My near-miss in the Galapagos

[drdaddy]

I don't blame you or judge you THE Galapagos Islands? I'd dive with bag of cement blocks tied around my waist, a goat stomach full of air and a pair goggles if I had too.
Glad your OK.

I don't blame or judge you either. It was that "one more crab" and "one more dive" thing that brought me to a near fatal dive incident.

I hope and pray I have learned and I hope you have learned - listen to your gut!!! Don't do it!!!

I am glad you are "here" reporting to us and letting us all share your experience. Especially since many of us want to dive the Galapagos Islands (and many other exotic and wonderful places).

Thank you.

 

[InTheDrink]

I've had a faulty rental BCD and regs on an advanced dive in the Maldives a few years back. I now have my own and I would not travel without either anymore. Underpants be damned. Well done for making it back - but you must take some responsibility for proceeding with what you knew were potentially unsafe dives. I'd have likely done the same myself but that doesn't change the fact that you knowingly took the chance.

J

 

[Leejnd]

I've had a faulty rental BCD and regs on an advanced dive in the Maldives a few years back. I now have my own and I would not travel without either anymore. Underpants be damned. Well done for making it back - but you must take some responsibility for proceeding with what you knew were potentially unsafe dives. I'd have likely done the same myself but that doesn't change the fact that you knowingly took the chance.

J

I appreciate your response, and respect your decision to pack your BCD instead of undergarments when you travel. Me, I like my underwear...so for future dive travel, I think I might just take the suggestion above and stuff my gear in a golf bag.

But I have to say I'm a little perplexed by your comment that I "must take some responsibility" for proceeding with the dives.

Is there anything in any of my posts that gives you the impression that I HAVEN'T taken responsibility? Is there some ambiguity in the numerous statements I've made in this thread indicating that I am well aware it was a mistake to proceed? Do the following statements of mine somehow lack conviction in conveying my sense of responsibility for my decisions?

I made the difficult decision to go ahead with it, which I realize now was a mistake...one that could have been disastrous

Mistake #3: Trust your gut. If the dive op seems unsafe, DON’T GO WITH THEM! What’s more important, your money or your life?

knowing how bad this dive op is overall, I do realize it was probably a foolhardy thing to do. I'm not proud of this

Personally, I think I've done a perfectly adequate job in assuming responsibility for my role in this debacle. What else would you have me do? Should I take out an ad? At this point, it seems to me that any further drubbings directed at me would fall into the category of yer classic unnecessary Scubaboard evisceration...which really doesn't help anyone, least of all someone who has already publicly, openly and quite long-windedly taken responsibility for her mistakes. But thanks anyway.

 

[Scott L]

Checking back to the thread I quickly reread the problem dive. A better course of action may have been to submerge face down in the water to check for other divers then jettison the weight belt. If that didn't make things better jettison the whole rig. It's a rental!

 

[Leejnd]

Checking back to the thread I quickly reread the problem dive. A better course of action may have been to submerge face down in the water to check for other divers then jettison the weight belt. If that didn't make things better jettison the whole rig. It's a rental!

LOL! This is so funny to me right now because I just overheard my husband on the phone telling someone my story, and when he got to the part about how I was reluctant to ditch my weights because I knew divers were below me, he said, "Now if it'd been me I wouldn't have given it a second thought. Them or me? I pick me!"

As it actually transpired, it all happened pretty quickly (as these things usually do) and I had the DM's octo in my mouth before I got to the point where I had to seriously consider ditching. There WERE divers very close beneath me, but you can bet if I hadn't had that octo in my mouth in the next 10 seconds, that weight belt would now be resting at the bottom of the caldera. :cool2:

 

[Scott L]

LOL! This is so funny to me right now because I just overheard my husband on the phone telling someone my story, and when he got to the part about how I was reluctant to ditch my weights because I knew divers were below me, he said, "Now if it'd been me I wouldn't have given it a second thought. Them or me? I pick me!"

As it actually transpired, it all happened pretty quickly (as these things usually do) and I had the DM's octo in my mouth before I got to the point where I had to seriously consider ditching. There WERE divers very close beneath me, but you can bet if I hadn't had that octo in my mouth in the next 10 seconds, that weight belt would now be resting at the bottom of the caldera. :cool2:

Well, before I finished reading your post for the first time I thought for the first time if a dropped weights has ever stuck a diver with consequences. I will start a thread today in order to ask that question of our brethern. Before that question a few days ago I would never have thought to look before dropping which would decrease the opportunity of hitting someone but certainly not rule it out for various reasons. Final conclusion though is to let'er drop as you said. GUE is the only training agency that seems to instruct it's students to rotate on their horizonal axis 180 degrees in order to look above for other divers before deploying SMB's...

 

[AfterDark]

I don't know how practical it would be for international trips but, it might be worth looking into what it would cost to ship your gear to your destination before you leave.

 

[Scott L]

I don't know how practical it would be for international trips but, it might be worth looking into what it would cost to ship your gear to your destination before you leave.

