Alright, so my side of the story. Spoon did a good job describing the overall ferocity of coconut point. Maybe to make a comparison of the swells, the entire north side of the island (location of coconut point) had swells about twice as high and rough as how sombrero gets sometimes. And as spoon said, bahura and mapating has strong currents but they are still nothing compared to what we experienced in Coconut point. What made the current worse for me was that I was sick that day, so my strength was sapped and - trying not to sound cheese - I was off my game (I did a lot of stupid things throughout the day that made our DM shake his head banged into a table coral, dropped my mask after exiting TWICE so had to go back down and get it, getting entangled in my reef hook when exiting, fell off the bangka plank
). The biggest mistake that was made IMHO was that we all underestimated the current.
Before the dive, Rasta Lem showed us where we were gonna end the dive (but the boat was parked before - I guess they'd see us and pick us up) and to expect a hard & strong current (but we all didnt expect it to be as strong as it was). We came to the edge of Cocunut and Olo point where we geared up and prepared for entry. The swells were rough, but we expected it to be better once we got in. At this point I made a mistake that I will carry with me for the rest of my diving life: The bangkero who was helping me asked, gusto mo ang iyong balloon?" "would you like your balloon? [points to SMB lying on the floor] which I said: iyaw na." "I don't like" I left my SMB on the boat that dive! I practiced releasing it the previous dive so I didnt have it setup for the 3rd (when Im sick I get lazier). I was cursing myself in the head when I got separated.
So negative entry I went without a surface marker. Viz was about 30ft-40ft. The current began accelerating us along the reef and it was actually really fun for about 10 mins. Saw a lot of good stuff a large school of jacks, small groups of blue fin trevallies, school of yellow tail barracudas. Then comes the part of separation (please bear with the crappy diagram. Refer to top diagram for step by step explanation):
1.) We were in a diagonal formation DM closest to the reef, me in the middle, carlo away from the reef about 3m apart from each other. We were at about 70ft along the wall, but the bottom was deeper. The lines indicate where our heads are in relation to our body (but we kept looking at one another to keep aware)
2.) I remember seeing a crevice and I wanted to tambay for a bit, but I was too weak to fight any current and as quickly as I saw the crevice, it was gone. Spoon accelerates ahead of me. I think I remember seeing him fiddle with his camera.
3.) I remember spoon twisted to go shallower. I looked over at rasta lem who also looked back and we both gave the ok sign. Spoon fins over top me and bangs his knee on my head by accident. (omg, while I write this I just realized I was in a downcurrent when spoon began his transition I was above him and I ended up below him when he crossed over me ).
4.) Once spoon bangs my head, I spin my body around so I can have a view of both buddies - this seriously took me TWO SECONDS to do. And when I see behind, I cant see the reef, rasta lem or spoon anymore.
5.) I spin around again 360 this time. Still no sign of my dive buddies. Dive time at this point is 10 mins.
So now Im alone at the mercy of the ocean and I realized that this is one of those oh shiit situations that I always read on SB. At this point Im still in midwater not realizing Im in a downcurrent until I check my dive comp which is rapidly reading: 24m . 26m 28m One of the most important things I learned from these threads is: dont panic! So first thing I do is get out of the undercurrent and fin back to 17m (last depth we were together as a group). Here I weighted my options:
1) go the distance and hopefully the current will slow down.
2) surface.
3) hold on for now and see if they catch up.
I went with 3 cause I figured there was no way my dive buddies were ahead of me (I swam at a 45 degree just off the main current to get out of the downcurrent) and I didnt want to surface just yet since I had no SMB (still cursing up till now).
At this point in my epic adventure Id just like to take the time out and thank Jag for my reef hook. I honestly didnt think Id use it much and didn't like it much at first but it has proven valuable a lot of times especially on this occasion!
It took me about 3 tries before I could actually hook a coral. I waited around for 2 mins to assess my situation, retighten my fin straps which had come unloose in the current, readjust my mask which was leaking. I checked my air: in 13 mins I was already at 1800 psi (from 3000) so as much as Id like to assume I didnt panick, I did guzzle a lot of air. So after 2 mins, I decided to ascend along the contour till I was at 5m (the current was not so strong here). I did my 2min safety stop like the good boy I am and surfaced to see where I was and if my dive buddies surfaced as well (see pic below diagram. Im the yellow dot). I stayed afloat for 5 mins in the rough swells, trying to see anyone else or the boat. No luck. The island was about 200m away and I eliminated swimming straight to the island since I didnt like the idea of being smashed on the rocks. I did spot a tiny cove on the other side of some outcropping rocks which I thought could probably provide me with some cover so I decided to descend again and enjoy the corals up till then. Thinking back, one thing I forgot to do was blow my whistle.
So to make the long story shorter, I surfaced around the rocks and lo and behold, I saw the boat about 100m away hidden from view and the rough seas (see pic below diagram. Its the red dot). Nice. I descended once more and enjoyed the corals along the rest of the way to the boat. I had 1000 psi left when I surfaced by the boat. I heard Rasta Lem just on the other side of the rocks and the boatmen signalled that I was with them. I waited for Spoon and our DM jut below the boat wanted to use up the rest of my air and off gas a little. On the surface, the first thing Rasta Lem and I did was burst out in laughter.
Overall, the experienced really humbled me and I learned 3 valuable lessons that I will carry with me:
* I will NEVER EVER do a dive without my SMB AGAIN!
