Don't want to beat up on you too much, but as you probably realize now, you were not quite ready for NC wreck diving. In retrospect, it would have been wise for you to get to know the details about your rental regulator before diving. For example, was it a piston reg or diaphragm, balanced or unbalanced. You should of known about the vane switch, in which case you would have known to have it turned up.
At any rate, you made the correct choice by getting your buddy's attention after your OOA. No sense in messing around with an octopus, which may or may not have worked, when you know that your buddy has good air. You also remained calm, which also shows good instincts. I've seen a lot of divers that would of bolted for the surface, which could easily have been fatal.
I'm curious as to why you decided to dive again that afternoon on a regulator that you obviously found to be questionable.
Go get some more dives under you belt, and hope to see you next year.
Mike (a.k.a. Mike-3)
