Even_Stephen
Registered
I can't belive something like this happened to me. And I can't belive that I almost lost it. I almost needed rescue, and probably should have asked (screamed?) for rescue. This could have ended badly.
Diving background: My wife and I are OW certified for 10 years. We only dive a few times a year, mostly clear warm water. So we are perpetual newbies, we know we are, and try to act accordingly by being very conservative and by being very attentive dive buddies. We have our own gear and are familiar and comfortable with it. We are in our late 40s and in reasonably good shape and don't smoke. I, in particular, have always been extremely comfortable in water and know many of the classic "drownproofing" techniques. When I took up scuba, I naturally felt right at home and have never had a situation where I didn't think that everything would be okay. My wife is a strong swimmer, but is a bit less complacent about being in the water and with scuba gear than I am.
The dive: My wife and I typically dive a local quarry a couple of times in the summer to keep our skills intact for our tropical vacation dives. We went with another couple who are experienced divers. We have all dived this particular quarry a number of times. It is busy and has a dive shop on site. It is circular, fairly large, approximately 150-200 ft in diameter, about 80 ffw maximum depth. The entry is either a gradual gravel slope or a dock that simulates entry from a boat. Most of the perimeter is a sheer wall. This dive was to be like most of our previous ones. That is, giant stride, descend a marker bouy line, check out a couple of platforms and artificial swim-throughs, then swim around the perimeter until the enty/exit point or low on air. Vis was 20-30 feet (pretty good for this quarry), surface water temp 81 degrees, thermocline at about 25 feet with temp about 68 degrees under. Most of the dive was at the thermocline, maximum depth was 35 feet. I wore a 3mm farmer john with a 3mm long sleeve shortie over it. Web weight belt and standard lead weights. Jacket-style BC. I was too hot above the thermocline and too cold below it (due to bare hands and no hood). All went well for the dive. I was relaxed and enjoyed the dive as much as possible in a quarry. I did notice that upon entry, at the surface with my BC inflated, I felt my gear pinched me a bit around the upper chest. That went away under the surface. (I don't wear the full wetsuit very often, so I didn't think about it much.) I found I was a bit overweighted. Maybe 2-3 lbs or so. Wife got low on air about 50 minutes into the dive. We all surfaced normally and discussed the plan. We were on the far side of the quarry from the exit point. The other couple elected to continue the dive, while wife and I would surface swim to the exit.
The incident: While we were chatting on the surface, I felt the BC pinch again. So I deflated partially and stayed afloat by finning. As usual, I did my surface swim on my back with my regulator out. With no waves, I also removed my mask and left it around my neck. Swimming effort was greater than usual due to partially deflated BC. If I inflated more, the "pinch" increased; less and the effort increased. I quickly found myself to be uncomfortable and shortly after that, getting winded. When I would turn around to see that the shore was still some distance, I would fin even harder. Before long, I was panting and couldn't catch my breath. By now, my wife was worried and asked if I was okay. I had to answer "NO!" and that I couldn't catch my breath. She offered to tow me. That didn't help because if I stopped finning, I had to inflate the BC more and get uncomfortably pinched. So I started finning again and breathing even harder. I was still able to think somewhat, but I was for sure on the verge of panic. About this time, I also lost a fin! My solution to the problem was to doff my BC and drop my weight belt, since I knew that my wetsuit would keep me afloat. I got to shore shortly after and was fine in a matter of minutes.
Aftermath: My wife thought I might have been having a heart attack! I knew that I wasn't, but I've never had a situation where me and my breathing were so out of control. There were plenty of other divers on shore. I (or my wife) should have yelled for help. I should have doffed my BC and weights sooner. I shouldn't have had my weight belt and BC cinched so tight. I should have unzipped my wetsuit. And I should have just put my mask back on, reg back in, flipped over, and comfortably swam back just under the surface. In trying to be a good buddy by keeping a perpetual eye on my wife, I jeoperdized my own safety. She was fine. I was the one in trouble, but it took me too long to belive it correct it.
I always chuckled in disbelief about people who hyperventilate or panic. I'm not laughing about it now. Trust me ... if it can happen to me, it can happen to nearly anyone.
