Embarrassment at Little Farnsworth

[SDdiver1]

Good honest post Bill. Fransworth can test and humble anyone. A decade or so ago I had a experience where we were caught in a wind blown current which was not there when the dive started. The boat did have a current line out but we missed it by several yards and could not swim against the current. The boat sent a inflatable to pick us up after we signaled them.

 

[drbill]

Good honest post Bill. Fransworth can test and humble anyone...

Just to clarify... the problems were at Little Farnsworth, about 10 miles from Farnsworth Bank. Everything went fine at the Bank (although I would have loved a second dive there) despite current and swell. Fortunately we are heading back there Friday so I should get in another 1-2 dives to film that site.

Appreciate the positive feedback from so many of you. I think it is important to share knowledge gained from good and bad dive experiences. And I don't mind those that raise honest and justifiable questions in an attempt to gain a better understanding of what happened... that also helps others. Those who weren't there to see the situation first hand, or have never dived those sites, and seem to want to second guess after the fact... it's your right, but does it contribute to a meaningful discussion of benefit to the rest?

Looking forward to diving the Bank again, and Little Farnsworth on the way back IF we stop there and IF the conditions are more diveable!

 

[daniel f aleman]

of what Those who weren't there to see the situation first hand, or have never dived those sites, and seem to want to second guess after the fact... it's your right, but does it contribute to a meaningful discussion of benefit to the rest?

Absolutely. You posted this thread in the "Accidents and Incidents" forum.

And, we've all been stuck in a current, Bill.

Accident/Incident analysis is apart of my job as a DM. Don't confuse critical review with criticism. At the end of each dive, we DMs debrief divers looking for anything that will improve their future diving experience, and for those who will dive that site in the future. All of it goes into the boat log book, information for other boat Captains, DMs, and divers. A paper trail of incident analysis goes along way, and affects divers more than one thinks; for me, the least of which keeps my liability premiums lower.

 

[SDdiver1]

Just to clarify... the problems were at Little Farnsworth, about 10 miles from Farnsworth Bank. Everything went fine at the Bank (although I would have loved a second dive there) despite current and swell. Fortunately we are heading back there Friday so I should get in another 1-2 dives to film that site.

I know I have dove both. You account just made me reminisce of an incedent at Fransworth. Good luck onyour next trip.

 

[Code Monkey]

A pet peeve of mine is that any post to a scuba group, this one included, that describes some scary incident is met by some with an attitude that the incidentee (if you will) is an idiot. Strangely, I have even seen this attitude applied toward taking safety measures that some others do not.

Often, though I don't think this is the case, here, the person who got into trouble *did* have some culpability. Even in these cases, the post is usually of the form "guys, I messed up in this way and I hope we all can learn from the incident."

I think I understand the psychology of the situation. As divers, we recognize that there is an element of danger to our sport. We would like to feel that proper preparation and procedure innoculates us completely from this risk. Therefore, if something bad happened to somebody else, they must have screwed up. They *must* be a lot dumber than I am. Only in this way can I be safe while that poor sod wound his path into harm's way.

I think I have even caught myself applying this sort of reasoning. I am hoping that, in the future, I'll look at incidents like this one and think to myself, "Wow -- that could have been me. Would I have been able to mitigate the current the way Dr. Bill did? With this incident in mind, is there change I can make to my process in the future so that I don't run, at least, into this, specific problem?"

I hope that I can, in the future, look at incidents like this one with this frame of mind.

 

[Mr.X]

oops.

 

[Mr.X]

Accident/Incident analysis is apart of my job as a DM. Don't confuse critical review with criticism. At the end of each dive, we DMs debrief divers looking for anything that will improve their future diving experience, and for those who will dive that site in the future. All of it goes into the boat log book, information for other boat Captains, DMs, and divers. A paper trail of incident analysis goes along way, and affects divers more than one thinks; for me, the least of which keeps my liability premiums lower.

Does anyone have a pair of long knitting needles? I need to blind myself - at least temporarily! :frustrate

X - Trainer of instructors or instructor of trainers

 

[drbill]

Of course the most important part of this experience for me is how it will affect my assessment od future dive conditions and sites. I'm quite sure it will have an effect there. Currents have rarely been an issue for me since there are many ways to deal with them, especially along shore currents.

Currents in open water well away from shore with small dive site targets pose a different problem, and one I will incorporate more in my future diving. Hopefully conditions at Farnsworth Bank this Friday will be comparable to last week, but it is possible I may have to assess that site differently regardless of how much I want to dive and film the site again.

Vis seems to be improving which would be a big help at Little Farnsworth if we go there as well in two days.

 

[David P]

Maybe it's just because most of my wetsuits look extremely "experienced!"

LOL I was wondering where the duct tape was.

Dr. Bill, I asked myself a question after that day of diving, and would like to ask you the same now.. would you make the same two dives again if you could relive that day?
my answer: absolutely I would, just with a few changes...

 

[drbill]

Dr. Bill, I asked myself a question after that day of diving, and would like to ask you the same now.. would you make the same two dives again if you could relive that day?

my answer: absolutely I would, just with a few changes...

No question I'd do the Farnsworth Bank dive again. In fact, I did two of them Friday. Both were to a max depth of 101-102 ft so they were significantly shallower than the weekend before (146'). Both were minor deco dives. Filmed a starfish I've never seen before and so far no one has ID'ed it.

If I were to make the Little Farnsworth dive again (under the conditions that prevailed that day), I probanly would leave my camera behind and just do it is a recon dive for future reference. It is an extreme rarity that I will dive without my camera, but that wouild be the sensible thing to do. The King Neptune did go out there on their first dive today with a group of very experienced tech divers. There was a good current today, too.