My 1st Incident

[Spg01]

I am still a pretty new diver, but I am quite comfotable while diving. But I found out that a new buddy (also a new diver) was not quite so comfortable.

We were out at a dive site which I have dove 2 or 3 times with other divers, but the 1st time with this buddy. He has done well diving on a few previous dives. And since it looked like our 1st choice of sites would have bad conditions we decided on a site he had not been to.

I talked with an experianced buddy who gave me some pointers on a dive that would take us to about 50'. So I talked to my buddy about it and where we were going and he was ok with everything. So we headed out, got through the surf and did a kick out to what was supposed to be 40' and started to drop.

I was taking my time dropping and he was a little above me. We passed 30', then 40', then 50' so I started to slow down even more because I could not really see the bottom yet. I figured ok, so we are a little deep we will just level off and go towards shore until we hit the sand and everything is still ok. After all I had taken my compass readings and knew which way to go. I will admit it was kind of spooky just dropping into nothing only seeing a big black blob under us, but I was still ok with it.

That is when things started to get a little hairy. My buddy keeps dropping pretty fast and passes me a little and the next thing I know he is grabbing my console and my arm trying to pull me to the surface. The first thing I do is try to hold on to him and start dumping my BC to slow him down. It did not work very well, so we both went towards the surface from about 60'. I did manage to control my breathing on the way up, the thought of my lungs exploding helped me out quite a bit. I did manage to slow him down quite a bit, but not as much as I would have liked.

When we finally got to the surface and asked what the hell that was all about. He said his mask did not seal and he could not see anything and his eyes were burning and since things did not feel right he wanted to get to the surface. I did not agree with that theory, and he obviously did not take the same class that I did. So we floated at the surface for a while and he calmed down and neither of us died.

We ended up swiming towards shore and dropping down again and hit bottom at about 25', which made him feel much better. We finished the dive and got out of the water without any further incidents. I tried to talk to him a little more about how BAD it was to try and shoot to the surface from 60' and all he could say is thing weren't going right and he was not comfortable and could not see.

I am not sure if the mask thing was real or not, but he was freaked. I though he would be able to handle it, but I guess not. Maybe he is not ready for that depth yet in those conditions? Vis was about 10-15'. I did not think we planned a dangerous dive or that either of us was in danger, until he wanted to surface.

I am guessing that I should limit any further dives with him to shallow waters until he gets more time underwater. I want him to understand what he did was bad but not beat it into the ground. And I do not want to be in that situation with him again. So I think I handled it reasonably well, but I am wondering how to handle it from here on out.

 

[Cave Diver]

I am guessing that I should limit any further dives with him to shallow waters until he gets more time underwater. I want him to understand what he did was bad but not beat it into the ground. And I do not want to be in that situation with him again. So I think I handled it reasonably well, but I am wondering how to handle it from here on out.

Midwater descents in poor viz can be a bit spooky, especially to new divers. A slow descent, facing each other could have given a point of reference to both of you and allowed you to notice that his mask was flooding.

Starting the dive closer to the shore so you could follow the slope and correct any problems before you got too deep was another option.

Sounds like you did a good job of being there and preventing your buddy from bolting too rapidly and calming him on the surface. Take it easy, dive slow and build your confidence.

 

[mikemath]

... My buddy keeps dropping pretty fast and passes me a little and the next thing I know he is grabbing my console and my arm trying to pull me to the surface. The first thing I do is try to hold on to him and start dumping my BC to slow him down. It did not work very well, so we both went towards the surface from about 60'. I did manage to control my breathing on the way up, the thought of my lungs exploding helped me out quite a bit. I did manage to slow him down quite a bit, but not as much as I would have liked. ...

If you're being trained by PADI, I definitely advise you to take a Rescue Diver class once you're ready and meet the certification requirements. You did a good deed to limit the risk to your buddy, but you also put both of you at a higher overall risk. There are procedures you can follow with a panicked diver that you'll get a chance to learn and practice in that class. To start with, a quick "STOP" motion with the palm of your hand right in front of his face could have jerked him out of his tunnel vision about surfacing--if it worked, following that with a "CALM/SLOW DOWN" motion and slowly ascending would be ideal. If it didn't work, you still need to think of your own safety.

If a panicked diver is clawing at your stuff and they lose their regulator in the process, they may have no qualm about pulling yours out of your mouth. You need to push off from such divers, even if they are putting themselves at risk (in this case with a rapid ascent). They have lost rational control of their actions, and you need to find a way to calm them, either by focusing them or correcting the cause of their distress. If they do a rapid ascent without you, at least you'll be just a little ways behind them ready to assist. If they pull you both up at a dangerous rate, you both may end up bent and unable to get back to shore or signal for help.

The good news is, there's training available for these situations. Rescue Diver is a difficult but very satisfying course and a real confidence-builder. Good luck!

