vixtor
Contributor
This Saturday I was witness to an incident that could have easily transformed in a serious accident.
The Black Sea was rough this week-end (6 on the Beaufort scale). Air temperature 14 degrees Celsius, water 9 degrees Celsius. Our group decided to go to the sea (a ~260km travel). When we saw the conditions at our destination, we decided to make a short dive under the protection of a pier. Even so, it was a tough dive, made just for the sake of navigation and poor visibility training (visibility was under half a meter), hard to call it a pleasure dive.
We were aware that two other divers we know were also in the area (in a nearby city), and we spoke with them on the phone. We decided to go to their diving place after we refilled our tanks. We have arrived there exactly at the right moment to witness the incident described below.
These two divers were very inexperienced - one was OW with 29 dives, and the other one OW with 5 dives. Their "plan" was to make a dive on the outside of the port, in open sea (as I mentioned earlier, a full 6 on Beaufort scale - winds over 30km/h, waves of 2-3 meters, strong currents). When we arrived, they were under water for ~55 minutes. The girlfriend of one of them was on the shore, worried. While we were discussing the situation with her, they have surfaced at ~800 meters out at sea. A strong current could be observed there, with ripping waves and foam forming a long line towards the sea. They were trying to swim a diagonal path towards the shore, between two big piers. The girlfriend run to one of the piers, to be as close as possible (they were hard to see from the entry beach). They swam for ~30 minutes, while it seemed that the current was taking then to the open sea, and they were failing to get close to the shore. When one of them waved a hand in clear distress, the girlfriend announced the nearby coast guard, and they started to prepare to go after them. Twenty minutes later, they have finally escaped the current, and swam close to one of the piers. For some time, they were in danger to be pushed by waves into the pier and be crushed. Finally, they have managed to swim pass the pier, in calm waters. The coast guard was not ready yet (local facilities are not exactly prepared for such situations), and we noticed them to cease the action.
When they exited on the beach they were clearly exhausted, with shaking knees. Unfortunately, they haven't learned too much from this, as they were only trying to look brave and relaxed (while clearly scared on the inside). They were very lucky to be alive. It would have been so easy to get lost in the open sea, and practically impossible to find in 2-3 meters waves. They could have died crushed in the pier. Any new problem that could have happened during their swim (like losing a mask, a BCD with inflation problems, a lost fin) might have changed the situation from bad and serious to deadly.
They had no experience. They were not able to observe the sea conditions properly (currents, dangers), neither before and during the dive. Their navigation was a joke (with a small compass glued to the computer's strap as their only means of orientation). They were not even able to understand or admit the danger they were in. They had no snorkels in the perfect example of why a snorkel might be needed - air out, caught in strong current, long surface swim.
There is a good lesson to learn from this incident, about how not to push diving in bad conditions, be able to understand the situation and make a proper plan, know your limits against the sea. This was just something that shouldn't have been done, and I hope others will learn from reading it.
The Black Sea was rough this week-end (6 on the Beaufort scale). Air temperature 14 degrees Celsius, water 9 degrees Celsius. Our group decided to go to the sea (a ~260km travel). When we saw the conditions at our destination, we decided to make a short dive under the protection of a pier. Even so, it was a tough dive, made just for the sake of navigation and poor visibility training (visibility was under half a meter), hard to call it a pleasure dive.
We were aware that two other divers we know were also in the area (in a nearby city), and we spoke with them on the phone. We decided to go to their diving place after we refilled our tanks. We have arrived there exactly at the right moment to witness the incident described below.
These two divers were very inexperienced - one was OW with 29 dives, and the other one OW with 5 dives. Their "plan" was to make a dive on the outside of the port, in open sea (as I mentioned earlier, a full 6 on Beaufort scale - winds over 30km/h, waves of 2-3 meters, strong currents). When we arrived, they were under water for ~55 minutes. The girlfriend of one of them was on the shore, worried. While we were discussing the situation with her, they have surfaced at ~800 meters out at sea. A strong current could be observed there, with ripping waves and foam forming a long line towards the sea. They were trying to swim a diagonal path towards the shore, between two big piers. The girlfriend run to one of the piers, to be as close as possible (they were hard to see from the entry beach). They swam for ~30 minutes, while it seemed that the current was taking then to the open sea, and they were failing to get close to the shore. When one of them waved a hand in clear distress, the girlfriend announced the nearby coast guard, and they started to prepare to go after them. Twenty minutes later, they have finally escaped the current, and swam close to one of the piers. For some time, they were in danger to be pushed by waves into the pier and be crushed. Finally, they have managed to swim pass the pier, in calm waters. The coast guard was not ready yet (local facilities are not exactly prepared for such situations), and we noticed them to cease the action.
When they exited on the beach they were clearly exhausted, with shaking knees. Unfortunately, they haven't learned too much from this, as they were only trying to look brave and relaxed (while clearly scared on the inside). They were very lucky to be alive. It would have been so easy to get lost in the open sea, and practically impossible to find in 2-3 meters waves. They could have died crushed in the pier. Any new problem that could have happened during their swim (like losing a mask, a BCD with inflation problems, a lost fin) might have changed the situation from bad and serious to deadly.
They had no experience. They were not able to observe the sea conditions properly (currents, dangers), neither before and during the dive. Their navigation was a joke (with a small compass glued to the computer's strap as their only means of orientation). They were not even able to understand or admit the danger they were in. They had no snorkels in the perfect example of why a snorkel might be needed - air out, caught in strong current, long surface swim.
There is a good lesson to learn from this incident, about how not to push diving in bad conditions, be able to understand the situation and make a proper plan, know your limits against the sea. This was just something that shouldn't have been done, and I hope others will learn from reading it.
Last edited:
