Diving Accident, Self-Responsibility and Balance

[flots am]

^what flots am said.

Thanks.

One of the biggest regrets of my entire SCUBA career (which is probably 1/4 of yours) is that people need to read this stuff on the internet. It should be right around the middle of every OW class.

flots.

 

[Doubler]

Where was your dive buddy? You haven't mentioned one.

Did you drop your weight belt? Did the DM?


I have had the exact experience and as I was reading I said to myself that she is a smoker. Then I got to that part. I was a smoker and I know exactly that "can't get enough air" experience brought on by a little cardio work. I had it in Grand Cayman swimming against a current going back to the boat. It is one terrible scary feeling, like you are dying. When you drill down to the root cause it is not missing the reef, it is not the current it is not being blown to the surface. It is panic brought on by lack of air caused by lowered lung capacity caused by smoking. You need to make a choice. I made the stop smoking choice at least 10 times and finally did what was best for me and got Chantix and quit. Note I said best for me, not best for my wife or family but me. You are the person quitting, you gain everything from it. A situation like you were in can cause heart failure. And yes there are still times I crave a smoke but I just go out and get on my treadmill I bought with the money I saved. I'll never forget the great feeling I had after completing the dive on the San Fransico Maru, not tired, not just a touch winded, just enjoying the moment. Here' s to your great feeling.

 

[BRT]

You went through something really unnerving. What still works for me when I am breathing too shallow is to completely exhale, take a deep breath and do it again. I think it helps get the CO2 out but my daughter in law tells my young granddaughters to take a deep breath when they are upset and ranting about something. It helps them get back in control. Make sure you have firmly fixed in your mind that on the surface you need to inflate your BCD. It is scary to be having trouble breathing because of the waves splashing over you and often it makes a big difference to get your BCD really full.

 

[flots am]

Please though, as an attorney who prosecutes sexual predators, I hear every single dodge, every possible excuse, every imaginable reason why they are not to blame for their behavior. I think they even believe themselves sometimes. I am not one of them.

Blame is pretty much irrelevant in SCUBA. If things went badly, all it means is you need more training and practice. There's no guilt or shame involved and I wouldn't let the incident occupy too much mental real-estate.

You can't change the past, but with some good training you can turn a potential repeat performance into something interesting to complain about at dinner.

flots.

 

[T.C.]

Thank you Flots am. If this is indeed the bottom line in diving though, why would we need ... Or even Dive Masters?

You don't. As Flots Am stated; they're there to get you to pay a little more on a dive. They're main use is in assisting instructors during training, and to provide a level of professional certification for mates that is below an instructor.

When they're leading, they also induce complacency and a distinct lack of awareness on the part of divers, even good experienced divers. Divers become sheep, following the Border Collie around the field, relying on the DM to keep them safe, when it should be themselves doing this. I've watched instructors, other DMs and good divers on vacation swim hard to keep up with the DM, passing by uncounted cool stuff because they felt like they had to stay with them. Plan your own dive, dive your own plan.

You're a certified OW diver. You can dive without a DM telling you what to do (in the US- other countries sometimes require them by law).

Your dive buddy is there to assist you, provide help, air, and another brain to collaborate with. You're a team; not two divers in the same vicinity.

 

[Agility]

Thank you for sharing!
Congratulations for ditching your weights once you reached the surface.
I believe the dive was too challenging for you in your current state of fitness, monday morning quarterbacking is easy. I have been in your position and I have started a dive when my gut feeling said "I am not sure this is a good idea" I learnt my lesson and respect this little voice now.
In a perfect world every DM can assemble the emergency oxygen kit correctly within a minute, but we do not live in a perfect world and I am sure they were shocked to be involved in an emergency. Things like this only happen to other people.
You survived and that is the most important point. You wrote you were seeing your doctor soon, which I think is a good idea. This forum cannot substitute psychological help you seem to need badly; you might call DAN for help in finding suitable assistance.

 

[T.C.]

Congratulations for ditching your weights once you reached the surface.

Yes, excellent point. You avoided one of the leading causes of fatalities.

Give your dive instructor a hug for teaching you to respond with this critical response as a first reaction. It definitely kept this from being a much larger accident.

 

[flots am]

You don't. As Flots Am stated; they're there to get you to pay a little more on a dive. They're main use is in assisting instructors during training, and to provide a level of professional certification for mates that is below an instructor.

When they're leading, they also induce complacency and a distinct lack of awareness on the part of divers, even good experienced divers. Divers become sheep, following the Border Collie around the field, relying on the DM to keep them safe, when it should be themselves doing this.

I've watched instructors, other DMs and good divers on vacation swim hard to keep up with the DM, passing by uncounted cool stuff because they felt like they had to stay with them.

Bold mine.

I did that. Once. Then I started using my "You're #1" hand signal on the errant "professionals".

It's been quite effective and has reduced my stress and increased my enjoyment immensely. It's even in my OW class. I teach it when we do the "dangerous creatures" chapter.

flots.

 

[Jax]

Thea,

I think you should lighten up a little, and focus on what you DID do right. You dropped your weight belt. You got caught in surge, which is not fun. As for the anxiety and probable hyperventilating - well, that's not fun, either. A lot hit you all at once, and since you probably have never had that kind of anxiety, you didn't know to slow your breathing and concentrate on steady breathing.

Lastly, none of that is worth losing sleep over! Get back on that horse - even if it is scuba in a pool. Practice controlling your breathing to a slower rate than you are accustomed.

I think everyone gave you good answers. The guy with the rope and buoy? He was assessing the situation, and deciding what would be the best way to help. You can be sure that everyone was doing the best they knew . . . it wasn't as practiced as we all would like, but they did fine! As for the hyperventilating - look it up. You may feel better hearing others' symptoms. Above all, YOU did fine. Now you know what hyperventilating is and how it affects you. You know what to do. Chalk it up to learning and when you get 100 dives, take a solo diver class. You'll feel more confident even if you never dive solo.

 

[T.C.]

Bold mine.

I did that. Once. Then I started using my "You're #1" hand signal on the errant "professionals".
View attachment 178308
It's been quite effective and has reduced my stress and increased my enjoyment immensely. It's even in my OW class. I teach it when we do the "dangerous creatures" chapter.

flots.

Why can't I like a post more than once?

What'd work even better would be a flashcard that says "do that again and you lose your tip"