Instructor bent after running out of air at 40m

[KenGordon]

I did not look, but how many are "unexpected", "not serious" hits?

On a LOB trip a lob few years ago a "conservative" diver got type II skin bends after the third day. On our recent trip a few weeks ago several divers revealed that they had also had skin bend episodes. Not chamber rides, just O2 and then hammock rides for the rest of the week. All claimed they were within the NDL limits of recreational diving.

Honestly, you should read these. They are not super extensive but they give examples of actual incidents. Some are obviously within what non deco people would be doing, others not and some hard to say. But they give a flavour.

The rest are interesting too. The video as well. I think the general conclusion is that if people followed their training there would be many fewer accidents.

“As has been stated for over fifty years in our annual report, most of the incidents reported within this document could have been avoided had those involved followed a few basic principles of safe diving practice. BSAC publishes a booklet called 'Safe Diving' which summarises all the key elements of safe diving and is available to all, free of charge, from the BSAC website or through BSAC HQ.”

 

[Bob DBF]

This turn in the thread is a little concerning to me. I've only been diving about 4 years with 150 dives and I've never felt any discernible symptoms of narcosis.

The most amusing thing about narcosis is that one may not feel any discernible symptoms until something happens that needs quick thought and action, and one finds their brain is not quite up to the task. I was taught some ways to gauge my narcosis, however it does not change the fact I'm narked, it just lets me know when I should head up.


Bob

 

[ANDYCA]

The most amusing thing about narcosis is that one may not feel any discernible symptoms until something happens that needs quick thought and action, and one finds their brain is not quite up to the task. I was taught some ways to gauge my narcosis, however it does not change the fact I'm narked, it just lets me know when I should head up.

This reminds me of a dive with a very experienced instructor... We got to a wreck at 45m and he proceeded to check his SPG again and again, then started smacking it against the deck of the wreck. After a few minutes of this it became clear his gauge was not going down because his isolator was closed, but he was too narced to think anything other than 'I'm breathing so my gauge must be stuck'.
Daisy probably wouldn't have got that either to be fair.

 

[MaxBottomtime]

I made a dive once when I noticed my air consumption was incredibly high. I looked at my spg more than usual, which is a lot and was amazed at how fast the needle was moving south. I aborted the dive after checking for any leaks. During my safety stop I reached back and realized that my isolator had been closed by the tank monkey at the shop. As soon as I opened it my needle went to about 1500 psi. I was diving double 95s so I still had about 119 cubic feet left.

 

[A.S.H.]

I am wondering what the DCS hard numbers was before dive computers and the same afterwards.

Problem I'm seeing is divers are diving beyond there training and taking way to many risks.

Murphy tends to bend you over for that..

 

[Fibonacci]

So, diving to 40m up against the NDL with an Ali 80 and an iffy buddy isn’t doing much to cover the case where something goes wrong.
.

Yet diving the President Coolidge in Vanuatu involves repetitive decompression diving on air (twice a day for a week) to a max of 50m using a single AL88 often with a wide-eyed instabuddy doing their first ever decompression dive... narced off their tree!
The safety record for over 20,000 divers is very good, considering the iconic Lady wall statue used to be at 52m until she was relocated at 45m after a storm... and Alan Power used USN Tables for decades before computers.
However, the local dive guides are very experienced and additional air is stashed at the coral garden deco area.
In an emergency, exiting the wreck and surfacing straight up while trying to complete mandatory deco stops mid-water could have a very different outcome... don't lose that guide!
It would be interesting to see a breakdown of incidents on the Coolidge over the past 30 years!

Allan Power and his team have guided on the Coolidge for over 30 years. As most of the dives are over 30 meters (100 feet), decompression stops are necessary. These stops are made in the unique coral garden built by Allan and his team. Here you can see a colourful array of hard coral, and fish life. Before he disappeared a while ago, divers would also regularly see Boris, the 200 kg (440 lb) grouper who came for daily feeds at the 3 meter (10 feet) safety stop.

