H2Andy
Contributor
first, get your gear on and ready to dive.
second, go down to the dock and kneel on the lower steps,
with the water up to about your waist, so you can take
the weight of your double tanks off your back.
third, while trying to get your legs stretched out from
under you, slip backwards.
fourth, land with your face under two feet of water
and your double tanks anchoring your back against the bottom
steps.
what do you do?
this actually happened to me today. i was diving at
Peacock Springs (Luraville) with two buddies, and my
back, as usual, was bugging me (I broke my L1 vertebrae
in a motorcycle crash in October, 2004).
(both buddies are ScubaBoard members, but i am keeping
their names confidential in case any flaming happens).
so, while the third team member finished getting ready,
two of us headed down to the water at Orange Grove Sink.
as usual, i was pretty much set up and ready to go: primary reg was
coiled around my torso and hanging from my right shoulder, my
secondary reg was on a bungee around my neck. all i was holding
was my hood, mask, and fins.
so... down i go to the bottom step. by kneeling, i was able to get
relief from the weight of my double tanks (only LP 85's, but still murder
on my back). at that point, my plan was to push my feet from under
me, sit, and put the fins on, then enter the water and finish gearing up
by putting my hood and mask on.
not so fast. as i was trying to move my left leg from under
me to sit, my right leg slipped (there's moss and algae on the
wooden steps). trying to save my back, i sort of put my hands
down to lessen the blow. my tanks slid on the wood, and they
slid further down.
at that point, my primary contacted the water and started
free-flowing something awful. the hissing was just incredible,
and inches from my right ear.
then, the water was over my face. faster than i could even
think, i felt the tanks under me, as, facing up, i felt the water
enter my mouth and nose.
my first thought was to be embarrased (dang it... why
do i always have to be so clumsy).
my second thought was to get the free-flowing reg under
control. with my left hand, i groped for it. no luck. i
groped again. no luck.
ok.. you're under water. primary problem: air.
solve primary problem.
easy: go to secondary regulator. sure enough, there
it was, where it always is, hanging from my neck. i had
no trouble at all getting it and putting it into my mouth.
though some cold water had gone up my nose and into
my sinuses (not fun), i could breathe ok.
emergency over. now, what to do?
i still wanted to shut up that darned free-flowing reg.
i groped for it again. nope. groped for it again. nope.
ok, give up on it.
now, the tricky part. heaving myself over with a pair
of doubles strapped to my back. with a strong kick and
a shove (and a sharp pain to my back... again), i was
belly first on the steps, right side up.
right there, was my buddy. she had been in the water
when i slipped, and had covered the distance to me in
about five to ten seconds, the time the entire episode took
place. her hand was on my arm, and she was steadying me.
it felt good to know that help had been about 10 seconds
away.
"are you ok?"
"yeah..."
what ifs...
my buddy tells me that someone died under similar circumstances
a while back. she's not sure if at Peacock or at Manatee, but
a diver fell back, got his face under water, his air was off, could
not get up, and drowned while his buddy ran to the car to get some
gear he'd forgotten.
to drown in two feet of water while wearing scuba gear.
seems almost perverse.
what if i hadn't turned my air on? what if when i fell, instead
of blessed air (which inmediately solved the problem) i would
have gotten a mouthful of nothing? this would have probably
sent my stress level through the roof, maybe into panic
territory... and when you panic... well... you've lost the battle
right there.
what if i hadn't set up my secondary so it would hang
bungied under my chin? what if, like the primary reg,
i had flailed around looking for it while the seconds ticked away?
what if, without air, i would not have been able to flip myself
over so easily? what if i had struggled in vain to un-turtle myself?
and what if my buddy hadn't been there, ten seconds away
and ready to help?
well... i wouldn't be writing this, that's what if.
but things worked out well. i always make sure my air is
on before heading for the water. i always gear up as though,
upon stepping into the water, i will need to go to scuba
immediately (i don't assume i'll be able to set myself up
in the water). i always make sure my secondary is bungeed
around my neck.
then there's the training. i took Rescue. i know about
"self-rescue." i know about stopping, thinking, acting.
luckily, i was able to head off the emergency before it
got out of control, the very definition of self-rescue.
and finally, my buddy was there. it took her less than
ten seconds to get to me. i would have had a regulator
in my mouth in two more seconds. say fifteen seconds
total. that's a great insurance policy.
all in all, i think we did alright today.
after this incident, we had three great dives. and
ain't that what diving is all about?
eyebrow
second, go down to the dock and kneel on the lower steps,
with the water up to about your waist, so you can take
the weight of your double tanks off your back.
third, while trying to get your legs stretched out from
under you, slip backwards.
fourth, land with your face under two feet of water
and your double tanks anchoring your back against the bottom
steps.
what do you do?
this actually happened to me today. i was diving at
Peacock Springs (Luraville) with two buddies, and my
back, as usual, was bugging me (I broke my L1 vertebrae
in a motorcycle crash in October, 2004).
