Don't make this stupid mistake

[junior2725]

On a guided cenote dive recently in Mexico I was bringing my new uw camera setup, canon 20d with ikelite housing and two ds-125 stobes with 8" dome on it and decided I shouldn't really need to use my dive light. I thought, I'll just turn on the modeling lights on the strobe. I wanted my dive light just in case but didn't want it dangling too far and perhaps accidently silting up something. I have the light attached to a coil lanyard which I attach to a top d-ring on my bcd but it still hangs a good 1.5 feet. I decided to also clip the light under one of my integrated weight clips. I thought that I could unclip it and clip it back real quick if I needed my light. Well about five minutes into the dive I realized that my modeling lights just weren't going to cut it. So I unclip the weight pocket and get my light out. The light gets tangled on the camera and I wasn't able to quickly clip my weight back. Needless to say the weight pocket fell and I stared ascending. Luckily there was a ceiling of rocks over my head and I couldn't go too far. My sister retrieved the weight for me and replaced it. We finished the rest of our dive with no other incidents. Lesson learned, never clip anything beneath your weight pocket buckle. If this has happened in open water I could have gotten myself into a lot of trouble. Now I know it was a stupid thing to think "oh I'll just clip it back real quick." Don't make my stupid mistake.

 

[offroaddiver]

Wow I'm surprised that you weren't hearing "danger, danger, danger" when you set it up that way. Maybe the little knot on the head, you may have gotten from the ceiling, will help others out in remembering not to do this. Joking aside I'm glad you are safe.

 

[Codyjp]

Wow I'm surprised that you weren't hearing "danger, danger, danger" when you set it up that way. Maybe the little knot on the head, you may have gotten from the ceiling, will help others out in remembering not to do this. Joking aside I'm glad you are safe.

This may not be the place to say "duh" to the original poster. This area is for people who made a mistake and are willing to share their experiences so the rest of us can learn and benefit from it.

Thanks for posting to the OP.

 

[TSandM]

I think the real message here is that, when you are new to the environment and unsure of its challenges, a camera is a lot to take on. It adds task loading and equipment complications; in addition, in a cave, you have to maintain perfect midwater buoyancy and perfect trim, to get the pictures you want and not ruin the visibility. Cenote tours are probably best done without cameras in most cases. There are lots of gorgeous pictures in the cenotes on line and available to buy!

 

[fairybasslet]

Cenote tours are probably best done without cameras in most cases. There are lots of gorgeous pictures in the cenotes on line and available to buy!

It's not the same thing. Every photographer has their own unique view of the world. That being said, I never take my camera with me when I think it's going to be too much for the diving conditions. I left it on board during my first rig dives in the Flower Gardens. If I know the vis is going to be really crap, or there's a rough shore entry, or during night dives before I got my modeling light (which can double as a torch) the camera doesn't make the dive.

 

[VooDooGasMan]

I agree fairybasslet, I take My camera on every dive vaction for My own personal memories, no matter what.

 

[junior2725]

Yeah I like to take my camera on every dive that I go on, although there are circumstances where I have left it behind. When we did the devils throat dive at punta sur I left my camera behind. I had never been that deep before and wasn't sure how tight the swim through was. If I ever do that dive again I will bring the camera next time because I know it wouldn't be a problem. I had no other issues throughout the dive, I don't have a problem controlling my buoyancy with the camera, it was just really stupid of me to clip anything under my integrated weight clip. I know it was stupid and I just don't want anyone else to think "oh I won't drop the weight, I'm going to clip it right back in" Even if I had no camera with me, the same thing probably would have happened. The only reason that I am sharing this is because I know it was stupid and don't want other people to make the same mistake. I am not a stupid person and am a very conscious diver, so if I made this mistake then I'm sure there are others out there who may do the same thing. Hopefully my mistake can help someone not to make the same mistake.

 

[offroaddiver]

Didn't mean my post to sound like a "duh" statement. I'm more glad to hear it from someone that it happened to than here an estimation of what happened.

 

[Rule62]

Cenote tours are probably best done without cameras in most cases. There are lots of gorgeous pictures in the cenotes on line and available to buy!

How many cenotes have you dove and where?

 

[timle]

My wife and I were Intro to Cave certified back in October. I have taken our camera into a few caves that we know very well - I live in North East Florida so I get to cave dive alot - however I leave it behind on almost every dive. We simply don't have the experience to add the task loading of a camera at this point. Even dives I have taken the camera on, I simply did not use it except in the cavern zone.

I can't imagine someone not trained in the environment adding a camera to the equation. Not only for your own safety but for preservation of the environment. I haven't been to Mexico but I understand the cenotes formed dry and then flooded. They contain speleotherms which took a very long time to form and will not reform in the flooded environment.