I panicked, lived, and learned...

[fishdelasol]

My husband and I: new divers, got OW last Oct, have done several shore and boat dives in familiar water using our own equipment. We consider 60 ft reef dives off a boat deep and exciting...we are certainly not Xtreme divers.

Ok, so since we are conservative, we booked a 3 tank shallow reef dive for our Hawaii trip. The website says 35-40 ft dives and is marketed to new or out of practice divers. We think it sounds great and since we are only diving one time, we didn't bring our gear with us.

Well, dive #1 ends up being a 100 ft wreck dive. We are very concerned about it, but the owner/captain says he doesn't do the three shallow dives because it wasn't profitable so he now does one deep to start with. Plus, he says that the shallow dives are the most dangerous place to be and it isn't good viz on the shallow dives. We end up getting convinced (VERY STUPID ON OUR PART) that it is fine because we have a guide with us. He did give all of us the chance to say no and we didn't. Off we go....

When we get to the bottom of the line the guide and two other, just certified, divers swim to the hull and grab on to it. I let go and try to swim over with my buddy. That is when I find out the current is very strong and I am swimming against it. I am also ascending. When we make it to the wreck I have to hold on to stay put. The guide and the other two swim off and we start to head after them. Again, I start ascending (not uncontrolled or rapidly) and suddenly it seems like I can't breathe and am gasping for air from my reg. I try to stay with everyone and lose track of where my buddy is (he was right behind me). I keep kicking downward and forward. It just seemed like I was going to suffocate and float up and away in the current leaving my husband behind. I kept visualizing the reg coming out of my mouth and I would die in that deep, cobalt, blue water. It occurred to me that I was panicking and that needed to stop immediately. I was actually breathing, no matter what my mind was telling me. Every bone in my body wanted to shoot for the surface, but I told myself that I needed to get back to the line and all would be ok.

I don't really remember signaling to my buddy, but I apparently gave him the thumbs up and headed back to the line. He followed thinking that he had done something wrong and I called the dive b/c of him...LOL. (I am normally the leader and in control of our dives). I remember being on the line and being able to breathe a bit better. I kept giving the OK sign and thinking that I was NEVER going diving again. We did our safety stop with no problems and got back on the boat. That is when my buddy saw I was very scared, but ok.

On the boat, another one of the divers was already there and had skipped his safety stop because he couldn't stay down. The reason why we ascended was because the owner/long time instructor had explained that all us new divers were the same and completely overweighted. He gave us all these tips and got rid of our extra weight. (ALSO VERY STUPID TO ALLOW THIS ON SUCH A DIVE). While I agree that I am most likely overweighted, that was not the time or place to ditch 10 lbs of weight for the first time.

One of the things I worry about is what if I hadn't signaled to my buddy and left him. He would have been SO worried if he couldn't have found me, but all I could think about was getting to the line or I was going to die. I am guessing I had narcosis since things were pretty fuzzy and delusional at one point. I don't ever want to leave my buddy. I take that as a very deep responsibility...especially with this one, since I really like the guy. :blinking:

Lessons Learned (please feel free to input any I miss):
*NEVER go on a dive that I did not plan, especially if I feel it is out of my league.
*I do not want to dive with unfamiliar equipment.
*Trust me dives are BAD news. Even with the guide...it did me no good because he was so far ahead. I need to rely on my own skill and do dives that are my level.
*It is better to be overweighted instead of under weighted.
*I was able to recognize a bad situation and do the correct thing.
*Listen to the advice on SB...if it feels wrong...DON"T DO IT! I had every reason to call the dive and didn't.

I did end up doing the second dive. My buddy was very reassuring that if I got down and decided I didn't like it all we had to do was come back up. It ended up being a normal, very nice dive on a pipe reef. I'm glad I did it and will continue to dive...but in the way that fits me.

 

[Beachlover]

Sounds as though you recognized your mistakes and that you also kept your head when you wanted to bolt for the surface. Both of these things will benefit you while diving.You seem like you are quite intelligent and composed, not sure if the same can be said of your captain/divemaster.Always trust your gut. Good luck & good diving!

 

[spectrum]

fishdelasol

You did not panic, you were stressed and you managed it, BRAVO!

Your stress may have been a combination of narcosis, over work from the current and probably an inferior rental regulator high a high work of breathing level. That was on top of all the stress you took into the water after the change of plans.

