Diving "Etiquette" and the lack thereof

[Hank49]

Lots to learn if you read in between all the pissy and petty comments... I can almost see the men pounding their chests and grunting... it's comical...

I'll keep reading your postings but I'm done responding. This has turned into a pissing match... and since I don't play that game - - have fun everyone!

If you lose your buddy underwater, search for one minute and if you don't find each other, both of you surface, make contact...and possibly descend again and continue the dive. (not word for word, but in the PADI Openwater Diver course book)
This assumes you considered your lover your buddy, officially or not.

 

[JeffG]

Yep. I think maybe 3# of air might be closer,

1 lb for ~ every 14 ft^3 is the weight for air/nitrox.

 

[mikemath]

Wow, very interesting thread--lots of opinions and a very complex incident. A couple points that I don't think have been addressed. The "Master Scuba Diver" comment clearly got a lot of people's feathers in a bunch, but I'm almost positive based on capitalization that the OP was talking about the PADI certification level. Regardless of how semantically true that certification is (you can get it after 50 dives), I think it's been treated as if the OP was bragging by those replying, and I don't think that is correct.

I'm by no means a drift dive expert--I've only been on two. But my greatest fear at the time was getting separated from the group and not being able to be retrieved by the boat. Psychologically, perceived abandonment by someone who recognizes a problem would be more poignant when you know the group (and the boat!) is getting further away by the second. I'm sure this fear/anger was what was communicated to his significant other, the OP, and that's why it comes across strongly in her original post.

I think people have correctly identified the likely errors the victim made (poor buddying, overweighting, poor communication, possible missed opportunity for manual inflation). But if he felt he could not rejoin the group with the problem he had, I absolutely agree with the on-site DM that he did the correct thing by safely surfacing. On a drift dive, the further away the group got, the higher the risk of serious problems, such as compounded problems leading to an OOA situation, being lost by the boat, etc.

 

[DandyDon]

1 lb for ~ every 14 ft^3 is the weight for air/nitrox.

True that may be, I was thinking of the tank buoyancy in particular, and - I think I was close on the 5# total change if I suck one dry, so I guess I was agreeing with Peter Guy after all...

From: Scuba Cylinder Specification Chart from Huron Scuba, Ann Arbor Michigan

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[Pearldiver07]

Let's see...

1. Unplanned buddy separation.
2. Relying on others to fill the gap (expectation of group diving = group supervision)
3. Equipment failure.
4. (as I read it) Extended reaction time.
5. Excessive weight for situation.
6. Assumption as to what others were obliged to do.

We're not saying that you were bad people or bad divers, but if you put up the scenario, more experienced divers are going to critique it. Admittedly, some of the responses were more personal than necessary, but many brought up good points.

Some of these I believe have already been beaten to death, but...

Regarding 1.; We all know that several things went wrong here. My buddy regularly has ear problems. When I descend I get to about 15 feet or so and wait/watch to see how she's doing. If the problem can't seem to resolve itself I come back up to help, or we just terminate. He shouldn't have dropped as such. I suggest you two go over "what if" scenarios.

4. Extended Reaction time; NEVER wait to hit bottom to resolve a descent issue. If this were a wall dive the outcome could have been horrorific. There's several possibilities for self-rescue here that either were omitted or not attempted.

5. Over-weighting. I strongly suggest that you start working on safety stop buoyancy control. If you can't dump your BC's air and control safety stop depth with breath control, you're over weighted. By the way, many skills can and should be reviewed at safety stops.

6. I understand your frustration with him not being assisted more during the dive. But regardless, everyone needs to be sufficiently able to handle issues during the dive, preferably without other's assistance. If you're not, please consider what conditions and circumstances are appropriate for your diving level(s).

But in any event, a lesson survived is a lesson learned. I hope that all of this prompts introspection and two more experienced divers. Get out and DIVE - DIVE - DIVE!!!!

 

[thanksforallthefish]

oops!!

 

[ianr33]

True that may be, I was thinking of the tank buoyancy in particular, and - I think I was close on the 5# total change if I suck one dry, so I guess I was agreeing with Peter Guy after all...

From: Scuba Cylinder Specification Chart from Huron Scuba, Ann Arbor Michigan

​

By my calculations thats 5.8 pounds. Which would be 6 to one significant figure.

 

[DandyDon]

Oops...?

By my calculations thats 5.8 pounds. Which would be 6 to one significant figure.

Yep, pretty close for me. Good that I don't teach huh...?

 

[Thalassamania]

Let's do a little "accident" reconstruction:

Our Master Diver enters the water with the intent of a quick descent.

As soon as he hits the water he yanks on his inflator to dump his buoyancy as quickly as possible.

Unfortunately he pulls the corrugated hose off the gooseneck, but it vents anyway and he starts down.

He does not notice a problem until he decides to try to level out just above the bottom.

He hits the bottom with the negative buoyancy that results from the air in his tank, the compression of his suit, and any extra lead that he might have been carrying.

He can't get off the bottom and a passing diver points out the problem.

He drops his weights and makes a buoyant ascent.

OK?

 

[DandyDon]

Let's do a little "accident" reconstruction:

Our Master Diver enters the water with the intent of a quick descent.

As soon as he hits the water he yanks on his inflator to dump his buoyancy as quickly as possible.

Unfortunately he pulls the corrugated hose off the gooseneck, but it vents anyway and he starts down.

He does not notice a problem until he decides to try to level out just above the bottom.

He hits the bottom with the negative buoyancy that results from the air in his tank, the compression of his suit, and any extra lead that he might have been carrying.

He can't get off the bottom and a passing diver points out the problem.

He drops his weights and makes a buoyant ascent.

OK?

But that's Buddy Abandonment, of a newbie at that...?