I mentioned earlier in the thread but what about the idea of carry-on reg and computer then throwing the BCD in checked baggage? My BCD with AL plate wieghs 4 pounds tops...

 

[Leejnd]

Well, before I finished reading your post for the first time I thought for the first time if a dropped weights has ever stuck a diver with consequences. I will start a thread today in order to ask that question of our brethern. Before that question a few days ago I would never have thought to look before dropping which would decrease the opportunity of hitting someone but certainly not rule it out for various reasons. Final conclusion though is to let'er drop as you said. GUE is the only training agency that seems to instruct it's students to rotate on their horizonal axis 180 degrees in order to look above for other divers before deploying SMB's...

Y'know, strangely enough, the only reason I even thought about the divers beneath me is because of some recent threads in the Accidents forum! There were several comments about a dive fatality in which the recovered diver still had on his weight belt. (I believe it was the San Diego diver, who appears to have gotten caught in kelp.) There were discussions about why he didn't ditch his weights, and how oftentimes recovered divers still have on their weights, and why don't they ditch them? And several people mentioned that there are hazards to ditching weights when divers may be below them. This was actually the first time I'd heard that - I don't recall that coming up in my OW or AOW classes - but it stuck in my head enough so that it flashed across my mind before I reached for that belt. The other team of divers really were right beneath me - we all did our blue-water safety stops together, and I would have felt horrible if I KILLED somebody by dropping lead on their heads! And then I had air and was getting help to remain afloat, so it became a non-issue.

I mentioned earlier in the thread but what about the idea of carry-on reg and computer then throwing the BCD in checked baggage? My BCD with AL plate wieghs 4 pounds tops...

That's what I've usually done. I've never actually checked my reg & computer - I carry them in their nice padded carrying case. The problem for this trip was that it was a 3-week tour to Machu Picchu and the Galapagos with multiple stops (Lima, Cusco, Aqua Caliente, Quito, Galapagos), which included train trips and small-plane rides and four days on a small ship with very limited luggage allowances. Plus, there were two climates I had to pack for - up at 12,000 ft in the Andes is COLD, and then we had our week at the equator, which was HOT! AND we wanted to leave at least SOME room for souvenirs! All in all it was a very challenging trip to pack for, and as it was I had a large and heavy carry-on (in addition to my at-the-limit checked luggage). The rental gear was included in the quoted price of the dives - we didn't save any money by bringing our own - so we elected to take the chance and rent.

But after this experience, I will be bringing my own stuff wherever I go.

Shipping could be an option, if it's not somewhere remote and off-the-beaten-path, like Galapagos! I'd hate to ship it out and have it not arrive in time. And then what...ship it back? How long would all that take? I'd rather keep my gear with me, and just pay the luggage overage fee, if necessary.

In any case, this was an odd confluence of situations that I hope to not encounter again. Frankly I'm thinking of staying home for a while!

 

[Scott L]

Y'know, strangely enough, the only reason I even thought about the divers beneath me is because of some recent threads in the Accidents forum! There were several comments about a dive fatality in which the recovered diver still had on his weight belt. (I believe it was the San Diego diver, who appears to have gotten caught in kelp.) There were discussions about why he didn't ditch his weights, and how oftentimes recovered divers still have on their weights, and why don't they ditch them? And several people mentioned that there are hazards to ditching weights when divers may be below them. This was actually the first time I'd heard that - I don't recall that coming up in my OW or AOW classes - but it stuck in my head enough so that it flashed across my mind before I reached for that belt. The other team of divers really were right beneath me - we all did our blue-water safety stops together, and I would have felt horrible if I KILLED somebody by dropping lead on their heads! And then I had air and was getting help to remain afloat, so it became a non-issue.



That's what I've usually done. I've never actually checked my reg & computer - I carry them in their nice padded carrying case. The problem for this trip was that it was a 3-week tour to Machu Picchu and the Galapagos with multiple stops (Lima, Cusco, Aqua Caliente, Quito, Galapagos), which included train trips and small-plane rides and four days on a small ship with very limited luggage allowances. Plus, there were two climates I had to pack for - up at 12,000 ft in the Andes is COLD, and then we had our week at the equator, which was HOT! AND we wanted to leave at least SOME room for souvenirs! All in all it was a very challenging trip to pack for, and as it was I had a large and heavy carry-on (in addition to my at-the-limit checked luggage). The rental gear was included in the quoted price of the dives - we didn't save any money by bringing our own - so we elected to take the chance and rent.

But after this experience, I will be bringing my own stuff wherever I go.

Shipping could be an option, if it's not somewhere remote and off-the-beaten-path, like Galapagos! I'd hate to ship it out and have it not arrive in time. And then what...ship it back? How long would all that take? I'd rather keep my gear with me, and just pay the luggage overage fee, if necessary.

In any case, this was an odd confluence of situations that I hope to not encounter again. Frankly I'm thinking of staying home for a while!

Reminds me of an old George Carlin monologue where he traveled from CA to Hawaii then island hopped and discussed the pitfalls of supply lines being longer and longer and harder to maintain. That's my digression of the day.