* I will always ask the DM the plan in case of separation
* don't do strong drift dives when fatigued
So there's my side. Im debating if I should post this in the accidents and incidents forum, but Im sure Ill get good feedback from you guys on what other options I could have done.
Oh, and now knowing what to expect, Id love to do coconut point again. The pelagics were awesome. But Id want to also hang on and watch for a bit. Count me in Dennis!
Before the dive, Rasta Lem showed us where we were gonna end the dive (but the boat was parked before - I guess they'd see us and pick us up) and to expect a hard & strong current (but we all didnt expect it to be as strong as it was). We came to the edge of Cocunut and Olo point where we geared up and prepared for entry. The swells were rough, but we expected it to be better once we got in. At this point I made a mistake that I will carry with me for the rest of my diving life: The bangkero who was helping me asked, gusto mo ang iyong balloon?" "would you like your balloon? [points to SMB lying on the floor] which I said: iyaw na." "I don't like" I left my SMB on the boat that dive! I practiced releasing it the previous dive so I didnt have it setup for the 3rd (when Im sick I get lazier). I was cursing myself in the head when I got separated.
So negative entry I went without a surface marker. Viz was about 30ft-40ft. The current began accelerating us along the reef and it was actually really fun for about 10 mins. Saw a lot of good stuff a large school of jacks, small groups of blue fin trevallies, school of yellow tail barracudas. Then comes the part of separation (please bear with the crappy diagram. Refer to top diagram for step by step explanation):
1.) We were in a diagonal formation DM closest to the reef, me in the middle, carlo away from the reef about 3m apart from each other. We were at about 70ft along the wall, but the bottom was deeper. The lines indicate where our heads are in relation to our body (but we kept looking at one another to keep aware)
2.) I remember seeing a crevice and I wanted to tambay for a bit, but I was too weak to fight any current and as quickly as I saw the crevice, it was gone. Spoon accelerates ahead of me. I think I remember seeing him fiddle with his camera.
3.) I remember spoon twisted to go shallower. I looked over at rasta lem who also looked back and we both gave the ok sign. Spoon fins over top me and bangs his knee on my head by accident. (omg, while I write this I just realized I was in a downcurrent when spoon began his transition I was above him and I ended up below him when he crossed over me ).
4.) Once spoon bangs my head, I spin my body around so I can have a view of both buddies - this seriously took me TWO SECONDS to do. And when I see behind, I cant see the reef, rasta lem or spoon anymore.
5.) I spin around again 360 this time. Still no sign of my dive buddies. Dive time at this point is 10 mins.
So now Im alone at the mercy of the ocean and I realized that this is one of those oh shiit situations that I always read on SB. At this point Im still in midwater not realizing Im in a downcurrent until I check my dive comp which is rapidly reading: 24m . 26m 28m One of the most important things I learned from these threads is: dont panic! So first thing I do is get out of the undercurrent and fin back to 17m (last depth we were together as a group). Here I weighted my options:
1) go the distance and hopefully the current will slow down.
2) surface.
3) hold on for now and see if they catch up.
I went with 3 cause I figured there was no way my dive buddies were ahead of me (I swam at a 45 degree just off the main current to get out of the downcurrent) and I didnt want to surface just yet since I had no SMB (still cursing up till now).
At this point in my epic adventure Id just like to take the time out and thank Jag for my reef hook. I honestly didnt think Id use it much and didn't like it much at first but it has proven valuable a lot of times especially on this occasion!
It took me about 3 tries before I could actually hook a coral. I waited around for 2 mins to assess my situation, retighten my fin straps which had come unloose in the current, readjust my mask which was leaking. I checked my air: in 13 mins I was already at 1800 psi (from 3000) so as much as Id like to assume I didnt panick, I did guzzle a lot of air. So after 2 mins, I decided to ascend along the contour till I was at 5m (the current was not so strong here). I did my 2min safety stop like the good boy I am and surfaced to see where I was and if my dive buddies surfaced as well (see pic below diagram. Im the yellow dot). I stayed afloat for 5 mins in the rough swells, trying to see anyone else or the boat. No luck. The island was about 200m away and I eliminated swimming straight to the island since I didnt like the idea of being smashed on the rocks. I did spot a tiny cove on the other side of some outcropping rocks which I thought could probably provide me with some cover so I decided to descend again and enjoy the corals up till then. Thinking back, one thing I forgot to do was blow my whistle.
So to make the long story shorter, I surfaced around the rocks and lo and behold, I saw the boat about 100m away hidden from view and the rough seas (see pic below diagram. Its the red dot). Nice. I descended once more and enjoyed the corals along the rest of the way to the boat. I had 1000 psi left when I surfaced by the boat. I heard Rasta Lem just on the other side of the rocks and the boatmen signalled that I was with them. I waited for Spoon and our DM jut below the boat wanted to use up the rest of my air and off gas a little. On the surface, the first thing Rasta Lem and I did was burst out in laughter.
Overall, the experienced really humbled me and I learned 3 valuable lessons that I will carry with me:
* I will NEVER EVER do a dive without my SMB AGAIN!
* I will always ask the DM the plan in case of separation
* don't do strong drift dives when fatigued
So there's my side. Im debating if I should post this in the accidents and incidents forum, but Im sure Ill get good feedback from you guys on what other options I could have done.
Oh, and now knowing what to expect, Id love to do coconut point again. The pelagics were awesome. But Id want to also hang on and watch for a bit. Count me in Dennis!
