Dumb & Dumber

[CUunderH2O]

I've forgotten things before; I used to have a list, but now I recite from head to toe what I need & pack accordingly, the night before. Yesterday I was diving after work and packed quickly in the morning. I was diving dry & forgot to bring a pair of socks. Luckily I found an extra pair in my car, but my buddies always have extra gear, from reg sets to socks.

 

[ozarkjim]

One of my buddies recently brought his doubles, his wife's doubles, both drysuits and neither BC.

 

[airsix]

Hoosier,
You aren't dumb, you're human. Pilots are taught to NEVER go through checklists mentally. Always use the printed checklist. I apply that principle to any equipment-dependent activity (flying, skiing, diving, fishing, hunting). Make up an equipemnt checklist and laminate it. Always go through the list as you load the gear and you'll always be fine.

-Ben

ps - On one of my early would-be dives I drove with my buddy for an hour to the remote site only to find I'd forgotten to bring the weight-belts. :11: Now I use the checklist.

 

[Mark Vlahos]

I forgot the charger for my cannister light battery on a 3 day diving weekend at Ginnie Springs in Florida. Fortunately for me Ginnie has the same type of light in their rental inventory and they were kind enough to charge my battery every night for me on one or the chargers for their rentals.

I tried to buy a spare charger from them, but they did not have any in stock.

No primary light in a cave means no dive.

Mark Vlahos

 

[Florabama]

I was a real dumb and dumber yesterday. I didn’t bring the fin so that I couldn’t dive. Even, my buddy couldn’t dive because of me. It made me feel terrible because I ruined someone’s valuable time and schedule.:sorry19z: It also made me keep asking myself what is the matter with me. :crying2: I am still a real newbie in this world.



Have you had any same experience as mine? I hope not.

Don't feel bad -- most everyone's done it. If you've dived for any length of time, sooner or later you forget something that keeps you from diving. Then, you create ckeck lists and spares to keep it from happening again. Its part of the learning curve, and look on the bright side -- now you're past it.

 

[The Chairman]

My last trip found me sans BC. Up to that point, I had NEVER forgotten something important.

 

[JoeFL]

I've been lucky and never forgot anything of mine that would make me need to skip diving, but a couple years ago, my buddy and I went out on my boat to dive a local wreck. Its not far offshore, but its about a 2 hour ride from dock to divesite. Well, we get there, I drop the anchor in 70' of water, we start getting our kits together, and she realizes she left her regulator in her car. I remained very calm as I sweated my butt off hauling in that anchor (it was a typical summer day in South Florida... 90 degrees, 80% humidity, and no breeze). Luckily we only had to go back to Port Everglades to find a dive shop to rent her a regulator, and we went right back to the wreck, but it still cost us about 1 1/2 hours and a couple gallons of fuel... and lots of sweat, and we still had a great dive.

Now I annoy all my dive buddies (on my boat) by quadruple checking that they have everything before we leave the dock. I just never want to haul that anchor unless I absolutely have to... maybe I should just get a winch.

 

[dmmike]

I've been pretty lucky so far that I have not forgotten anything that would cancell a dive, but about a week ago went out on a dive boat and the DM forgot her dive gear :11: . Had to turn around, go back to the dock and get it, wonder if she'll ever live it down.
I'd calk it up to live and learn. As your buddy, I'd have to look at it the same way as if you say you don't feel you should make the dive. Find a good place to have lunch and tell good dive stories.

 

[Saipanman]

I would guess that there are more people who have forgotten something which would cause a reasonably prudent diver not to dive than people who have not. So, you're not Dumb and Dumber, you're just New and Newer or Normal and Normaler.

When I'm taking students or divers to a site, I always say to the group, "Now, does everyone have their..... "and I list all the equipment. Everyone nods.

Often, something is forgotten. And, to prove that I violate my own rules, I'll admit that once, JUST ONCE, I got to a site with everything but my fins.

(Yes, it's difficult to live down when you're the instructor).

Don't fret. Welcome to the club.

 

[scubafool]

Sometime ago I pulled into the local spring, started gearing up, only to realize that my wetsuits were nice & dry. On the rail at home where I hang them to dry. 1/2 hour drive each way to dive, or a slightly colder than normal dive?

On the plus side, I now know that I can dive in a BP'W with just a T-shirt without discomfort. Also on the plus side, I now know that if I were to be victim of an armed robbery while underwater, and all that the thief took was my exposure protection, and the water temp was 72 degrees, I would freeze to death in just slightly more than 45 minutes.