I almost DIED in Grand Cayman!

[maged_mmh]

No thanks for my "exhaustive" post!!!

 

[ChristineH]

don't worry about all the different comments people make, just read what you want from it, no one can understand a situation until they have lived it....so no worries - whether you ever decide to dive or not will be under your terms and when you want. Meanwhile, there are so many wonderful places to visit whether your plans include diving or not...so enjoy and thanks for sharing your story with us!

 

[MMM]

Davezwife, you sound as though you have a fabulous sense of humour. Ever considered taking up writing?

I'm also a Dave's wife; unlike your husband, he did a couple of dives and decided it was not for him. But I was bitten and so focussed on developing my skills without a buddy. (I'm pretty self-sufficient now, I must say.) I did have one particularly ugly dive but wasn't nearly as banged up as a couple of other divers on the boat with us. I put a lot of thought into "what went wrong on that one". As a medical professional, you are familiar with critical incident analysis. Best of luck to you in the future. Maybe some day you'll get back into the water but if not, do you have an air-integrated dive computer for sale? ;^)

 

[N2Baja]

Best of luck to you in the future. Maybe some day you'll get back into the water but if not, do you have an air-integrated dive computer for sale? ;^)

 

[Bratface]

Enough already.

 

[FPDocMatt]

So we geared up and made the long strenuous surface swim out to the spot. We chose to go left ...and had a nice dive for about 40 minutes. ...We had a few minutes left on air, thought we were heading in the right direction (we were not) and after our safety stop, we went up.

To our shock, we were at least 300 ft from shore, and much further down past the dive shop than we thought. Way past it. My heart just about sank.

I didn't have much air left to go back down and swim, nor enough weights on to go back down a few feet to kick underwater. We had to kick on the surface. Well, TRY.

After few minutes of seeming we were going nowhere but further down the coast, and deeper out to sea, I stopped. My snorkel was working too well, often "shutting off" my breath. Using my regulator was futile as well. David helped pull me, but somehow the simple act of grabbing my BCD (inflatable vest) was freaking me out more. Logically I knew I couldn't sink with my wetsuit and BCD on. (Mistake: What I should have done was drop my tank and weights right off the bat, a small price to pay for easier movement)
But I knew we were in trouble. BIG trouble. The winds were making the sea downright pissed off now, and once I saw that we had ONE chance to get UP CURRENT to a break in the sea wall, and that was it for miles... well... panic set in. The PTSD of the crashing waves, tired legs, the panic of the situation... honestly, I did not stay cool. Not cool at all.

David, being the strongman he is, was pretty level about the situation. I remember him trying the soft gently approach, the firm approch, the "just relax, I'll pull you in" aproach. But my mind and sea had taken over my body, I was helpless. It's horrible just to type those words.

But I was never hopeless. I KNEW he would get us out of this. I didn't know how, the situation was truely and honestly very serious. We had to make that ramp area, or I would never be able to get up the sea wall. The waves would knock us out trying. I remember screaming. I recall looking for help, and no one was there. 3000 shipmates and Georgetown full of locals, and no one. Just David.

He pulled on me and the last thing I remember was smashing against the black lava rock wall. I can kind of remember struggling a bit, getting pushed in and out with the tide surge, but at some point, I became unconcious. (we later think it was the panic that did it, not a hit, as I had no marks on my head) While there was no bright white light and angels, I did dream about something. (what?) At one point I remember hearing David screaming for help, and his voice was off in the distance, so I knew I was alone. I get tears in my eyes and a lump in my heart every single time I hear that scream. I feel so horrible for rendering us so helpless. I guess I was out for a "few minutes" (hard to tell in a time like this) and in a movie-style fashion, David eventually woke me up by slapping my square across the face. (the only part of this story that makes me giggle) When I came around, I was sitting at the top part of the surge, and he was screaming for me to get up. We finally got me out of my gear, and somehow got up and walked to safety. I was covered in blood, lots of cuts and scrapes from the rocks. David's hands were filled with tiny urchin barbs, and later we both had useless swollen claws until we got tipsy enough to start digging them out. (ouch!) I am covered in some HUGE nasty bruises, and a whole slew of "no-see'um" bites from Honduras, which I'm allergic to. It's not pretty.

He eventually ran to the road, hailed a taxi, and we eventually got (most of) our gear back and went back to the ship. I was pretty much out of it (shock) and all David told the shop was that we "drifted a bit far down" and that was it. ...

