Major Freak Out - What should I have done differently?

[vincent54]

Agree with Doc Harry^^

I will add, before Scubaboard I thought DM's gave a crap about the safety of the paid customer divers. We are referred to as cattle and should expect to be treated as such. Use a dive boat as a taxi and nothing more. Learn your equipment, dive a plan, communicate concerns and don't expect a DM to save the day. You are on your own. Plan accordingly.

In the end, you'll be more independent, have more fun and you can explore the sea with confidence.
Cheers

 

[scoobajay]

I don't recall suggesting this. Personally I think everyone has limits and everyone has a breaking point. My point was that *if* someone panics, it doesn't matter why.

Normally if a diver sticks to their comfort zone then there would be no reason to panic. So building on what you're saying I would suggest that communication is important. If the whole team is aware of each diver's comfort zone then they can plan the dive to fall in the "overlap".

The fact that scubajay was feeling a little panicky in that situation says to me that he over-reached his comfort zone and shouldn't do *that* again. If there's really a take-home message in this thread, then I believe this is it.

I didn't read this thread as being about panic at all, tbh. I read it as being about understanding comfort zone and communication.

R..

Thanks Diver0001, this is the type of feedback I was looking for.

Originally, I didn't share my story to figure out what to do about panic. Although I did have to actively calm myself (and may have made a poor judgement call re surfacing) you can see from what I wrote that I didn't go bolting out of a cave and grab someone else's air supply as I went I made what I felt at the time were sound decisions.

Ktomlinson, I went right back in the water for dive 2,3 and 4 that day! I definitely will not take up a new sport, but I'm glad I learned some lessons. Thanks to everyone for your responses!

 

[AdivingBel]

Also where was your buddy? How did you end up alone? As you discovered, being part of a group is not the same as having a buddy who is looking after you.

Was this the first mention of no buddy? I am a bit embarrased as I have been participating in this thread and I missed it. I just re-read the original post, and by the diver count, you must have been buddied with the DM. While that might work on a reef bimble, IMHO, you should have a buddy if you are doing swimthroughs (sepecially something like DT) where the DM has to really "lead the group" as opposed to general oversight. All this talk of smbs & dsmbs & cam rigs and I completely missed the far more important issue of the original OP cruising around at depth looking for the group without a buddy. I noted she was alone but I never thought of where's their buddy. Just because you're in a location that requires a guide, you really should be buddied up with someone (unless your plan is diving solo). If my buddy pulls out of a swimthrough, I'm out of there too. It goes hand and hand with thumbing a dive. No repercussions, EVER. It is best to have the "not sure about swimthrough" chat pre-dive, but (IMHO) once you splash, thems the rules.

 

[scoobajay]

I have been to Cozumel many times, and I am full cave certified, but I still refuse to do Devil's Throat for many reasons:

-It is a dive that is beyond the training of most people who are there

-I am not interested in getting into an overhead environment with a single cylinder

-I am not interested in being in an overhead environment with people who shouldn't be there and who may panic

-Whether you realize it or not, you're narc'd at 130 feet

-etc.

scoobajay, I think the big take home message for you is that you have to decide whether or not the dive plan is appropriate for your level of training and experience before you jump into the water.

Also where was your buddy? How did you end up alone? As you discovered, being part of a group is not the same as having a buddy who is looking after you.

You survived, congrats. Been there myself, done that. Survived, learned, moved on.

Thanks Doc Harry, this certainly makes me feel better. My buddy went spearfishing for the day and he had the SMB in his BC pocket But this brings up something that I ran through in my head. Had my buddy been there, I still would not have entered that dark enclosed tunnel and if he were in front of me, I probably wouldn't have been able to signal him like the DM either. This tunnel was small enough that even if I had, he wouldn't have room to turn around and swim out at that point. So, I wonder if the situation would have been any different? What do you think?

 

[ktomlinson]

Ktomlinson, I went right back in the water for dive 2,3 and 4 that day! I definitely will not take up a new sport, but I'm glad I learned some lessons. Thanks to everyone for your responses!

I misunderstood Diver0001, I think you misunderstood me. I do stand by if you panic (actually panic and bolt or freeze for an extended period) you should hang it up. I did say in the same post that I didn't think what you did was panic. You had anxiety that caused you to decide to exit, and you did so in an orderly way. The difference is you made a decision. A panicked person doesn't decide, they just bolt or freeze. That's a big difference to me.