My wife went free diving to retrieve my fin and weight belt. On her first trip down, her mask frame split and the lens fell out! The other couple retrieved my lost gear.
Diving background: My wife and I are OW certified for 10 years. We only dive a few times a year, mostly clear warm water. So we are perpetual newbies, we know we are, and try to act accordingly by being very conservative and by being very attentive dive buddies. We have our own gear and are familiar and comfortable with it. We are in our late 40s and in reasonably good shape and don't smoke. I, in particular, have always been extremely comfortable in water and know many of the classic "drownproofing" techniques. When I took up scuba, I naturally felt right at home and have never had a situation where I didn't think that everything would be okay. My wife is a strong swimmer, but is a bit less complacent about being in the water and with scuba gear than I am.
The dive: My wife and I typically dive a local quarry a couple of times in the summer to keep our skills intact for our tropical vacation dives. We went with another couple who are experienced divers. We have all dived this particular quarry a number of times. It is busy and has a dive shop on site. It is circular, fairly large, approximately 150-200 ft in diameter, about 80 ffw maximum depth. The entry is either a gradual gravel slope or a dock that simulates entry from a boat. Most of the perimeter is a sheer wall. This dive was to be like most of our previous ones. That is, giant stride, descend a marker bouy line, check out a couple of platforms and artificial swim-throughs, then swim around the perimeter until the enty/exit point or low on air. Vis was 20-30 feet (pretty good for this quarry), surface water temp 81 degrees, thermocline at about 25 feet with temp about 68 degrees under. Most of the dive was at the thermocline, maximum depth was 35 feet. I wore a 3mm farmer john with a 3mm long sleeve shortie over it. Web weight belt and standard lead weights. Jacket-style BC. I was too hot above the thermocline and too cold below it (due to bare hands and no hood). All went well for the dive. I was relaxed and enjoyed the dive as much as possible in a quarry. I did notice that upon entry, at the surface with my BC inflated, I felt my gear pinched me a bit around the upper chest. That went away under the surface. (I don't wear the full wetsuit very often, so I didn't think about it much.) I found I was a bit overweighted. Maybe 2-3 lbs or so. Wife got low on air about 50 minutes into the dive. We all surfaced normally and discussed the plan. We were on the far side of the quarry from the exit point. The other couple elected to continue the dive, while wife and I would surface swim to the exit.
The incident: While we were chatting on the surface, I felt the BC pinch again. So I deflated partially and stayed afloat by finning. As usual, I did my surface swim on my back with my regulator out. With no waves, I also removed my mask and left it around my neck. Swimming effort was greater than usual due to partially deflated BC. If I inflated more, the "pinch" increased; less and the effort increased. I quickly found myself to be uncomfortable and shortly after that, getting winded. When I would turn around to see that the shore was still some distance, I would fin even harder. Before long, I was panting and couldn't catch my breath. By now, my wife was worried and asked if I was okay. I had to answer "NO!" and that I couldn't catch my breath. She offered to tow me. That didn't help because if I stopped finning, I had to inflate the BC more and get uncomfortably pinched. So I started finning again and breathing even harder. I was still able to think somewhat, but I was for sure on the verge of panic. About this time, I also lost a fin! My solution to the problem was to doff my BC and drop my weight belt, since I knew that my wetsuit would keep me afloat. I got to shore shortly after and was fine in a matter of minutes.
Aftermath: My wife thought I might have been having a heart attack! I knew that I wasn't, but I've never had a situation where me and my breathing were so out of control. There were plenty of other divers on shore. I (or my wife) should have yelled for help. I should have doffed my BC and weights sooner. I shouldn't have had my weight belt and BC cinched so tight. I should have unzipped my wetsuit. And I should have just put my mask back on, reg back in, flipped over, and comfortably swam back just under the surface. In trying to be a good buddy by keeping a perpetual eye on my wife, I jeoperdized my own safety. She was fine. I was the one in trouble, but it took me too long to belive it correct it.
I always chuckled in disbelief about people who hyperventilate or panic. I'm not laughing about it now. Trust me ... if it can happen to me, it can happen to nearly anyone.
My wife went free diving to retrieve my fin and weight belt. On her first trip down, her mask frame split and the lens fell out! The other couple retrieved my lost gear.
