First post, first post-cert dive. Fiasco. Lessons learned from a comedy of errors.

[Storker]

The more you understand the evolution of a "cluster F#@*" the better equipped you will be to respond calmly and manage the event. You seem to have deconstructed the dive very well and learned a lot...do yourself a favour and pick up a copy of the book and read it several times as you advance as a diver. You will be a safer diver in the long run.

A starting point, before you get your hands on that book, could be to read up on the (1973 vintage) concept "incident pit", originally coined by BSAC. I haven't read Stewe Lewis' book (yet), but from these comments I assume that Lewis is following some of the same kind of thinking.

 

[spectre184]

I have nausea issues. I use the Prevent Motion Sickness - Transderm Sc?p® - Clinically Proven Motion Sickness Patches patch. It's by prescription only. If you wear hood it'll be ok but if you dive without you'll want some good medical grade tape to help hold it on.

Also before diving I wont eat greasy foods, bacon, sausage, any greasy fast food or any citric drinks (orange juice). Food like Subway or Jimmie Johns works for me

 

[RJP]

You're right, I don't understand buoyancy control; After all, I'm totally new!

Are you certified?

Then you should understand neutral buoyancy. If not, get your money back from your OW course.

Best regards,

Ray Purkis

 

[morecowbells]

Thank you for your honesty in sharing your diving incident. Sounds like a total sh!tstorm, but believe it or not, you have the traits needed to be a skilled diver. To be able to analyze and re-construct the mishaps and communicate them takes courage and shows that you realized the problems and are eager to rectify them. For your next dive it would be worth looking into hiring your own dive master for the day. In addition to gaining some tips on improving your buoyancy, you will also have the peace of mind having a professional close by whom is unencumbered by distractions from other divers or photographers.

As women we are told countless times to follow our intuition. That doesn't only apply to the creepy denim jacket guy lurking in the bar but also to diving. There have been a couple of times I decided to abort or abstain from a dive. Reasons varying from rough conditions, poor visibility to simple negative vibes. Get comfortable saying "no" to a dive you are not' feeling'. Although it be the one with the mating mantas and blue whales

 

[Doppler]

I am interested to hear from the OP about their next dives... were the lessons from their first applied on later attempts.

 

[Freewillow]

Seems like Buddy # 2 was a very patient guy . But he should not have taken his camera with a beginer like you.
Never heard, among other buyancy techniques, the finn pivot drill

 

[NAM001]

I often chime in on threads about when I should take rescue. I tell them to give your self a chance to experience problems over say 50 dives. Looks lke you got your fill all at once and I am confident you learned a lot about things going wrong that you did not think would. Not only will this all pass in time, you will not only discover the causes and prevent them all, you will look back at this experience every time you make that plunge. BTW what do you think about the need of a good capible buddy? Befor you can learn from your failures you have to acknoledge them. Great post.

 

[Sleepdr]

In all honesty, if you check most of our log books you'll find that dive in there somewhere. You survived and most importantly, learned. Well done.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Dive #8 in my logbook was entered after a 20 year hiatus. It couldn't have been better, as a skills refresher for me and DSD for my wife in Maui. My comments included:
"RMV 0.5. Coral, 2 turtles, lots of urchins. Mild current + good viz."

After that dive, I did a formal full refresher to brush up on skills, educational materials, and emergency procedures.

Dive #9 was "that dive" for me. A pic of the logbook page is attached. There are many asterisks and to-do items, including mandatory equipment issues to address things like a dislodged dip tube, SPG leak, ripped wetsuit, fogging & flooding mask, etc.

I was overheated at the surface from near 90 degree ambient temps and 14mm neoprene (55 degree water), and I had neglected nutrition. My CO2 load went through the roof, and my RMV tripled with the workload. And for the record, I can run a couple miles, do a P90X video, or sustained brisk bicycling for 45 minutes.



The next entries in my logbook report 22+ hours of a private GUE Primer to help me put the wheels back on the wagon.

 

[spoolin01]

My suggestion is to find conditions and buddies that will allow you to set the pace for the first however many dives it takes to develop some familiarity and confidence. That offer of a patient and understanding mentor should be too good to pass up!!

I recall noticing that most of my early dives shared a common theme that at first perplexed me - though generally at home in the water I found myself often over-exerted and stressed by the experience, to the point where I was anxious, overbreathing, and/or probably CO2-elevated. I came to realize that this was partly due to the heavy exposure gear and not taking steps to limit overheating prior to the dive (timing, planning, preparation, choice of location) - because I'm someone who can't handle overheating - but another major contributor was always being on some else's timeline, before and during the dive. Hurrying in to the water without being 100% prepared or mentally ready, hustling on the surface to keep up with a guide or instructor who was faster than I and focussed on running the task, then being compelled to dive immediately upon reaching the drop spot, due to the guide again being there first and now ready to go.

It took me awhile to understand the roles overheating, exertion and, likely, CO2-loading played in compromising my skills, progress, and enjoyment. Find a way to dive at a pace that allows you to stay on top of your game and enjoy your diving. It's not particularly difficult, it just needs to be practiced properly.

 

[dgfishy]

Hey guys. Long time no post. I thought some of you might be interested in the events that followed my messy first attempt.

After an incredibly busy couple months, I was finally able to take TSandM up on her offer for a dive.

The first attempt managed to get screwed again by my inflator (servicing wasn't enough apparently, so we replaced it), but we still managed to do a weight check and get things moving in the right direction.

However, this morning's attempt finally gave me a successful introduction to Puget Sound diving! 28 minutes in Alki Cove 2. A bit chilly (and wobbly) but an overall victory! Saw some squid eggs and a gorgeous little Oligocottus down there too!

Of course, I need to give a HUGE thanks to TSandM for all of the help—I think I got almost as much from picking your brain on the surface as I did diving with you!

So in summary: I'm still a total n00b, but I'm a n00b happily moving in the right direction. My way forward is simple: dive dive dive!

It looks like I have about 10 weeks to practice in the Sound, and I want to be underwater every moment I can. The goal is to dive at least once a week, more if I can pull it off.

Seattle-area divers with cars and the patience to deal with me... Hit me up? if it's humanly possible for me to squeeze a dive in, I'll work with you.