Messed up and ascended like a missile

[KristenK]

After about 40 dives I had an uncontrolled ascent. It was this past July in Roatan. I had an air bubble in my bcd that I couldn't get out and didn't know how to deal with. Like @DandyDon said, my biggest fear was getting hit by a boat, because I didn't have an smb. And....it was very embarrassing.

Turns out it was a blessing in disguise. I found SB. Got good advice, and started reading like crazy. All of a sudden my unconscious incompetence was illuminated. I reread all of my OW manual. I'm going to our lds to practice basic skills. I'm headed to Bali in a few weeks and will get my AOW with Geko. I love diving and want to get really good at it.

As others have mentioned, one of the most important lessons I learned was that I am responsible for my own safety. The DM didn't even know I surfaced until the safety stop, about 10 minutes later. What a huge lesson that some DMs are really underwater tour guides. I requested a different DM for our remaining dives and a lower number of divers in the group....both my newly certified kids were with us. Hubby and I had serious conversations with the kids about what a dive buddy is really all about and had agreements on subsequent dives about how close to be together, what to do if we lost our buddy, etc.

Keep learning, keep asking questions, and keep diving...safely! Best wishes to you.

 

[Soloist]

There are these weird little things that can be found on pressure gauges called letters. If you look closely you will see either “BAR” or “psi”....... Seriously, you need to understand what you are doing for your own safety and others.

 

[M DeM]

WAIT... WAIT....what?????

30 PSI and you weren't already ascending? I... I... I'm a new diver but that sound just INSANE and if the captain or DM knew that they probably would have ripped you a new ***hole.

Did you mean 300? Even that's too low for a new diver. 3000 is a full tank unless you're diving AL100.

More experienced divers, am I wrong on this? I mean.. coming up with 30PSI (especially if you didn't mean to come up!!!) is nuts, isn't it?

 

[M DeM]

After about 40 dives I had an uncontrolled ascent. It was this past July in Roatan. I had an air bubble in my bcd that I couldn't get out and didn't know how to deal with. .

I've never heard of an "air bubble" in a BCD -- did it not come out even if you used the dump valve? And what *is* the way to deal with it? What'd you learn?

 

[M DeM]

look, on the first dive, I didn't run out of air, maybe I didnt describe it correctly, I was fully aware of my air, at 100 I told the DM, she said dont worry, I told her again at 90, 80 etc, but she knew how much she had also, it was her choice to stay longer, and at surface combined we still had 100-110 left. it was really no problem and fully controlled.

This *can't* be right. This has got to be BAR, not PSI. Are you from europe?

 

[dberry]

Calm down and read the thread... yes, bar not psi.

 

[M DeM]

on all my dives I start with a reading of 210-220, that's psi I'm pretty sure.

220 is pretty much an empty tank. If you're starting with 210 on a AL80, you got gypped.

Are you sure you're not reading the pressure gauge wrong?

Calm down and read the thread... yes, bar not psi.

Whew. Two people were saying they always dove that low, so I was wondering what the hell went on.

 

[MichaelMc]

WAIT... WAIT....what?????

It's just a glance to the left "oh, look, they list their location as cyprus"
And then a step to the right "That's one of them places that uses that metric system."
You bring the issue in tight "Must be they meant bars, 30 psi reg would barely work anyway."
With a bit of a mind flip... you see its a context slip...

(Edit: to fix the end to match the lyrics)

 

[dberry]

It's just a glance to the left "oh, look, they list their location as cyprus"
And a glance to the right "That's one of them places that uses that metric system."
And shake it about "Must be they meant bars, 30 psi reg would barely work anyway."
Moving on...

Hokey-pokey or Time Warp?

 

[M DeM]

It's just a glance to the left "oh, look, they list their location as cyprus"
And a glance to the right "That's one of them places that uses that metric system."
And shake it about "Must be they meant bars, 30 psi reg would barely work anyway."
Moving on...

I get it, but if he/she is renting a reg from somewhere other than his/her area, where they are from is moot right? And also because he/she kept saying essentially -- no, I know I'm right -- and had been PADI certified going down to 70+ feet on a wreck that if they had meant bar they would have realized the mistake right away and said "oh, of *course*"

But I take your point, and would delete the my post if ScubaBoard let users delete posts...