 

[Starlet]

Wow, glad you are both OK Spg01.

I can't wait to built on my skills and eventually be a qualified Rescue Diver.

 

[Jorgy]

I think I drive my buddies nuts.......on decent I am always asking "OK", "OK"......"OK" starting at about 8 feet till we get to the bottom.......then again at the bottom.....

Even going down a line, I will stop every 10-15 feet turn around and ask "OK"......and will not go on until I get an "OK" back........

My theory is that it is first 5 minutes of a dive when you find out if there is an issue.....mask seal, freeflow, leaking drysuit, etc........

Of course, with my close dive buddies, I ralax a bit......

M

Dive and let Dive.......

 

[TSandM]

A long drop in poor viz and steadily decreasing light, with no upline for reference, is a big challenge. When the bottom isn't where you expect it to be, and the depth becomes more than you are emotionally ready for, that's even more stress. And if, in fact, his mask was flooded or fogged and he couldn't even read his gauges . . . Well, that would have been enough for me, in the beginning, for sure. Your buddy didn't handle it well, because bolting to the surface isn't ever a good option, but he was clearly overfaced. I'm not sure I'd judge him on it, but I'd probably try to drop into known shallow water, or swim down and upslope until he has a bit more experience under his belt.

 

[openmindOW]

Sprg01, thank you for posting your story here on this forum. I am glad that everything turned out okay for both you and your dive buddy. You handled yourself well - congratulations.

I agree with the previous post which recommends further training; we can all benefit from additional training. Rescue classes, with any dive agency, provide an opportunity to learn valuable skills.

As for your buddy, every experienced diver has made mistakes or had bad experiences. Hopefully, your dive buddy will learn from this experience and consequently become a better diver.

If I may, I'd like to ask several questions for the purpose of gettting a better understanding of what happened.

1) Where did this occur? What was the dive site like?

2) What kind of thermal protection were you all wearing? (7 mm? Drysuit?)

3) Was your buddy wearing a hood?

4) Was your buddy using rental gear?

5) Was your buddy diving doubles or a single tank?

6) Do you know how much weight he had?

7) How deep was the bottom of your dive site?

8) Do you know when your buddy had last been diving?

Thanks again, Spg01, for your post.

Keep diving, my friend.

 

[fairybasslet]

Before I would dive with him again, I would want to make sure that he realized that he panicked. I would want him to realize that in other circumstances, the result might not have been so positive. I would want him to realize that a flooded mask or not being able to see is not a reason to panic. I would want him to promise that he will practice his skills more.

Ditto what Jorgy said. My buddies and I always watch each other on descents because that is where most things go fubar.

 

[Spg01]

Sprg01, thank you for posting your story here on this forum. I am glad that everything turned out okay for both you and your dive buddy. You handled yourself well - congratulations.

I agree with the previous post which recommends further training; we can all benefit from additional training. Rescue classes, with any dive agency, provide an opportunity to learn valuable skills.

As for your buddy, every experienced diver has made mistakes or had bad experiences. Hopefully, your dive buddy will learn from this experience and consequently become a better diver.

If I may, I'd like to ask several questions for the purpose of gettting a better understanding of what happened.

1) Where did this occur? What was the dive site like?

2) What kind of thermal protection were you all wearing? (7 mm? Drysuit?)

3) Was your buddy wearing a hood?

4) Was your buddy using rental gear?

5) Was your buddy diving doubles or a single tank?

6) Do you know how much weight he had?

7) How deep was the bottom of your dive site?

8) Do you know when your buddy had last been diving?

Thanks again, Spg01, for your post.

Keep diving, my friend.

1) Redondo (Vet's) Surf 1-2
2) He has a 7mm wetsuit and was wearing a vest
3) Yes
4) He rented a reg and BC
5) Single
6) 20 on his belt and 10 in his BC
7) Redondo goes to about 130, my guess would be we were around 80?
8) I dove with him a few weeks ago in Laguna

 

[Spg01]

A long drop in poor viz and steadily decreasing light, with no upline for reference, is a big challenge. When the bottom isn't where you expect it to be, and the depth becomes more than you are emotionally ready for, that's even more stress. And if, in fact, his mask was flooded or fogged and he couldn't even read his gauges . . . Well, that would have been enough for me, in the beginning, for sure. Your buddy didn't handle it well, because bolting to the surface isn't ever a good option, but he was clearly overfaced. I'm not sure I'd judge him on it, but I'd probably try to drop into known shallow water, or swim down and upslope until he has a bit more experience under his belt.

He did finally talk me into a 2nd dive, even though I was not so sure about it. I ended up dropping us rather early in about 20' so we would not have the same problem. We then followed the sand down and had a good dive. When we got out of the water he did ask why we dropped so early and shallow. All I could think is did he really had to ask that question?