Lessons Most frightening moments

After seeing how the post I wrote about the reverse block resonated with people, I would like to make another post today, namely about the most frightening moments I've ever had.

It's easy, particularly for novice divers, to think that people like myself, with decades of experience, thousands of dives and a deck of c-cards have everything under control and nothing bad ever happens.

I wrote about the reverse block because of that. I wanted to show that I am still human and I can still make mistakes. On the internet there is a strong tendency for (technical) divers and instructors with a lot of experience to project an image of themselves as always solving problems correctly, always making the best decisions, and in the case of instructors in particular, having a monopoly on good ideas that lead to perfect students diving perfectly.

None of that, of course, reflects reality at all.

So I will start. I urge experienced divers to share their own stories.

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First
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1985. I was certified as AOW and we were making a deep dive along a wall. The bottom, for all intents and purposes, at the bottom of the wall was unsurvivable. A diver who diving with a group slightly ahead of us got caught in a large ball of discarded fishing line that he didn't see. He started sinking. The incident started at 42 meters. My buddy and I had just started our dive and we saw this happening. Nobody in his group did. We went after him. This was the first time I had dived deeper than 42 meters. I couldn't tell how deep we were when we caught him because the (analogue) depth gauge I was using was pinned at its maximum depth. This was also my first deco dive or at least my first dive where I was "off the tables" and unable to to know how to ascend. I was, at that time, unaware of oxygen toxicity, gas management and ascent protocols. We returned (at a rapid pace) to 30ft. (10m) and waited there until our tanks were empty on the assumption that any damage done by our deep incursion would be fixed by that. Upon surfacing we didn't know if we were going to get the bends or not. I was, frankly, scared. It still gives me the heebiejeebies to think about this incident more than 30 years later. We did something there that was completely out of control (also the rescue) and we got off easy.

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Second
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2002, I think. I was working as a DM. We temporarily lost a diver during a dive. The situation was that we were on a platform at 25m and doing some exercises for the AOW (deep) dive. A group of divers (maybe 6) descending LANDED on us and kicked up so much silt in their attempts to slow down before impacting the bottom that the visibility went from 5m to black-out in a matter of seconds. I grabbed the two divers right in front of me and dragged them out of the silt cloud. One of them turned out to be our diver and the other one turned out to be one of the idiots who landed on us. We were missing a diver. We surfaced. Naturally our divers were told to surface if they became separated but this diver did not. He remained where he was and waited to be rescued. On the surface we decided that I would search for the missing diver because I had the most experience of everyone (including the instructor). At that point I was a DM but I was already technically trained. I had very limited time. I went back down and eventually found him but it was luck. He survived and my beard got grayer overnight. If I couldn't have found him in the next 5 min his death would have been on my conscience until I died. This was so frightening to me that I nearly abandoned all plans I had to become an instructor.

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Third
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The accident. My team saved the life of a diver who ran out of air during an AOW training dive (by another group, not mine) and was left for dead on the bottom at 18m. We acted quickly and professionally and got him into the hands of paramedics within about 10 min. As an aside, the fact that the Dutch paramedics were able to be on scene so quickly was no small part of this! He looked dead when we retrieved him. He lay in coma for several weeks after the incident. Doctors had basically written him off when -- unexpectedly to all -- he woke up and subsequently made a reasonable (albeit not full) recovery.

The impact on myself and on the members of my team was substantial, particularly because of what we viewed as our 'mistakes'. One diver (the DM) stopped diving. He started hyperventilating during the descent to find the "body" and after that he started to hyperventilate on EVERY dive. He stopped diving.

To me it changed EVERYTHING about how I view training and my role as an instructor. I didn't organize things on the surface as well as I could have, if I had had a second run at it. Yes, I had the EMS on site in 10 min. Police, paramedics, trauma doctor, helicopter, fire department with a boat, a private boat.... all of that I had..... but I was overwhelmed and not communicating as well as I could.

Someone tried to chase my (uncertified) OW students into the water to go search. He didn't know that they were uncertified and I ripped him a new one in a way that I regret, giving in to the emotion. An NOB (CMAS) instructor showed me by example how to control the dive site in a way I had never learned, I missed seeing a diver (the DM who caused the accident) displaying passive panic. It only became apparent to me when they had to take him away by ambulance when he collapsed.... it was MUCH more messy scene than I had ever imagined and I was not in control as well as I would expect from myself. At one point, once the EMS had control of the surface situation I grabbed another diver (a DM) and went searching myself. This was a mistake. I can't get over the mind set that drove me to ACT when I SHOULD have been coordinating! I'm like the guy who charges into a burning building because I can't fight the urge to DO SOMETHING! I HATE that about myself.

Since that time (it's been years) I've been replaying that event in my mind and thinking, "if I had only done XXXX then YYYY". It drives me CRAZY to think that if we were sharper we could have found him 30 seconds or a minute earlier and his recovery could have been better. The fact that he survived is utterly astounding. These things never end like that.... but I feel responsible for the fact that it took so long.

