Emergency Ascent from 110 feet

[synctek]

ScoobaDood,

Its interesting you mention going deep. The Adventure dive and I think even the OW book (PADI) mentions not diving deep for the sake of going deep. There is that fascination of further and further and the feling of saying I just dove 65 feet or 105 feet. But your 100% right. There really needs to be a goal at the bottom of the dive, to get me deeper than 60', not just the aspect of the depth. What I think is crazy is people with an OW cert only going to depths deeper than the recommended 60' and worse still, a dive master that would take someone that deep that wasn't certified to do so. I did my first deep dive as the Adventure dive with an instructor and went to the Sea Tiger in Hawaii. It was a great dive but short. That dive, I experienced mild Nitrogen Narcosis and was thankful to have the instructor right there.

As a fairly inexperienced diver I have to say I am totally amazed at the number of people that are in a race to go deep and dive beyond their means. I have about 22 dives under my belt, I enjoy the 30-50 foot depths, there is plenty to see and enjoy. I have every intention of going on to AOW and additional training, but I want more "experience" before more training. When I can do all that I need to in the 30-50 foot range, and have bouyancy down, and have mastered the skills I gained in OW...then I will seek further training. I see people do OW, and 2 weeks later hit AOW, and by the time they have 20 dives under their belt they are doing Wreck Penetrations at 130' because they see training as stepping stones. Now maybe I am wrong in my approach but I see additional training as something you do AFTER you master what you have already been taught. Imagine a Doctor graduating from Med School and then enrolling in Surgical Training, Neurological Training, and Cardiology training all at the same time. I certainly wouldn't want him touching me. I want him to master being a Doctor first.

Oh well...I have rambled long enough. As always, just my $.02

 

[ScoobaDood]

ScoobaDood,

Its interesting you mention going deep. The Adventure dive and I think even the OW book (PADI) mentions not diving deep for the sake of going deep. There is that fascination of further and further and the feling of saying I just dove 65 feet or 105 feet. But your 100% right. There really needs to be a goal at the bottom of the dive, to get me deeper than 60', not just the aspect of the depth. What I think is crazy is people with an OW cert only going to depths deeper than the recommended 60' and worse still, a dive master that would take someone that deep that wasn't certified to do so. I did my first deep dive as the Adventure dive with an instructor and went to the Sea Tiger in Hawaii. It was a great dive but short. That dive, I experienced mild Nitrogen Narcosis and was thankful to have the instructor right there.

Sync,

Grats on the Deep Dive. There are a number of dives that I want to do that will take me to the limits of recreational diving depths, but I will not even consider them until I feel like I have not only the training but the practice and experience needed. I couldn't agree with you more about those that would go when not experienced or trained. At the end of the day, this is their lives they are playing with, and potentially the lives of others that may need to be called in for a rescue. I have not been beyond the 60' mark yet, and at the same time I have not run out of things to do and see at that depth either. To each their own, but I would think that most of the diving community would agree..training and experience is a must before taking on the more complex/deep dives.

Just my $.02

 

[rickdean]

Just like to leave a comment about underwater panic. . .sometimes, if a diver overexerts him/herself or if there is a problem with breathing (for any reason), a panic at depth can cause a diver to irrationally think the regulator is the problem and try to discard it, thinking it will help. A diver must calm down and fight this response by using their "stop, think, then act" training. Panic is NEVER the right answer to ANY diving situation. This should be taught more often.

Confession time: I had a panic situation (I am a Divemaster, BTW) I was sharing with our dive leader who was a Master Instructor. I wanted to be honest with him, even expecting some ridicule. His response surprised me. . . He said that just the previous week he had to fight a panic situation, also. New divers. . . it can happen to the best. . . just so ya know. Make sure you're pre-trained to deal with it properly.

 

[TSandM]

One of my instructors told me that everybody has an experience with panic while diving, and he related his (which involved having a cormorant come down and hit him in the mask). I don't know that everybody will have one, but I have (completely disorientation off the edge of a deep wall). Learning that you can master the voice from the reptile brain that tells you to bolt for the surface is a very important lesson for a diver.

 

[tinao]

OK.. OPEN WATER 101 people.. BWRAF.. this guy first off did not thoroughly check his gear when he was putting it together. As an avid diver and experienced Divemaster the one thing I do is take great care of my gear. This is my life saving equipment as my body is not built to breath underwater. Service it regularly and make sure it is not leaking that could have been fixed for about .30 cents and in about 2 seconds if it was just a zip tie and a mouth piece.
Secondly.. he had a back up usually in bright yellow either on his buddy or on himself. He could have switched to his second stage first sign of leak and again bagged the dive as he had unsafe equipment. Nope he kept going down. You should always keep the reg in your mouth even when coughing, tossing up lunch or what ever. They are designed when failing to free flow or open so most likely it was a simple .30 cent mouth piece torn or loose.. very quick three second fix on the surface and you may even get to go back down.. no reason to go down choking..
I am ALL ABOUT SAFETY and the think that really ticks me off the most is the part about being unexperienced divers and being "taken" down to 130 feet. As basic Open water divers you are trained to know better than to go beyond 60 feet. You need Advanced level certification to just go to 100 feet. 130 is beyond what is safe for recreational diving-period.
The blue hole is beautiful but not worth dieing for! Always dive within your trained limits! Never exceed what you are certified to do.. if your dive master guide is guiding you to jump off a bridge your not going to follow so it is wise to think that you could not follow here. You know better no matter what they are showing you. An instructor who guided down divers who were no Advanced divers past 60ft. should be reported to PADI and loose or have at minimum suspension of certification and re-training. Having that level of certification means you need to be an example of safety and honor that responsibility and make sure divers are taught safety first. I am deeply dissapointed and scared to hear such things that happen simply because of not obeying the basic safety rules of open water 101 classes.
Get the advanced training and the rescue training and go all the way. Rescue training and divemaster training are the best two for wealth of knowledge. Do not put your self in danger. You are in charge of your life and where and what you do as a diver. Your safety is in your hands.. if you are lead the wrong path or the wrong depth that you know is unsafe.. do not follow! If they are a good instructor they will see your stopping at 60ft and respect that and stay with you.. otherwise.. you know how to get back to the surface.. and in blue hole it is hard to loose a boat.. you can see it from 60 ft. down. Carry a safety sausage when boat diving in any condition and be sure to watch your gages and stick with your buddy. Don't forget you safety checks and remember this is why you do them, so this does not happen.. so be thorough as if you were going into outer space.