I blew it - but it ended well... thankfully (longish)

[mossym]

Ken
this is a good lesson for everyone..might have been better in the basic scuba discussions where everyone might see it, i know you're DIR and everything..but reminders like this are good for everyone..

 

[Rick Inman]

While your sighing and yawning....I wasn't making any point about DIR. You were the one that brought it up. (Hey...even this thread is in the DIR forum)

So if you have a problem with DIR, Go back to PADI.

It should of been caught with the PADI buddy check.

Sorry, my mistake. Thought you were.

I never said anything negative about DIR (in fact, it's always the opposite), so why the "go back to PADI" comment?

Yes, it should have been caught with the PADI buddy check. That's what I said, even a PADI Discovery person.

The sigh, yawn was about someone else jumping in with a comment, rather than Ken answering the question, and if was meant to be light hearted.

Sorry, I should have added a smile!

 

[Tollie]

Hey I really appreciate your post. Yea it does happen. You can do a top to bottom check and still miss it. All kinds of things can and do happen. For me it’s the redundancy that makes DIR type diving safe. IE: you are diving with a like minded and trained team member, you do the checks, you don’t lose your buddy on the decent, you know how to manipulate your valves… not one thing but a whole series of interacting, redundant checks that all add up to a safe and hence more comfortable dive context.

Last but most important you were well trained and acted on your training as an individual diver. Think of all the bone headed things that you might have done and all of the ways your story could have turned into a tragedy… and you did none of those bone headed things and your story serves as a great lesson and reminder to all of us.

Thanks again for the narrative.

 

[Mo2vation]

I hope the take aways are this (they were for me....)

* I wasn't rushed. I wasn't dressing quickly or anything, or slapping a rig together. I was a bit out of the groove, as I don't usually build a reg before I go in, but everything else was normal. It happened because I spaced.

* I was confident I could swim the dead weight to the surface and fix my issue from my modest depth, so there wasn't widespread panic... just genuine concern

* Had I done a valve drill within the first few dives with this tighter fitting suit, I probably would have had the confidence to reach back on the descent and fixed it. I blew off the drill, so took the alternative route and bolted

* I need to keep drawing a breath or two off the reg before the descent (preferably before the entry!) top of mind. That would have revealed the gas off and I could have avoided the situation.

---
Ken

 

[Doubles]

Hi Ken, glad this worked out for you! It could have easily gone the other way.

Thanks for sharing the experience. It certainly reinforces the need for our mental checks and processes, and at least for me, promoted some backward thinking of times when I might have rushed or not been properly prepared prior to the giant stride.

Cheers

 

[Charlie99]

How I could have avoided this

So many things I could have done differently, in hindsite. I should have checked my gauge after filling the BC. I should have taken a draw off my reg before stepping over the side. I should have insisted the DM be at the gate when I went in, I should have gone to the gate with my insta-buddy so we could have checked each other. Once in the water, I should have taken a drag before descending, etc, etc, etc.

* I need to keep drawing a breath or two off the reg before the descent (preferably before the entry!) top of mind. That would have revealed the gas off and I could have avoided the situation.

Perhaps not DIR since nobody has recommended it, but my simple solution is to look at the SPG while doing a fast hard inhale, the last thing before hitting the water. Movement on the gauge is an indication of a problem such as partially turned on valve or inlet filter blocked. A fully turned off valve would show up like a sore thumb.

 

[mweitz]

As part of my predive check, I always (try to remember to) take 3 or 4 full breaths out of each 2nd stage, check that the wing inflator / deflator buttons are funtional and check that my DS inflation is working.

Mark

 

[Doc Intrepid]

Oh well. I blew it. But it ended well. Its like when you get a ticket - I mean, I hate it when I get a citation - but it sure drive slower and safer for awhile. This has surely shaken me to the extent I'll be double and triple checking my gas and stuff before I drop.

That which does not kill us annoys the c**p out of us.

OTOH, thats what makes experienced divers. Most "experience" is gained through similar adventures.

And, it doesn't really end. I thought I'd solved most of my clustery by a matching head-to-toe review with my buddies and a safety drill before descending. Then I picked up a scooter and learned about the cluster-potential inherent in scooters. After a full trimix course you'll be qualified to ascend to a higher level of clustery while relearning about doing safety drills while breathing off a travel gas (backgas of say Tx 15/55). Restowing one's long hose over one's travel gas reg makes trying to smoothly do a gas switch on the way down and restow the travel reg an exercise in vertical bozonity.

Don't beat yourself up, most of us have also been there (even tho' we might not admit it! ) The one's who haven't simply haven't been diving long enough yet.

 

[Mo2vation]

... And, it doesn't really end. I thought I'd solved most of my clustery by a matching head-to-toe review with my buddies and a safety drill before descending.

This whole thread has been worth it, just for "clustry..."

Rockin'. :11ztongue

---
Ken

 

[headhunter]

We've all done it! Glad it turned out OK.

A few months ago, I was doing a rock entry wth mild surf at Old Marineland in Palos Verdes.

I made my way across the rocks very slowly. I got my fins on. I decided to go face first on my belly and pull my way across the shallow rocks that were left. Just as I put my face down to commit to the rest of the way, I tried to take a breath and discovered that, like in your story, the air was off.

My eyes must have gotten pretty big as I picked my head up because I just heard my fellow divers yelling, "Are you OK!" just before getting lightly smashed by a wave. Luckily, the training kicked in. I reached back and turned my air on while bouncing a bit on the rocks and then everything was fine. It's all about the air, for everything else there's plenty of time.

I always find it causes me concern when I see someone with their tank so low that they can't reach their valves. It's usually most obvious when the tank is banging off the backs of their knees.

Christian