My first Night Dive

[danboy785]

Well I did my first night dive as part of my diving course it was kind of an addon for those who wanted to do it.

We had dove the site 4 times in day time so I thought it would probably go fine... So we got there got ready and went in, we went down to about 12M before the trouble started!

I was near my buddy (The assistant instructor) and my torch cut out, I signalled to my buddy that it was broken but we agreed to carry on as long as I stayed near him (BIG MISTAKE)

As we swam along the bottom my fin got stuck beneath some loose rocks that were around so I turned round and started freeing my fin... When I looked round my buddy was gone, so now I was alone in the dark and not a sight of my buddy!

I eventually found my exit point after a good bit of searching and managed to get out.

What I learnt from this:
1) Always stay near your buddy!
2) Give up the dive if your torch breaks -_-

Not exactly an excting story but at the time I was scared to death down there.

 

[jonix]

scary hehehe

you didn't have backup lights?

 

[danboy785]

No we didnt now I ALWAYS carry a backup of stuff like lights in case this happens

heh stuff like this seems to happen to me too often -_-

 

[jonix]

really a lesson learned. i'm kinda paranoid regarding my lights, i always have fresh sets of batteries in my bag just in case.

 

[tiburon72157]

i carry 2 backup lights when night diving. night diving is actually my favorite...

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Well I did my first night dive as part of my diving course it was kind of an addon for those who wanted to do it.

We had dove the site 4 times in day time so I thought it would probably go fine... So we got there got ready and went in, we went down to about 12M before the trouble started!

I was near my buddy (The assistant instructor) and my torch cut out, I signalled to my buddy that it was broken but we agreed to carry on as long as I stayed near him (BIG MISTAKE)

As we swam along the bottom my fin got stuck beneath some loose rocks that were around so I turned round and started freeing my fin... When I looked round my buddy was gone, so now I was alone in the dark and not a sight of my buddy!

I eventually found my exit point after a good bit of searching and managed to get out.

What I learnt from this:
1) Always stay near your buddy!
2) Give up the dive if your torch breaks -_-

Not exactly an excting story but at the time I was scared to death down there.

Sorry to say ... but your buddy/assistant instructor made three errors here ... and assuming you had an instructor with the class, the responsiblity falls on him as well for not properly supervising a training dive.

1. He didn't insist you carry a backup light ... as required by standards for any agency I've ever been associated with, and simple common-sense good practice for night dives.

2. He didn't end the dive when your primary light went out ... which is standard procedure, and common-sense good practice (for reasons you subsequently discovered).

3. He didn't stay with you, even though he knew you had no light ... which is a poor demonstration of buddy technique, to say the least.

Did he at least debrief the dive afterward and discuss these things with you ??? If not, then I'd say you really need to find a better instructor.

You did well by keeping your head and finding your exit without a light ... but your paying an instructor so you don't have to learn these lessons the hard way ... :11:

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[danboy785]

ye we had a debrief at the end and I was kind of used as an example of how simple errors can build up badly into bigger problems that are dangerous...

I have gone to a different instructor soon after this because like you said he didnt follow procedure.

 

[jeckyll]

Sounds like you learned that lesson rather well. I'm curious if you got a manual with you course that discussed night dives. It should have mentioned the requirement for at least one backup light.

We put anyone with equipment issues in the middle (if diving with 3) or the in the front (if 2). The person with all the functional problems can then keep a better eye on the person with the problem.

Glad you're ok.

Bjorn

 

[Seuss]

When discussing what went wrong, don't forget to discuss what went right...

Most importantly, you didn't panic! Based upon your post, you stopped, thought through the situtation, created a plan, implemented the plan, and lived to tell the tale.

Based upon some of your wording, this almost sounds like a cave diving issue more than a night diving issue...

 

[FFMDiver]

Good work under an extreme condition.
Cant imagine...rather terrifying.
Now get a big ***** can light!