I think a combination of an uneasy feeling with the bravado of the instructors might have been enough. I suspect that most of the people for whom that dive was business as usual wouldn't be all that cocky about it.

I trained all of the guys acting in a safety role that day. Often an Instructor teaches people that he may never see again. You hope that the training you provide will make a difference for them one day, but I never thought that I would end up personally be the one receiving the benefit. The circle came all-the-way around.

Well, there's some incentive for doing your job right.