georgelawrence
Registered
Im new to these boards, but have been diving for about 2 years. Im AOW with about 20 dives beyond those of the certifications.
I think its great that we can all learn from each others mistakes. Although it wasnt life or death drama, Id like to share one of my mistakes with you all.
My buddy and I were diving out at Casino Point on Catalina a few weekends ago. It was a busy day, but not super crowded like it gets in the summer. We started the rental paperwork at the trailer rental place there by the water and started to suite up. When the rental dude brought our tanks out, I took my reg and checked my tank (3000psi) then I took my reg and checked my buddys tank (3000psi). I put my reg back onto my tank and we both suited up.
At the waters edge, we reviewed out dive plan and performed our checks on each other. Heres mistake #1. I checked my air by taking a few breaths through my regs. I neglected to verify my pressure again on the gauge. But heck, why should I? It was reading 3000 about 15 steps ago when I put my gear together, right?
We did our surface swim out to our point of decent. When we got there, we rested for a moment to catch our breath and did another equipment check. And (#2) I checked that my air was on and regs worked, but didnt bother to check pressure. Whats the point? Id only taken about 3 or 4 breaths from it since I checked it on land.
So we switch to regs and descend to the Valiant - a wreck about 100 down. Once were kneeling on sand we give each other the OK sign and show each other our pressure gauges. Imagine my surprise when Im reading 600psi. Holy crap! How did I burn through 2400psi on just a 100ft descent? Well, it doesnt matter now, time to go back up.
After puzzling it over for a while we figured out what had happened. The way the rental place works is when you get a fill on your rental tank, you simply drop of the empty and pick up a full. And since I was gearing up close by, another diver accidentally mistook my rental tank for one of the refilled tanks anyone can take. So while my back was turned checking my buddys tank, my 3000psi tank got picked up, and an identical 600psi empty left in its place. I dropped 2400psi in about 30 seconds.
So the lessons I taught myself that day
1) Checking your air means taking some breaths, AND checking the pressure (even if you just checked your pressure a few seconds ago)
2) Check your buddys air pressure. Dont assume (as my buddy did) that your buddy is smart enough to do it for himself.
3) Its just as important to be cautious and thoughtful before you dive, as it is while youre diving.
4) Getting my own tank with distinctive graphics might not be a bad idea.
5) A dive with less than one minute of bottom time is no fun.
-- George
I think its great that we can all learn from each others mistakes. Although it wasnt life or death drama, Id like to share one of my mistakes with you all.
My buddy and I were diving out at Casino Point on Catalina a few weekends ago. It was a busy day, but not super crowded like it gets in the summer. We started the rental paperwork at the trailer rental place there by the water and started to suite up. When the rental dude brought our tanks out, I took my reg and checked my tank (3000psi) then I took my reg and checked my buddys tank (3000psi). I put my reg back onto my tank and we both suited up.
At the waters edge, we reviewed out dive plan and performed our checks on each other. Heres mistake #1. I checked my air by taking a few breaths through my regs. I neglected to verify my pressure again on the gauge. But heck, why should I? It was reading 3000 about 15 steps ago when I put my gear together, right?
We did our surface swim out to our point of decent. When we got there, we rested for a moment to catch our breath and did another equipment check. And (#2) I checked that my air was on and regs worked, but didnt bother to check pressure. Whats the point? Id only taken about 3 or 4 breaths from it since I checked it on land.
So we switch to regs and descend to the Valiant - a wreck about 100 down. Once were kneeling on sand we give each other the OK sign and show each other our pressure gauges. Imagine my surprise when Im reading 600psi. Holy crap! How did I burn through 2400psi on just a 100ft descent? Well, it doesnt matter now, time to go back up.
After puzzling it over for a while we figured out what had happened. The way the rental place works is when you get a fill on your rental tank, you simply drop of the empty and pick up a full. And since I was gearing up close by, another diver accidentally mistook my rental tank for one of the refilled tanks anyone can take. So while my back was turned checking my buddys tank, my 3000psi tank got picked up, and an identical 600psi empty left in its place. I dropped 2400psi in about 30 seconds.
So the lessons I taught myself that day
1) Checking your air means taking some breaths, AND checking the pressure (even if you just checked your pressure a few seconds ago)
2) Check your buddys air pressure. Dont assume (as my buddy did) that your buddy is smart enough to do it for himself.
3) Its just as important to be cautious and thoughtful before you dive, as it is while youre diving.
4) Getting my own tank with distinctive graphics might not be a bad idea.
5) A dive with less than one minute of bottom time is no fun.
-- George