(both buddies are ScubaBoard members, but i am keeping
their names confidential in case any flaming happens).
so, while the third team member finished getting ready,
two of us headed down to the water at Orange Grove Sink.
as usual, i was pretty much set up and ready to go: primary reg was
coiled around my torso and hanging from my right shoulder, my
secondary reg was on a bungee around my neck. all i was holding
was my hood, mask, and fins.
so... down i go to the bottom step. by kneeling, i was able to get
relief from the weight of my double tanks (only LP 85's, but still murder
on my back). at that point, my plan was to push my feet from under
me, sit, and put the fins on, then enter the water and finish gearing up
by putting my hood and mask on.
not so fast. as i was trying to move my left leg from under
me to sit, my right leg slipped (there's moss and algae on the
wooden steps). trying to save my back, i sort of put my hands
down to lessen the blow. my tanks slid on the wood, and they
slid further down.
at that point, my primary contacted the water and started
free-flowing something awful. the hissing was just incredible,
and inches from my right ear.
then, the water was over my face. faster than i could even
think, i felt the tanks under me, as, facing up, i felt the water
enter my mouth and nose.
my first thought was to be embarrased (dang it... why
do i always have to be so clumsy).
my second thought was to get the free-flowing reg under
control. with my left hand, i groped for it. no luck. i
groped again. no luck.
ok.. you're under water. primary problem: air.
solve primary problem.
easy: go to secondary regulator. sure enough, there
it was, where it always is, hanging from my neck. i had
no trouble at all getting it and putting it into my mouth.
though some cold water had gone up my nose and into
my sinuses (not fun), i could breathe ok.
emergency over. now, what to do?
i still wanted to shut up that darned free-flowing reg.
i groped for it again. nope. groped for it again. nope.
ok, give up on it.
now, the tricky part. heaving myself over with a pair
of doubles strapped to my back. with a strong kick and
a shove (and a sharp pain to my back... again), i was
belly first on the steps, right side up.
right there, was my buddy. she had been in the water
when i slipped, and had covered the distance to me in
about five to ten seconds, the time the entire episode took
place. her hand was on my arm, and she was steadying me.
it felt good to know that help had been about 10 seconds
away.
"are you ok?"
"yeah..."
what ifs...
my buddy tells me that someone died under similar circumstances
a while back. she's not sure if at Peacock or at Manatee, but
a diver fell back, got his face under water, his air was off, could
not get up, and drowned while his buddy ran to the car to get some
gear he'd forgotten.
to drown in two feet of water while wearing scuba gear.
seems almost perverse.
what if i hadn't turned my air on? what if when i fell, instead
of blessed air (which inmediately solved the problem) i would
have gotten a mouthful of nothing? this would have probably
sent my stress level through the roof, maybe into panic
territory... and when you panic... well... you've lost the battle
right there.
what if i hadn't set up my secondary so it would hang
bungied under my chin? what if, like the primary reg,
i had flailed around looking for it while the seconds ticked away?
what if, without air, i would not have been able to flip myself
over so easily? what if i had struggled in vain to un-turtle myself?
and what if my buddy hadn't been there, ten seconds away
and ready to help?
well... i wouldn't be writing this, that's what if.
but things worked out well. i always make sure my air is
on before heading for the water. i always gear up as though,
upon stepping into the water, i will need to go to scuba
immediately (i don't assume i'll be able to set myself up
in the water). i always make sure my secondary is bungeed
around my neck.
then there's the training. i took Rescue. i know about
"self-rescue." i know about stopping, thinking, acting.
luckily, i was able to head off the emergency before it
got out of control, the very definition of self-rescue.
and finally, my buddy was there. it took her less than
ten seconds to get to me. i would have had a regulator
in my mouth in two more seconds. say fifteen seconds
total. that's a great insurance policy.
all in all, i think we did alright today.
after this incident, we had three great dives. and
ain't that what diving is all about?
eyebrow