This was a formative moment in my diving. I considered stopping as well but eventually decided not not to. To this day I cannot -- and will not -- teach or participate in the Rescue course, even though I may be the one instructor in my circle who is most qualified to talk about the differences between theory and practice. It's just too intimidating.

 

[Seaweed Doc]

I wish I understood them! Thanks for the kind words, it is obvious God has something in mind for my friend. All the people were there and jumped in to do the things they knew. After being a pack mule (that's my expertise), I was really glad they were there.

Thanks

John

Hi John,

First and foremost: Great work. You not only did the pack mule bit, but you assigned tasks and organized the situation until others could take over. That takes some cool nerves in that situation.

I realize you're talking about a hypothetical "what if" situation in your post: What if your friend had been brain dead? Or in a permanent vegetative state? (Brain dead usually leads to complete death barring extreme intervention; the vegetative state would be more hellish for all involved, IMHO.) However that DIDN'T happen. And there's no way as a rescuer you'd know the odds of full recovery, partial recovery and good quality of life, poor quality of life, or death. As buddies or rescuers, we've got to intervene.

On all counts, you and other responders should be lauded as heroes!

 

[hook]

Hi John,

First and foremost: Great work. You not only did the pack mule bit, but you assigned tasks and organized the situation until others could take over. That takes some cool nerves in that situation.

I realize you're talking about a hypothetical "what if" situation in your post: What if your friend had been brain dead? Or in a permanent vegetative state? (Brain dead usually leads to complete death barring extreme intervention; the vegetative state would be more hellish for all involved, IMHO.) However that DIDN'T happen. And there's no way as a rescuer you'd know the odds of full recovery, partial recovery and good quality of life, poor quality of life, or death. As buddies or rescuers, we've got to intervene.

On all counts, you and other responders should be lauded as heroes!

I appreciate the comments Doc, I am coming to grips with all the possibilities that could have occurred. I am still amazed and impressed with the highly trained and professional volunteers who jumped in to help my friend. I am working on trying to find out contact info so I can tell them their efforts paid off. I am in contact with one of the EMT's (the one who performed CPR in the ambulance) and hope one of his crew might have their contact info. I was able to thank them at the scene, but then was more concerned with gathering the rest of our group and going to the hospital than getting email info. I figure they would be glad to know that their efforts paid off.

Thanks

John

 

[NAUI Wowie]

I appreciate the comments Doc, I am coming to grips with all the possibilities that could have occurred. I am still amazed and impressed with the highly trained and professional volunteers who jumped in to help my friend. I am working on trying to find out contact info so I can tell them their efforts paid off. I am in contact with one of the EMT's (the one who performed CPR in the ambulance) and hope one of his crew might have their contact info. I was able to thank them at the scene, but then was more concerned with gathering the rest of our group and going to the hospital than getting email info. I figure they would be glad to know that their efforts paid off.

Thanks

John

Awesome job, one thing, why did he blame himself right before he passed out?

 

[hook]

Awesome job, one thing, why did he blame himself right before he passed out?

My friend is a very cautious man, he's been involved in outdoor activities his whole life and has learned to measure his risks. He doesn't remember much about the whole day. I can only think he might have seen he was not in a good position and realized he was going to need help rectifying it. We live 2500 miles apart, he's been given the green light by the docs to work at getting his strength and endurance back.

Thanks

John

 

[Neilwood]

My friend is a very cautious man, he's been involved in outdoor activities his whole life and has learned to measure his risks. He doesn't remember much about the whole day. I can only think he might have seen he was not in a good position and realized he was going to need help rectifying it. We live 2500 miles apart, he's been given the green light by the docs to work at getting his strength and endurance back.

Thanks

John

Good news about him getting the green light to start work on fitness again.

 

[grey2112]

My scary story (have had a few, but this one I recall in the greatest detail), happened 2 years ago. I've done probably close to 500 dives in 8 years, 98% of which are solo spearfishing dives. I was diving a new ledge and about 10 minutes into the dive saw a HUGE bullshark swimming along with me about 25 feet away. Not a biggie, I have sharks show up about 25%+ on most of my dives. He wasn't showing any aggressive traits. So I filed it in the back of my mind and kept hunting. 15 minutes later I shoot a nice hogfish. I made the mistake (since fixed) of NOT looking around while putting my gun down and stringing the fish. Imagine my shock to look up after stringing the fish and seeing Mr. Bullshark 5 feet from me, mouth open, eyes rolled back, coming in hot. I literally had a split-second to react and all I had in my hand was the spearshaft I had just taken out of the fish. Without thinking I jammed the shaft down the shark's throat and immediately kicked back - good thing, too. He chomped down on the shaft, swung it back and forth (missing my head by inches) and turned and spit it out. He swam off a little and I retrieved all my gear, fish, and slowly ascended. Surprisingly I never panicked - I honestly believe my heart-rate, blood pressure, and respiration didn't change one iota.