If you had much of a wetsuit you may not have been under weighted at depth but with the exertion your lungs were puffed up and you may have been swimming head high creating lift.

Lessons learned.

My definition of a good dive; Nobody got hurt, all of the gear came back and you learned something. I'd say you had a great dive.

Pete

 

[TAG1111]

Boy do I recognize that self talk. Sounds like you did a really good job controlling the panic.

 

[Diver Dennis]

You are not unlike many who get talked into a dive that may well be over their heads. You dealt with it very well and will be a better diver for it I think. You understand now why"trust me" dives can be dangerous.

 

[Web Monkey]

Congratulations on surviving! As you've noticed, a single 100' dive is not the same as (3) 33' dives.

The only things I'll add are:

• If something sounds dumb, it's still dumb even if the boat captain or instructor says it's OK.
• Never leave your buddy (and tell your buddy to never leave you), and if something isn't right just thumb the dive and surface.
• If the DM doesn't know where you are, surface anyway. He wasn't doing his job. With a good DM and new divers in a new environment way beyond your normal depth, he should be close enough to make you think you had picked up a stalker.
• If you're going to dive, bring your own gear. You'll know where everything is, and how it works and that it's been maintained. The rental stuff can be great or can be crap and there's no way to tell the difference until it's too late.

FWIW, I'd demand a refund. You signed up for 3 shallow dives for new/rusty divers and got a single 100' dive. They certainly didn't deliver what they promised, and showed a severe lack of professionalism and judgment. If the merchant isn't cooperative, your Credit Card company will help you (if you paid by CC).

Terry

 

[Missdirected]

Kudos - you held yourself together.

"It occurred to me that I was panicking and that needed to stop immediately. I was actually breathing, no matter what my mind was telling me. Every bone in my body wanted to shoot for the surface, but I told myself that I needed to get back to the line and all would be ok."

You stopped, thought, and acted. You stopped the panic cycle from going into full swing :yelclap: And even though you don't remember it, you signaled your buddy the dive was over.

Note, you did not have a DM with you. At least not from what you have stated thus far here. Seems there was a DM but at no point did you verify with him that he would be your DM and stay w/ you, correct? Never assume :no

I'm thinking between changing the weight (which you are accustomed to diving with) and being stressed hence, taking in a lot of air and not really expelling as much, this is what caused you to begin ascending.

As you have said, always go with your gut.

I'm not so sure I agree with the weight issue you highlighted (overweight v underweight) but I am sure someone else will give you their thoughts.

Congrats on getting back on the horse or off the dive boat as it were You have learned some valuable lessons and I think you did a great job.

 

[Diver Dennis]

Yeah, that's a good point Terry. They didn't get the dives they had signed up for.

 

[Missdirected]

You signed up for 3 shallow dives for new/rusty divers and got a single 100' dive. They certainly didn't deliver what they promised, and showed a severe lack of professionalism and judgment. If the merchant isn't cooperative, your Credit Card company will help you (if you paid by CC).

Terry

Great point. This was to be for Rusty/new divers yet it was an advanced dive. It was deep, there was current, and you were on your own.

 

[DeltaWardog]

Reminds me of a wreck dive I did in Puerto Morelos. This was my first wreck dive and I kinda got talked into it by the rest of the divers. The bottom was at 92 fsw... of course I didn't know that before the dive, since the DM told us something like "the boat is at 60 feet", of course later I learned that meant the very top of it and guess what, the group wasn't going down for a peek at 60 feet and then head back up!

We got to the boat and everything was fine. On this dive there were 2 very experienced divers, the DM, myself, and one of the other divers' girlfriends who was a newbie like me. The 2 experienced divers head inside the wreck.... and the DM goes with them! This leave the two newbies (me and the guy's girlfriend) hanging around outside the boat. We were outside by ourselves for a good 10 minutes while they explored the inside of the wreck. I was really, really uncomfortable with this but I could tell the girl was even worse off. I stayed real closer to her in case she had a problem and that kept my mind off myself and my own discomfort. To make matters slightly more unnerving this was the first dive of any length I'd ever been on where I couldn't see the surface.

All that said, I really enjoyed the dive at the time, other than being a little uncomfortable from pushing the limits past what I'd done before. Nothing bad happened but I have kicked my own butt several times for letting myself get talked into a dive that was poorly planned and explained, and beyond my skill level. Won't happen again.