Immediate deflation of BCD at water entry

[danvolker]

I thought I shared with you the following story that I witnessed.

It happened to a lady friend that, despite a fear of water, managed to go through the equivalent of AOW in the CMAS system. She already had 50+ dives under her belt and we were diving from my own sailboat in order to dive on a wreck that was roughly at 75 feet. Calm sea, high visibility in the carribeans.

She was diving with her husband and jumped first from the boat. This is when her the inflator house ( or top dump valve ) of her BCD exploded at the surface, leaving her with no floatation device. She immediately fought for the surface, screaming for help. Her husband jumped and tried to help her. She yelled at him that he was putting her under water but in less that one minute brought her back safely to the boat.

My lesson learned:

- A few days before I had to insist and litterally obliged her NOT to wear any weight, since we were diving with iron tanks and with 3mm wetsuit. She was used to wear a weight belt during her previous dives, but our 12L short Iron tanks are very heavy underwater. If she would have been carying more weight, like a lot of diver do, she would not have been able to surface that easily.

- She used to be afraid to put her face in the water of her own sink before she went for diving. It order to be able to dive with her husband, it took her a lot of courage in order to qualify as she did. But even if the fear of water can be more or less controlled, it will always be present. Panick is always at the door.

- Despite myself repeating her several times to put her regulator in her month, she never did. She was too panicked to do so. To yell for help and to yell at her husband was a better choice for her.

- Since then, I always make sure that when I have guests onboard, I am the first one in the water and the last one to exit the water, even with experienced divers.


Just as a remark, they continued their diving trip with us and enjoyed it a lot. It was just a "free of charge " small incident. But this shows that small things can have bad outcome.

Comments are welcome but do not shoot the messenger. :kiss2:

If this woman was someone I cared about, I would attempt to convince here that scuba diving is the WRONG sport for her....Some people will never have the right diver instincts, and I am thinking she is one of these.
Let her snorkel for a year or so...maybe she will learn a "water-sense"...

 

[gkwalt]

I can't agree more with danvolker. From this brief description, it sounds like she became certified to be with or please her husband. I would love to be able to dive with my wife, but after taking her in the pool on scuba, it isn't for her. As an instructor I am always examining folks motive for diving.

 

[bowlofpetunias]

Interesting story.. thanks for sharing it!

I had people question my motives for diving. My answer then and still is... I get to decide what is or is not a good enough reason for me to do something! I think the more important concern is the panic. Some people are more inclined to panic than others. I too didn't like putting my face in the water without a reg but I am not inclined to panic. I had to force myself to do a number of the skills to get through my OW course but I did everything I needed to without getting to a state of panic. I was careful of the dives I took on until I gradually extended my comfort level. Now the thing that scared me the most is the thing I enjoy the most and find the most relaxing

Shortly after getting my OW I had a loaned BCD fail on a giant stride off a boat. Mine was a maintenance issue. The bladder ripped at the inflater so air just blew through. I wasn't happy but didn't panic. IMHO fear doesn't kill.. it warns us not to overextend ourselves what does kill is Panic. If a person is inclined to quickly respond to fear with panic they need to think carefully about the activities they engage in.

I found the comment about not putting too much air in your BCD to be of value. I have never been inclined to do that but it sure is something I will now know to watch for when I dive with newer divers Thanks