SS Coolidge Dive Briefs - Allan Power Dive Tours, Vanuatu

 

[Narcoz]

The most amusing thing about narcosis is that one may not feel any discernible symptoms until something happens that needs quick thought and action, and one finds their brain is not quite up to the task. I was taught some ways to gauge my narcosis, however it does not change the fact I'm narked, it just lets me know when I should head up.


Bob

I second that.

 

[JustinCarmack]

So all your dives go perfectly to plan and you plan every dive? You never find unexpected circumstances that increase consumption? You never get narced and fail to check your gas? You never get distracted by looking after a buddy? Immune to task obsession?

I think the most interesting thing here is the denial that this can happen as described. People calling themselves ‘experienced’ when probably they have just done the same dive day after day for months. That never happens does it? Not doing the calcs before a dive? Unheard of. Assuming what happened yesterday is a guide to today.

I think that this level of diving is stuffed with people like these and by and large they get away with it. I don’t find it so shocking that it comes off badly now and again to claim the people that got hurt this way are liars, rather they are just an example of why good practice is necessary.

To answer this, YES. My dives do go as planned. I DO plan them all, or a guide does. NO I hardly ever get narced, even on deep dives, because I dive my limits, and even when I do, I still check the gauge. YES I have run into currents and things, but I still check the air and come up when I need to, sooner if needed. YES, I might get distracted, but I am still smart enough to keep air and nodeco time the first thing in mind and the priority. And before you ask, no I am not doing the same easy dives each day. In fact I've probably dove more locations, and more conditions than most on here. I am a scuba blogger and on a mission to dive the top 100 dive locations, and it has brought me all over the world, over 1000 dives, and to many many types of dives. Stop giving these idiots excuses. The Best Scuba Diving in the World: Top 100 Locations - Art of Scuba Diving

 

[KenGordon]

To answer this, YES. My dives do go as planned. I DO plan them all, or a guide does. NO I hardly ever get narced, even on deep dives, because I dive my limits, and even when I do, I still check the gauge. YES I have run into currents and things, but I still check the air and come up when I need to, sooner if needed. YES, I might get distracted, but I am still smart enough to keep air and nodeco time the first thing in mind and the priority. And before you ask, no I am not doing the same easy dives each day. In fact I've probably dove more locations, and more conditions than most on here. I am a scuba blogger and on a mission to dive the top 100 dive locations, and it has brought me all over the world, over 1000 dives, and to many many types of dives. Stop giving these idiots excuses. The Best Scuba Diving in the World: Top 100 Locations - Art of Scuba Diving

By dismissing them as idiots you are missing a chance to understand why they did what they did.

You say “I DO plan them all, or a guide does.“ you don’t seem to have noticed that these people were guides.

So, no you don’t plan your dives.

 

[KenGordon]

Yet diving the President Coolidge in Vanuatu involves repetitive decompression diving on air (twice a day for a week) to a max of 50m using a single AL88 often with a wide-eyed instabuddy doing their first ever decompression dive... narced off their tree!
The safety record for over 20,000 divers is very good, considering the iconic Lady wall statue used to be at 52m until she was relocated at 45m after a storm... and Alan Power used USN Tables for decades before computers.
However, the local dive guides are very experienced and additional air is stashed at the coral garden deco area.
In an emergency, exiting the wreck and surfacing straight up while trying to complete mandatory deco stops mid-water could have a very different outcome... don't lose that guide!
It would be interesting to see a breakdown of incidents on the Coolidge over the past 30 years!

Allan Power and his team have guided on the Coolidge for over 30 years. As most of the dives are over 30 meters (100 feet), decompression stops are necessary. These stops are made in the unique coral garden built by Allan and his team. Here you can see a colourful array of hard coral, and fish life. Before he disappeared a while ago, divers would also regularly see Boris, the 200 kg (440 lb) grouper who came for daily feeds at the 3 meter (10 feet) safety stop.

SS Coolidge Dive Briefs - Allan Power Dive Tours, Vanuatu

A quick google suggests at least four people have died on it.