Incident during OW training

[Steve_C]

Right side is the side with the air hoses. Perhaps the hose got caught and bent?

Be sure to ask the instructor what they fixed.

 

[lowviz]

...//...I recently started my ...//... OW course ...//...

We've all been there, you are in the "puppy dog" phase of your dive education. All you know is to imitate the big dog.

...//...Personally I'm more in the grey area. ...//...

So am I.

...//... I have this thing called my ABC rule for dealing with emergencies/issues that allows one to quickly and effectively structure and prioritize a response to an emergency and take appropriate action. ...//...

There will come a time when something happens and there is no big dog...

 

[Diver0001]

I immediately noticed it was difficult to suck. There was air there but it was constricted. I stayed calm. At this point my instructor signalled for me to repeat the drill. I looked at him and pointed at my regulator. He gave me the whats up look.

I see.

Well... this is a really important moment, actually. It's too bad your instructor didn't take the time to debrief this.

This is something quite common to rookie divers. It takes a while to get used to communicating clearly with signing.

Think about the sign you gave and what it could have meant to the other diver... you pointed at your regulator

what does the receiver make out of that?

- are you asking if it's your regulator?
- are you asking if this is what the instructor wanted you to do?
- are you pointing out how cool it looks?

etc etc.... just pointing at the regulator doesn't actually communicate that there is a problem other than that you have gotten your buddy's attention and made him aware that you are thinking about your regulator for some reason....

However... had you FIRST given the sign for 'something wrong' and THEN pointed at your regulator than the communication becomes a lot clearer. you are now saying

- Something wrong ... regulator.

That's as clear as it gets. The difference between what you did and what you probably should have done is just that you missed the step of first signing "something wrong".

See the difference in how that comes across?

It's a small step but it can really save time in a stress situation and it get people moving on solving the issues a lot faster.

I can clearly remember purging my regulator again. (Worth a try in my mind at the time). I breathed in again. Still constricted. I pointed at my regulator again and this time shook my head. I was trying to indicate - Regulator and - no thats not right.

The idea is right but the correct sign is "something wrong" then "regulator". Alternatively you could have signed "OOA" and gotten your buddy's alternate which would give you all the time in the world to sort it out.

He reached towards my right side it seemed to me, either chest or waist area and fumbled around a little. Again I clearly remember the air began to flow freely again. He signalled ok? I signalled ok and we continued with the drill.

Purely out of curiosity, I wonder what he did. We're all assuming the tank was turned off but I'm really curious to know what he saw. From your description it sounds like the hose might have gotten doubled over and cinched off

I hope that is clear enough and thanks for all the great replies.

Thanks for the play-by-play. These kinds of things are often overlooked learning moments. I hope it helps to get some feedback on it.

R..

 

[Darkprincze]

Hey guys,

Ok I have been emailing my instructor. He wasn't aware I was having problems with air, as one poster suggested I wasn't giving clear signals, although he mentioned that I did pause for a few seconds but indicated ok after this. I guess a lot can happen in a few seconds. He doesn't recall making adjustments to my gear, although I pointed out he grabbed for my hoses. He suggested a sticky diaphragm and also wishes I had pointed this out to him at the time as we now don't now which set the problem was with and he would usually send a problematic set to get serviced. He is going to discuss this with me in greater detail at our next lesson. I am learning a lot from this incident, however minor it was. And thanks for all the input!

Cheers.