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[bowlofpetunias]

I'd like to point out that IMHO contrary to some I think your behavior on the dive indicates you SHOULD keep diving. As Diver0001 said everyone has their point where they will panic. I believe some are more prone to panic and certainly shouldn't dive in that case. What the difference in this case is that you proved self awareness and the ability to fight the urge to panic. Your decision may not all have been perfect but you maintained the ability to work you way through your choices. lol you probably should not consider getting into cave diving tho

Something Diver0001 said about using your fins to signal the boat earlier got me thinking of my "fin bling". I bought some marine grade reflective tape.. like they put on boats and stuck it to the bottom of my fin blades. Most of our dive group use the same fins which we have "decorated" with various patterns of the tape. Easy to tell at a glance whose fins you are looking at on the boat or underwater. Most importantly and why I did it in the first place was safety. The reflective tape catches the light of the torch underwater. On the surface it is a great signaling device particularly at night. Shine your torch on it and the reflection is seen for quite a distance. It is a safety device I never have to think of or worry about stowing. My first application of tape took a number of years or steady diving and abuse before it got a bit tattered and I replaced it.

 

[Diver0001]

Was this the first mention of no buddy? I am a bit embarrased as I have been participating in this thread and I missed it.

The way I read the OP, it sounded to me like the other pair were buddies and the the DM was functioning as scoobajay's buddy. Another reason why I find the actions of the DM hard to understand.

R..

 

[AdivingBel]

This tunnel was small enough that even if I had, he wouldn't have room to turn around and swim out at that point. So, I wonder if the situation would have been any different? What do you think?

There are places to turn around (if not immediately). If I was your buddy, if you can get out, I can get out. If we get separated, we do the standard buddy search and we meet on the surface. No floating off the island by yourself. That's how it's supposed to work and why you have a buddy. If a swimthrough is short, I have agreed in advance to separate (fairly briefly) for one to "swim over," but that is an exception and discussed in advance. Certainly not in a quasi panic situation or on a dive like DT.

 

[scoobajay]

I misunderstood Diver0001, I think you misunderstood me. I do stand by if you panic (actually panic and bolt or freeze for an extended period) you should hang it up. I did say in the same post that I didn't think what you did was panic. You had anxiety that caused you to decide to exit, and you did so in an orderly way. The difference is you made a decision. A panicked person doesn't decide, they just bolt or freeze. That's a big difference to me.



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Yes, I agree, there is a huge difference! Thank you!

---------- Post added August 28th, 2015 at 08:09 AM ----------

The way I read the OP, it sounded to me like the other pair were buddies and the the DM was functioning as scoobajay's buddy. Another reason why I find the actions of the DM hard to understand.

R..

Yes, the DM was essentially functioning as my buddy.

---------- Post added August 28th, 2015 at 08:14 AM ----------

There are places to turn around (if not immediately). If I was your buddy, if you can get out, I can get out. If we get separated, we do the standard buddy search and we meet on the surface. No floating off the island by yourself. That's how it's supposed to work and why you have a buddy. If a swimthrough is short, I have agreed in advance to separate (fairly briefly) for one to "swim over," but that is an exception and discussed in advance. Certainly not in a quasi panic situation or on a dive like DT.

In hindsight, my buddy would have had no business doing this dive either. When I showed him the youtube video of that entrance, he said he probably would not have wanted to do it!

Aside from that, he wouldn't have known where those turn around spots were and there would have been two other people behind him. When I talked about the incident with the two other divers, they said when the DM realized I was missing, he continued the series of swim-throughs until they reached the planned exit. This would tell me that HE didn't really have an option to turn around either??

 

[Yarbrough]

I echo a previous question "What course would I take now to be taught how to use the SMB and DSMB?" I have not seen it mentioned on any PADI course descriptions.

This is a skill that is taught in the PADI Open Water Course as a dive flexible skill under the 2014 guidelines. Any instructor or divemaster out there should be more than happy to demonstrate the use of a DSMB, I know I would. If you have interest in furthering your diving knowledge beyond that, an intro to Tech course should also involve deploying an SMB from depth and focus extensively on trim and buoyancy.
I am a recreational diver, but still took courses all the way through advanced trimix just for the knowledge and skills. That said, give me 35 feet of clear warm water and pretty colorful stuff to look at, and I'm in heaven.

If you find yourself in NC, and still needing lessons on the use of a safety sausage, call me up and we can go diving