Error Losing Your Group - Lessons to be Learned

[Ez E]

I love reading these types of posts OP. I an a newbie diver and every time I read something like this I learn valuable information.

After reading your last sentence after you realized your group was gone I stopped reading. I tried to think what I would do in that situation knowing that surfacing into potential open water with boat traffic should only be done if your are in dire need.

I couldnt really formulate an answer other that “well, what was the dive plan? Where were we supposed to go after after being where I am now?”

Maybe none of that was known I dont know. What I am getting at is your situation OP, would be an extremely scary situation for me. As I read these stories and see the lessons learned and the posts by other members it helps me form and idea of what to do if/when I encounter this.

Thanks!!!

 

[JohnN]

Which wouldn't have made a difference if I'd had a heart attack. And you can exhaust the redundant air supply as well if the situation was that I was stuck in the wreck.

So that's a 'no'. Your dives, your choices, but not carrying redundant air if you're a photog qualifies as crazy in my book

 

[Ez E]

So that's a 'no'. Your dives, your choices, but not carrying redundant air if you're a photog qualifies as crazy in my book

When does redundant air become more of a necessity? Im genuinely curious. I would imagine it would be as you approach certain depths and bottom time? Me as an open water diver would it ever be something to be concerned about? If so how do people normally equip it?

Im not judging just asking.

 

[JohnN]

IMHO, if you have a known buddy that will be glued to your hip throughout the dive, or if your dives are always at a depth where a CESA is relatively simple. Redundant air is "redundant".

BUT, if you rely on insta-buddies, or you spend much of the dive looking through your camera's viewfinder, or you're diving at a depth where a CESA would be 'sporty', redundant air is a very good idea. For me, I always have redundant gas.

FWIW, I don't buy the heart-attack argument. Again, without a known buddy that is glued to your hip, a MI at depth means you're toast. In the OP's case, he was deep and separated from the group. The most likely point of failure would be a catastrophic loss of air, not a MI or entanglement in the wreck

 

[Ez E]

IMHO, if you have a known buddy that will be glued to your hip throughout the dive, or if your dives are always at a depth where a CESA is relatively simple. Redundant air is "redundant".

BUT, if you rely on insta-buddies, or you spend much of the dive looking through your camera's viewfinder, or you're diving at a depth where a CESA would be 'sporty', redundant air is a very good idea. For me, I always have redundant gas.

FWIW, I don't buy the heart-attack argument. Again, without a known buddy that is glued to your hip, a MI at depth means you're toast. In the OP's case, he was deep and separated from the group. The most likely point of failure would be a catastrophic loss of air, not a MI or entanglement in the wreck

What size tank and setup? Im curious if you are rocking one of those Spare Airs(which I have seriously considered) or are you carrying something a little more substantial? I think a Spare Air for someone like me who is just open water certified probably isnt a bad idea. I may never need it but a few extra breaths at depths within my certification level could be beneficial.

 

[Wibble]

As you're a photographer, you may as well go the whole hog and look at SDI's Solo Diver "course". If nothing else, you'll go through self-sufficiency.

BTW you didn't have a heart attack. Even if you did have one, it would matter little who you're with: solo or a boat full of DiveMasters; the outcome's not good. However, the risk is very very low and the fix is to not dive.

Most of us solo divers don't consider the low risk edge cases; we just go diving and focus on the things that matter such as gas planning, entanglement, gas redundancy, skills, redundant kit (two SMBs, spare mask, spare cutters...).

 

[FishWatcher747]

Agree with @JohnN. The lesson to be learned is if you are a photographer you are solo diving unless you are bringing your regular buddy to the dive.

 

[ReadyDiverOne]

Man, what is up with people today? I mean the OP posts a very helpful teaching lesson in which he takes full responsibility and (nearly) everyone craps on him? I mean, really?? As a serious underwater photographer, I gotta say this idea that you have to have redundant air is just baloney--I've yet to see a single UW photog with such. I'm not saying it's bad idea (although I do wonder about feasibility given that one is already carrying a photo rig), but the idea that it's obvious and stupid not to have it is just not the case. Same with the solo diver comments. In both cases, the comments feel like the "I'm a hammer so the whole world looks like a nail" syndrome.

Just my $0.02.

 

[Ken Kurtis]

What I am getting at is your situation OP, would be an extremely scary situation for me.

But it need not be. So let me walk you through some of the mental processes. (And FTR, I'm a longtime NAUI instructor with over 6000 dives and have taught literally thousands of students over the years.) What you're describing, and this is an observation not a criticism, is the path to why people panic in situations like this. So let's review step-by-step what's happening and going through our brains.

