Have you ever done anything on a dive that you KNEW you weren't supposed to?

[Hank49]

My transgression was several years ago. We were doing a week and a half diving and fishing trip. We were over 100 miles offshore in the Gulf of Mexico and things were terribly slow with trolling, catching like one barracuda every 2-3 hours. I t was an area we were not familiar with. I kept checking the depth…. 40 always 40; hour after hour.

Finally after a day or two, the capt says he has a number in the depth of 40 and we decide to do a dive: single 80 and a small pony bottle. We dropped anchor and headed down the anchor line in incredible vis (over 100 ft) and very warm. We got down a ways and looked over and there was a whole steel freighter. We didn’t even know if we were gonna be diving a reef or a wreck.
I saw a large grouper and took off for the bottom and shot it. I was pretty messed up, but got off the bottom and we were outta there fast. An incredible dive with 60 lb cubera snappers schooling all over the place. I kinda broke one of my own rules for depth that day..



Did I mention the depth recorder was set to read fathoms?

Do you have the gps coordinates for that dive?

That sounds awesome. Nothing to make one break one's personal limits like a bunch of 60 lb cuberas. haha.

 

[PeterNBiddle]

In Hawaii I poked at a sea urchin just to say hello. It must have been in a bad mood because my finger blew up like a sausage, the tip turned black and I was carrying sea-urchin around embedded in the tip of my finger for months. It eventually worked it's way free. Now I only poke them if they look friendly and like they are in a good mood.

I blame the DO, of course. He should have cleared out all those dangerous hazards.

 

[SeahorseDeb]

There is a old underground nuclear mission silo dive site in Washington state, out in the hot desert. (http://www.underseaadventures.net/silo.) I do not carry the proper certifications in my opinion to dive this site. In my opinion cave diving experience should be a pre-req just looking at the site on their website. So, rather than drive all the way there knowing I do not belong diving in that environment, I am avoiding it, probably saving my life. My mind messes with me; I so badly want to cavern certify and then try a cave cert, but I am not seeing travel in my future to enable me to get to locations with the proper instructors. I will save my life perhaps by avoiding this dive, but always wonder, what if I set aside my feelings and just fork over the $, C-cards they want and fill out all the hold-harmless waivers.

 

[Griffo]

That silo looks awesome! It looks silt free, decent sized passages, and you'd be guided, so really it should be fairly safe as long as you stay close to your buddy... No I shouldn't say that.

 

[Lorenzoid]

I remember how surprised I was the first time following my OW certification a DM took me through one of those prohibited "overhead environments" we had heard so much about in OW class. It was just a typical swim-through in the coral, but I recall thinking "hey, didn't they teach us not to swim through anything where there is no directly vertical path for ascent?" Soon, I discovered that "short" (a subjective term) swim-throughs in the coral are almost universally considered routine by OW divers, and swimming through a wide-open space in a wreck was almost as common. I have never felt at ease with any type of swim-through, as I am one of those "by the book" type of people. Yet when one is part of a group of divers in an unfamiliar area, who wants to be the one who refuses to do what was described in the dive brief as a short swim-through?--it may be more dangerous to try to find a way around it and potentially get lost.

 

[SeahorseDeb]

That silo looks awesome! It looks silt free, decent sized passages, and you'd be guided, so really it should be fairly safe as long as you stay close to your buddy... No I shouldn't say that.

Oz, Did u watch the video? It is quite a bit of navigating and even tho it is guided, I didn't see any lines ran just in case. If you watch the camera off to the side if the strobes u can see silt floating in the water. I agree, it does look cool, but that's just not within my AOW. Take Care

 

[scubadada]

I really appreciate people listing the things they've done that they weren't supposed to do. But what I would really like to hear is how you convinced yourself that it was okay . . . if other divers are to learn anything from what we have done, they have to recognize the syndrome of "I know I'm not supposed to, but . . . "

I have always been rather conservative but I do like wreck penetration and have done a bit. My rule is never go two rooms deep unless you can see out. I also avoid silty places but then again I am good at not kicking stuff up. This limits my penetration to outer walls, but that's ok. Maybe one of these days I will get some formal training for wreck.

I've had many smaller transgressions but one large one several years ago that really taught me a lesson I will never forget and that changed my behavior, permanently.

I was diving the Spiegel Grove by myself and from the interior, penetrated 2 decks below the main deck through dark floor hatches without laying a line. I remember thinking you've dived here many times before, the hatches are nearly alligned and will be easy to find, you won't go far horizontally once down the 2 decks, what could possibly happen?

I did my my short swim in the room I was in, ascended through the 1st hatch, and then, for the life of me, I could not find the 2nd hatch and was in blackness. I looked around for a couple minutes and thought to myself, this was really stupid, you're going to drown, what will they tell my wife. Though I was starting to feel panic, I turned off my light and after a short period, I could see a faint blue light at the end of a long corridor. I turned my light back on, swam the passageway and exited a hatch in the ceiling to the outside. I was extremely glad I did not pay the ultimate price for my actions.

I've never done anything like this again and have shared the story with others who talk of daring, foolish dives.

Good diving, Craig

 

[cc.harley]

It seems you equate training with taking a class from an instructor and recieving a card. If you think the pioneers of SCUBA did not train, then where did all this information come from to make up these classes? There is is a difference between carefully and logicly expanding the boundaries of diving and blindly doing what you want. The former has given us the diving knowledge we have now and the latter died then, and still dies now with their specialty cards.

I dove for many years without certification, but none without training. None of the few divers I started with died in the water, and we did have some moments.

Cards are driven as much, if not more, by liability mitigation and profit than diver education. 4 dives makes you a wreck diver?

I have done plenty of stupid s**t both in and out of the water, the trick is risk management and not relying on blind luck, although I will take blind luck if it presents itself.



Bob
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A man's got to know his limitations.
Harry Callahan

I may be old, but I’m not dead yet.

I agree wholeheartedly Bob. I have been diving for years with a lowly OW cert and no c card for 7-8 yrs prior, yet learning/re-learning something with every dive. Common sense and small trial and error steps is very educational as to what works and doesn't. Hours of time in the water in different conditions teaches you more than a class and a few controlled dives. Things will always go wrong, how you deal with it and adapt is the most important skillset. It seems however that the certification agencies and many newer divers are almost creating "peer pressure" to get more and more certs. It also seems that anything other than a 45ft reef dive with no current in 100' visibility is now considered a "specialty" course. I guess I am guilty of too many "illegal" things on multiple dives over 30 yrs that "I Am A Habitual Scuba Outlaw". Oh well, I can live with it.:bandit:

 

[Bob DBF]

I have been diving for years with a lowly OW cert ...

It's only relatively recently the OW cert has become lowly, before that it was an accomplishment, with some instructors it is still. But with customers wanting instant gratification and a society expecting an award for just showing up, what's an industry to do?



Bob
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I may be old, but I’m not dead yet.

 

[ccx2]

I was on a two tank dive boat in Mexico that had three gorgeous college girls along for the day,while at depth I was behind them and couldn't help myself from "ogling the Bootie". Being an older guy I know I wasn't supposed to and Ive never told anyone about it until now. If I had it to do over again I probably would.
I also did a swim thru on the Speigle Grove of about 30ft of passage way on I think my 10th dive after OW cert. It was a100ft dive with an instructor,my first deep dive and the swim true was behind the instructor and two other divers from the boat.he said topside if anyone didn't want to they could wait outside, seemed pretty safe/lame to me.