Lessons learned - panic can kill. Stay calm, make decisions quickly if needed. Always be aware of what is going on around you.

I also bought a Shark Shield that night.

 

[CharlieDontDive]

Setting: Point Dume State Beach, Malibu CA. Summer 2017

Beach dive with my buddy Mike. Foggy day, smooth water. Loooong surface swim out the rock outcropping. On the swim out, we see a grey whale breach about 50 yards from us- cool stuff. Descend when we get nearer to the rocks. Sandy bottom at about 40 ft. Viz isn't great, maybe 15-20 feet on the bottom, a little farther if looking toward the surface. Mike is on the bottom too, ahead of me, just at the edge of my field of vision. I see him look up. I look up. Cruising above Mike is a ~13 foot long great white. I see most of the silhouette. White underbelly clear as day. Well f#@k, I think to myself. So this is the day I meet Whitey. ****...

Truth be told, at this point I wasn't terribly scared. I was down here in his element, on his terms, not on the surface where I might have resembled lunch. I was, however, fully aware that at some some point we'd have to surface, and I was not at all cool with the prospect of having him underneath me somewhere. Being on equal terms with Mr. White at depth? Okay, I can deal. But being above him as he prowls unseen beneath me? That's gonna be a no for me, dawg.

Mike looks back at me. I shrug. Might as well continue on, I signal. We proceed to the rocks. The rest of the dive is uneventful, with the exception of a sea lion that appeared very close to me out of nowhere and damn near gave me a heart attack in doing so. Towards the end of the dive, Mike turns to me. Surface? he signals. No, no, no. We swim in, on the bottom, all the way to the beach I attempt to convey in response. He seems to understand. We swim in, hugging the bottom, until we emerge onto the beach like seals beaching themselves. I literally stayed underwater almost until my mask hit the sand in front of me. Mike spits out his reg and turns to me, excited. "Dude, did you see that gray whale calf right at the start of the dive??"

Wait wut?

Mike, having been farther ahead of me and closer to the "shark," had been near enough to see that the big fish-like silhouette was in fact the offspring of the big whale we'd seen breach earlier. (He was able to see the dorsal fin ran horizontally rather than vertically.) We had a good laugh about it and it ended up being a cool story anyway.

 

[Seaweed Doc]

Setting: Point Dume State Beach, Malibu CA. Summer 2017

Beach dive with my buddy Mike. Foggy day, smooth water. Loooong surface swim out the rock outcropping. On the swim out, we see a grey whale breach about 50 yards from us- cool stuff. Descend when we get nearer to the rocks. Sandy bottom at about 40 ft. Viz isn't great, maybe 15-20 feet on the bottom, a little farther if looking toward the surface. Mike is on the bottom too, ahead of me, just at the edge of my field of vision. I see him look up. I look up. Cruising above Mike is a ~13 foot long great white. I see most of the silhouette. White underbelly clear as day. Well f#@k, I think to myself. So this is the day I meet Whitey. ****...

Truth be told, at this point I wasn't terribly scared. I was down here in his element, on his terms, not on the surface where I might have resembled lunch. I was, however, fully aware that at some some point we'd have to surface, and I was not at all cool with the prospect of having him underneath me somewhere. Being on equal terms with Mr. White at depth? Okay, I can deal. But being above him as he prowls unseen beneath me? That's gonna be a no for me, dawg.

Mike looks back at me. I shrug. Might as well continue on, I signal. We proceed to the rocks. The rest of the dive is uneventful, with the exception of a sea lion that appeared very close to me out of nowhere and damn near gave me a heart attack in doing so. Towards the end of the dive, Mike turns to me. Surface? he signals. No, no, no. We swim in, on the bottom, all the way to the beach I attempt to convey in response. He seems to understand. We swim in, hugging the bottom, until we emerge onto the beach like seals beaching themselves. I literally stayed underwater almost until my mask hit the sand in front of me. Mike spits out his reg and turns to me, excited. "Dude, did you see that gray whale calf right at the start of the dive??"

Wait wut?

Mike, having been farther ahead of me and closer to the "shark," had been near enough to see that the big fish-like silhouette was in fact the offspring of the big whale we'd seen breach earlier. (He was able to see the dorsal fin ran horizontally rather than vertically.) We had a good laugh about it and it ended up being a cool story anyway.

Great story! Minor thing, the tail is not the dorsal fin. It's the caudal fin you mean.

 

[CharlieDontDive]

Great story! Minor thing, the tail is not the dorsal fin. It's the caudal fin you mean.

ah crap, you're right...haha.

 

[Seaweed Doc]

ah crap, you're right...haha.

That'd be the anal fin.

(And that's about the extent of my fish knowledge.)