1. Everything is hunky-dory on the dive. I've got plenty of air, it's a pleasant dive, and I'm going to duck under the bow to see if there's anything interesting there.
2. I come out three minutes later and I don't see anyone in the group.
3. Nothing has changed from three minutes earlier. I still have plenty of air, it's still a pleasant dive, and I simply don't see other people.
4. I decide to abort the dive.
5. I'm now going to do a safety stop. This mean I've got five minutes (like to to do extended safety stops) top assess things. No need to make rash decisions, no need to do anything other than hang.
6. I look around to see what my choices are. The reef in front of me tops out at maybe 15-20 feet. I could surface there and there probably wouldn't be any boat traffic because it's so shallow.
7. I also carry two SMBs (Surface Marker Buoys) with me so would also be able to deploy them.
8. I also know I could swim back to the stern mooring line - 300+ feet away, length of a football field - and maybe our boat's there. But if it's not, I may have created a different problem, because on the surface that's further away from any reef and more prone to boat traffic.
9. I also note that the mooring line to the bow is taut and when I look up, I see there's a boat tied up to the bow mooring.
10. I know it's not our boat - this one has two engines, we have one - but I also know that surfacing on a line next to a boat is safer that surfacing on top of a reef. So I decide that that's what I'll do.
11. Still have plenty of air - over 1,000psi - still have plenty of no-deco time left, and am simply a little embarrassed at having lost everyone.
12. As I'm finishing up my safety stop, I look in the direction of the stern of the boat and see the dive guide coming towards the bow, obviously looking for me.
13. I signal him that I'm OK, he signals back and motions towards the stern, I head that way to find the rest of the group (three other divers) on the stern mooring line, we all ascend, no harm no foul.

And the point in all of this, and not to diminish the fear that you said you would feel had this happened to you, is that that type of fear is something we make up in our minds. It's not based on anything that's actually happening in reality. And that's what leads to panic. But if you can simply rationally think things through, there are numerous options that produce a successful outcome.

I think one problem and the root of the fear you said you might feel - and this is totally my own opinion/observation - is that when we train you, we needlessly put the fear of being alone in the ocean in the back of your mind. I also do fatality investigations and am always amazed by the number of times we see a fatality where there has been an inadvertent buddy separation, there's absolutely nothing wrong (plenty of gas, plenty of deco time, no entanglement, etc.) yet one diver ends up dead because they end up panicking and create a bad situation for themselves.

When we train you initially, we emphasize the buddy system and if we don't say it directly, we at least imply that if you're by yourself, you're in mortal danger. No you're not. Even if I had had a buddy with me in this situation, we would have had the same choices as to where to surface.

I would like to see us as an industry, in a basic class, add a skill that teaches you to be self-reliant if you lose a buddy. What I've done in the past with my students, in the pool, is have everyone (including me) get out. Then I have one person go under and swim one or two leisurely laps around the pool while I observe them from the surface. Repeat for each student. This isn't meant to encourage them to dive solo but recognizes that, especially with newer divers, sometimes things go wrong. And this hopefully gives them another skill and the feeling that if I'm all alone in the water, it's not the end of the world and they can safely decide to abort the dive, do a safety stop, and surface.

Just some things to think about. End of lecture.

 

[Wibble]

Solo diving is a mentality. It's taking responsibility for yourself and being able to deal with any issues that can arise: thinking ahead.

When you're starting out, the buddy system's absolutely the right thing to focus upon, not least that you're going to actually think about someone else.

With more experience, you can diverge from others but you must have the right attitude.

At this point there's also the consideration of where you dive. If it's warm and clear, buddy diving can be very relaxed. If it's in cold murky water around a wreck, in a current, dark and deeper, then you have to be self sufficient even if diving with others as it is so easy to loose people.

The SDI Solo Diver course is one that you shouldn't take until you've some experience. The requirements are 100 dives or more and "a mature attitude"; that's a lot higher entry level than DiveMaster, etc. The course, more of a workshop, teaches you very little as you should know the basics of diving with redundant gasses, lights, mask, etc. You should be comfortable in the water and capable of resolving your own problems as they arise; or better still predict the problems whilst they're still avoidable and not something you are in danger from.

Surprises happen. Bang; a regulator freeflow: just shut down the valve and breathe from the other regulator; retry -- if it's fine, carry on, if not then up you go. Anyone who's intimidated by this needs to continue with other people.


The standard reaction is photographers are very much solo divers as they're very task loaded with getting the shot in. Being on their own when others have departed is not unusual. Hopefully they're on top of their gas and runtimes as nobody else will remind you.