David saved my life. Literally. Had it not been for his physical and mental strength, and his ferocious perciverence... I would have most likely died that day.

I have some questions and comments about this excellent, 3-year-old post.

1. Is it possible to just carried out to sea? I know that not all currents can be swum against. We wouldn't necessarily know if this has ever happened, since nobody would ever hear from the divers who did get dragged out to sea. They would just be listed as missing.

2. Struggling in the very mild surf at Torremolinos, Spain recently, I was struck by how powerful even a small surge of water can be. We newbies to diving tend to fear what can happen under water, but the surface of the water is equally dangerous.

3. Several people responded to this poster saying that she wasn't adequately trained. I don't understand this. Couldn't this sort of thing happen to anybody? How would re-taking the OW and AOW courses have prevented it?

4. It's amazing to me how easy it is for a scuba dive to turn into a life-threatening situation. Reading posts like this one are invaluable, in that they teach us what can go wrong. Experienced divers know what can go wrong because they've experienced it. Reading about something on a scuba forum is second best to experience, but still quite helpful.

5. People who responded to this poster by saying that she may not be cut out for scuba diving I think were a bit harsh. It seems to me that getting into a life-threatening situation and not liking it does not mean you're not cut out for scuba. In fact, I would say that the original poster was very wise to recognize that she was in dangerous situations in the first place (see the original post, which I truncated for brevity). I aborted my first open water class because I was getting too tired. I felt like a wimp, but now with just a bit more experience (not much, I admit) I realize that I did exactly the right thing. Even experienced dive masters will not be aware how unprepared a newby is. You really do have to be responsible for your own safety, and abort any dive which doesn't feel right to you. I would much rather dive with someone like the OP, who is alert to dangers, than someone who dives cavalierly.

 

[dktexas54]

My take on your story is that you have never been real comfortable with diving. Many instructors on this site will push for more training. I believe you went wrong by not hiring a dive master to guide you.

My reasons are:
1. First time diving area- would you jump into a new type airplane without a type certified check pilot along to show you the ropes?
2. Did you check with locals on your dive plan? Taking one minute to ask the dm should I go left or right etc, currents, would have been wise
3. Gas management? You and your husband should have agreed on ending gas levels etc. sounds like poor gas management.

I also have had many scary moments diving. Anyone on this board who says they have never had a panic or near panic episode is lying or just beginning to dive

I hope you take some time off and get back in the saddle again. Remember, diving is for fun. Some on this board do some very dangerous diving and that's fine, but many others never go below 60' either.

Remember, you can control when, where and how you dive. Never be afraid to say no or ask questions.

Good luck!

 

[coldwaterlloyd]

I applaud your decision to quit diving . Some people are not cut out for diving and you certainly fit the bill . Plus one of your first comments were you never really liked diving and felt uneasy before every dive . It is cool to be nervous but if you do not really love it this sport is not worth the effort , not to mention the dangers . Stick to golf .

 

[lv2dive]

This is the second zombie thread in a row, I opened off the new posts - what's going on out there today/tonight?!?!



EDIT: I understand talking about some general concepts from the thread, but I wouldn't expect responses from comments directed to the OP who said she was quitting diving (3 years ago). Just thought I'd clarify

 

[kimbalabala]

Yeah, I know this is an old post but ... we spent a week at Sunset House in GC and I think I know where the OP was probably diving from and I completely understand how this could have happened. When you do a shore dive from Sunset House (well, when WE were doing them) the surface current went from right to left (northeast to southwest?). We weren't aware that the current was there the first time out - we were just looking for the Mermaid! We had already been out on a boat dive and experienced NO current and yes, it was stupid not to anticipate a current off shore, but we didn't. When we surfaced after our dive - and NOT finding the Mermaid - we were significantly downcurrent from where we started and perplexed. The only thing in that direction are some huge oil tanks - not a promising looking area to try to get to shore. We also had to do some fairly difficult surface swimming - though we did have enough air to descend to do most of our work under the current. I'm not sure that the local folks even think about the current being a big deal - when we mentioned it to other divers there were some who confirmed that yes, they had the same problem and some who just poo-poo'd it. We didn't make that same mistake twice - we headed out against the current and then did some drifting back to our exit point thereafter.

And as an aside, I know that people DO recommend gearing up at the dive shop in front of where Devil's Grotto is, but personally I think it's a bit of a swim and could be a navigational challenge. Just my 2 cents.

I wonder if the OP really hung up her reg or if she changed her mind and got back in the water ...