It is a dive where nothing really bad happenned, as I called the dive before having major problems, but I nevertheless learned some things at this occasion.
I am still quite inexperimented, 32 dives, CMAS P**, which means (in France) that I am allowed to dive in autonomy with 1 or 2 buddies (my husband + occasionnal additional diver) down to 20m, and with a N4 (roughly equivalent to a dive master who cannot teach) down to 40m (max a N4 +4 divers)
I had dived in autonomy this summer, without any problem. Also had our first night dive which was great.
This dive was planned as a deep dive, between 35 and 40m. A N4 that I know, we already had done a deep dive with him the year before, my husband and me. We had planned to go down 'in the blue' until we hit the rock at about 27/28m, then follow the rock down to 38/40m (40m strict maximum).
Now let me tell that these dives are at the Channel/Atlantic limit, 15C water in summer with a far from perfect (but acceptable to my taste) viz. So to go down "in the blue" is really "in the green-brown where you do not know where you are, and must stay close to the group". I wear a 7mm wet suit, and 9kg (too much, I forgot that I need less lead on deep dives, first mistake)
First problem is that I begin to have difficulties to equilibrate my ears. Usually, I do it very easily, I pinch my nose and click my ears to open eustachian tubes, I do not nead any real valsalva or other method. The N4 was still going down, without looking at us (for a short time, but it felt long) and while trying to keep contact it him I didn't think immediately to do a real valsalva which could have helped. Second mistake. Nevertheless the ear partly equilibrate, just not fast enough. he N4 looks at us, I tell him that I have problem with my ears, he stops and I am finally able to equilibrate properly. we go down again, and he signal be to go first (so that he is able to watch me, I suppose... he is not far beside, just enough to keep an eye on my husband too). I am not comfortable with it as I do not know wher I go. Third problem: when I reach ~20m, I find it more difficult to breath, I check my regulator and I find that the ventury regulation is still on "-", I put it on "+", breath is a little easier. We go on, me slightly before the others with the encouragements of the N4. Finally we see the bottom, which was at ~38m (as we went down slower than scheduled due to my ears problem, we had drifted). At this depth, I have again difficulties to breath, I tell it to the N4 and we call the dive. I was still in control of what I was doing, no panick, but I knew that it could only worsen at this depth. He catch my BC to go up, in fact he tells me to bo nothing, that he is in charge (and I think that at this time he is right on that), we go up with difficulties (he does not inflate my jacket, he uses his to control the ascend), then at 15m (I was berathing correcly again with reduction of ppCO2), he let me go (after asking me but still watches me closely, at 9m he inflates his saussage, we do our deco stop (very short but compulsory) without any problem, surface, the boat takes us. A part an aborted dive, all is finally well... except that he tells me "you were too heavy, I had difficulties to lift you". True, I was too heavy. By ~2kg I think. But more than that, due to the difficulties I had during the way down and poorly handled multitasking, I had not inflated my BC enough, I was not neutral at all! and he didn't inflate my BC to compensate it (is it a mistake or not? can experienced divers comment on it?)
What I have learned?
-If I have difficulties going down for a long way down in the blue, I would call the dive earlier. At least as long I do not get more experience with this sort of dives.
-when way down is long, take care of the drift!
-when you fo down fast, be careful that it is because you swim down, and not because you are negatively buoyant (I realised that it is not always obvious to feel, especially when you concentrate on something else at the same time)
-I am at a certification level where I must be able to bring a diver to surface from a depth of 20m. We had trained with divers who were properly neutral. Now I will remember than in a real situation, the diver is not necessarily neutral!
-As I have no real possibility of natural environment dives between september and March, I must not forget to go to the pit pool to train, I must have automatisms to bring a diver (my husband) up!
Do you have other comments?
I am still quite inexperimented, 32 dives, CMAS P**, which means (in France) that I am allowed to dive in autonomy with 1 or 2 buddies (my husband + occasionnal additional diver) down to 20m, and with a N4 (roughly equivalent to a dive master who cannot teach) down to 40m (max a N4 +4 divers)
I had dived in autonomy this summer, without any problem. Also had our first night dive which was great.
This dive was planned as a deep dive, between 35 and 40m. A N4 that I know, we already had done a deep dive with him the year before, my husband and me. We had planned to go down 'in the blue' until we hit the rock at about 27/28m, then follow the rock down to 38/40m (40m strict maximum).
Now let me tell that these dives are at the Channel/Atlantic limit, 15C water in summer with a far from perfect (but acceptable to my taste) viz. So to go down "in the blue" is really "in the green-brown where you do not know where you are, and must stay close to the group". I wear a 7mm wet suit, and 9kg (too much, I forgot that I need less lead on deep dives, first mistake)
First problem is that I begin to have difficulties to equilibrate my ears. Usually, I do it very easily, I pinch my nose and click my ears to open eustachian tubes, I do not nead any real valsalva or other method. The N4 was still going down, without looking at us (for a short time, but it felt long) and while trying to keep contact it him I didn't think immediately to do a real valsalva which could have helped. Second mistake. Nevertheless the ear partly equilibrate, just not fast enough. he N4 looks at us, I tell him that I have problem with my ears, he stops and I am finally able to equilibrate properly. we go down again, and he signal be to go first (so that he is able to watch me, I suppose... he is not far beside, just enough to keep an eye on my husband too). I am not comfortable with it as I do not know wher I go. Third problem: when I reach ~20m, I find it more difficult to breath, I check my regulator and I find that the ventury regulation is still on "-", I put it on "+", breath is a little easier. We go on, me slightly before the others with the encouragements of the N4. Finally we see the bottom, which was at ~38m (as we went down slower than scheduled due to my ears problem, we had drifted). At this depth, I have again difficulties to breath, I tell it to the N4 and we call the dive. I was still in control of what I was doing, no panick, but I knew that it could only worsen at this depth. He catch my BC to go up, in fact he tells me to bo nothing, that he is in charge (and I think that at this time he is right on that), we go up with difficulties (he does not inflate my jacket, he uses his to control the ascend), then at 15m (I was berathing correcly again with reduction of ppCO2), he let me go (after asking me but still watches me closely, at 9m he inflates his saussage, we do our deco stop (very short but compulsory) without any problem, surface, the boat takes us. A part an aborted dive, all is finally well... except that he tells me "you were too heavy, I had difficulties to lift you". True, I was too heavy. By ~2kg I think. But more than that, due to the difficulties I had during the way down and poorly handled multitasking, I had not inflated my BC enough, I was not neutral at all! and he didn't inflate my BC to compensate it (is it a mistake or not? can experienced divers comment on it?)
What I have learned?
-If I have difficulties going down for a long way down in the blue, I would call the dive earlier. At least as long I do not get more experience with this sort of dives.
-when way down is long, take care of the drift!
-when you fo down fast, be careful that it is because you swim down, and not because you are negatively buoyant (I realised that it is not always obvious to feel, especially when you concentrate on something else at the same time)
-I am at a certification level where I must be able to bring a diver to surface from a depth of 20m. We had trained with divers who were properly neutral. Now I will remember than in a real situation, the diver is not necessarily neutral!
-As I have no real possibility of natural environment dives between september and March, I must not forget to go to the pit pool to train, I must have automatisms to bring a diver (my husband) up!
Do you have other comments?
