My First Near OOA

[kevindwhite]

Good to read that you got out without trouble, I have no experience diving in kelp, but I think that you were not in real danger (500 psi at 30 ft can last a lot)

You are probably right but remember at this point I was under weighted, had just experienced a pretty much uncontrolled ascent from 30 feet, and until I surfaced was unsure how far I was from the boat. Not to mention I had ditched a buddy for the first time ever. Even if I could descend far enough to get below the kelp and swim against the current I was not in the right frame of mind to do so. I was also sucking air like it was going out of style. I was definitely stressed mentally and physically at this point. I probably didn't need assistance to get back to the boat on the surface but I'm not sure of that. Asking for help may have been the only thing I did right on this dive.

 

[kevindwhite]

I'm glad the OP is fine, but based on what he wrote, I think he is putting too much blame on his buddy ("He was right but I still wanted to beat him with my weight belt.").

Actually I don't blame my buddy at all. My desire to smack him with a weight belt was an expression of my emotional state at the end of the dive. My buddy was right, I should have just left him instead of wasting my air trying to get his attention. I also should have done what I normally do before getting in the water with a buddy. I should have made sure we had a plan for the dive that included mutually agreed parameters for ending the dive. After this experience that's exactly what I did and had safe dives from that point on.

I was buddy diver on a boat full of experienced solo divers. I tried to go with the flow and I got burned.

 

[kevindwhite]

Do not buddy with a lobster diver or spear-fisher unless you are a solo diver. The focus is on the hunt and, assuming you can move fast enough to maintain contact, unless you grab his vest and drag him to the surface your chances of catching his attention is nill. Not saying its right, just saying.

Now you tell me. Where were you a week ago?

 

[TSandM]

Personally, I think it was reprehensible of an instructor to allow a fairly novice diver to try to get back to the boat in kelp by himself. People have drowned in kelp, unable to get to the surface. He had no idea whether you would remain calm and focused, if you found yourself unable to get back to the anchor line. I would have beaten him with my weight belt, if I had known this story on the boat!

One of the things I discuss with any buddy I have, is that we go into the water as a team, and we come out as a team. If that means the whole dive gets aborted because somebody has a problem, so be it. And when I dive with newer divers, I fully EXPECT my dive to be much shorter than usual. If I'm unwilling to deal with that, I don't agree to dive with a new diver on that particular go around.

 

[kevindwhite]

People have drowned in kelp, unable to get to the surface.

The kelp did get old pretty quick. The captain did his best to keep the entry and exit points out of the salad but he wasn't always successful. There was one dive subsequent to this one when I really didn't know how far away the boat was until I touched it. It is surprisingly easy to mistake the bottom of the boat for just another patch of kelp. It's also really easy to get turned around after descending from a boat check if you have to disentangle yourself from that kelp. I learned pretty quickly to do a compass check and face in the direction of the boat immediately after finishing a descent and to do a surface check as early as possible on my return trip.

I wasn't the only diver on the boat that got tired of the low visibility and constant kelp. Even the macho, solo diving, lobster hunters were hinting that a little more visibility and less weeds around the boat would be nice after the first day. Of course after a few dives in the clear they were also complaining about not finding any lobster while I was just pleased as can be to hang and watch the world go by.

 

[openmindOW]

My buddy, who is a PADI instructor, was really leading the dive. He wanted to lobster hunt while I just wanted to watch.

I signaled 900 & boat to my buddy and got okay back. That's when my buddy promptly started to inspect a ledge for lobster. I should have left him there.

Once onboard my buddy asked me what happened. I told him I was low on air and couldn't get his attention. He said I should have ditched him sooner.

Your buddy was a terrible buddy. As an Instructor, I am embarrassed that he's an Instructor. Please tell him I said that.

He can PM me, and I'll tell him that personally.

 

[openmindOW]

Actually I don't blame my buddy at all.

Sorry, Kevin. You're wrong. The rules of safe and considerate buddy diving are clear.

When one buddy signals low on air and signals dive over, as you did, then the lobster dive is done.

Both you and your buddy should know that.

 

[kevindwhite]

Sorry, Kevin. You're wrong. The rules of safe and considerate buddy diving are clear.

When one buddy signals low on air and signals dive over, as you did, then the lobster dive is done.

Both you and your buddy should know that.

So what do you think I should have done differently? I was low on air, underweighted, and I couldn't get my buddy's attention. Should I have waited until I was out of air? Maybe grabbed some kelp and hauled my butt back to the bottom and waited for my buddy to give up on finding a lobster?

/apology

Openmind, I reread your comments and realized my response here was out of line. I apologize.

After this dive I did insist on clear consistent rules. Subsequent dives were much more enjoyable and safer. My buddy and I stayed together until we were back at the boat. Because my gas consumption was still much higher than his, my buddy often continued the dive solo so he could focus on hunting. I also skipped dives so he could have uninterrupted hunting time.

 

[theduckguru]

Personally, I wouldn't classify your dive as a near OOA. Even if father from the boat than you desired, you made the decision to surface and are on the surface with 500 psi - far from out of air.

The weighting and high gas consumption issue deserves some self critique.

You can't buy experiance, just keep diving and learning.

 

[kevindwhite]

Personally, I wouldn't classify your dive as a near OOA.

Fair enough. As I and others have stated I probably had enough gas and energy to make it back to the boat without assistance.

The weighting and high gas consumption issue deserves some self critique.

If you read carefully you will notice I did in fact add additional weight for subsequent dives. As for gas consumption, this was my second cold water dive in strong current. My consumption was high and we both knew it would be. Not sure what I could have done better there except hold my breath. My consumption did go down on subsequent dives as I became more accustomed to the conditions.