Experienced Divers: What are the most common "oh, crap!" situations?

[Litefoot]

Hello. Thanks for letting me ask a basic question. I'm a brand new recently-certified OW diver. I know that buoyancy control may be the most important skill at this point. But my biggest fear is having a panic attack when something goes wrong. In your experience, what is the most likely problem I will face? Right now, in my limited experience, losing my mask is my biggest fear because I struggle keeping water out of my nose. Is that the answer? That is, focus my practice on those scenarios that I already know will likely induce panic. What do you say?

Note: I am reading and learning form the "What would you do?" thread that is pinned at the top of the forum.

 

[ginti]

Hello. Thanks for letting me ask a basic question. I'm a brand new recently-certified OW diver. I know that buoyancy control may be the most important skill at this point. But my biggest fear is having a panic attack when something goes wrong. In your experience, what is the most likely problem I will face? Right now, in my limited experience, losing my mask is my biggest fear because I struggle keeping water out of my nose. Is that the answer? That is, focus my practice on those scenarios that I already know will likely induce panic. What do you say?

Note: I am reading and learning form the "What would you do?" thread that is pinned at the top of the forum.

Hi @Litefoot , as you read in previous posts, situations that may degenerate into panic are quite rare.

I feel to give you only three suggestions:
- use checklist or whatever other methods to check your equipment, as @scubadada and others suggested
- never, never and never exceed your training. Forget tech and overhead without proper training
- don't exceed your skills' level. If you don't dive for, say, four months, start again slowly.

Do these three things and I am rather sure you won't ever face any panic issue

 

[Jmar76]

I haven't lost a mask yet in 900+ dives. I suppose if a strap broke underwater I'd have time to grab the mask before it fell, but who knows. Some divers actually carry a spare mask with them on the dive, but that seems a little overboard. I have had a regulator mouthpiece almost blown out of my mouth in the Gulf of Mexico. I bungee it in my mouth (around my head with the bungee cord)-- also a hedge against problems as I usually dive solo now. I also use a "molded" mouthpiece for comfort.
I try to dive in the best conditions possible-- walk right from car to beach, etc. at my age of 68. I guess my biggest worry is conditions changing and having to crawl out on rocks, which I've done a couple of times recently.

I wish I could second that. I only have about 60 dives under my belt. On dive 57 my first night dive, mask strap broke and was happy that I had my back up with me.

 

[happy-diver]

Do you think HRH checked the chinstrap before sitting for portraits

Wouldn't be much of a portrait with the crown hanging from HRHs ear or resting on its side on the rug

 

[BoltSnap]

Needing to do no. 2 while 30 meters underwater. This is the worst thing for me.

 

[SlugLife]

Putting your gear on at the dive-site, only to realize you left something important (fins, boots, regulator, etc) at home.
So far, that's only happened twice, once with my dive-boots, and I dove anyway (got blisters), and again when I left my fins in the car and I was on my friend's boat about 10-minutes away.

For my friend's it's been o-ring is missing or blown. I have an extensive save-a-dive kit and have rescued my friend's dives many times. And my own a couple.

 

[happy-diver]

Now that's an "oh, crap!" situation​

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Having someone you are diving with have a fatal heart attack 40 ft underwater. Pretty much anything after that is a non event or annoyance.

 

[Beau Holden]

Getting the divorce papers and finding out how the dive gear is being split.

 

[sprockjohnson]

Having a buddy get narked at 150', run out of air in his first sidemount tank, and then forget the other was on his necklace bungee and proceed to freak out and panic before zeroing in on the closest other buddy who was luckily watching and handed him his necklaced regulator before the panicked diver tore his rebreather loop out of his mouth.

And this.

Needing to do no. 2 while 30 meters underwater. This is the worst thing for me.

 

[lermontov]

inside a wreck reeling back in and i see the end of the line coming to meet me