If You Want To Criticize
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Stand in line
Im first! My worst dive to date was my best learning opportunity so Im showing my skidmarks to whoever reads this so you can either learn or just nod with a knowing smile.
Heres the dive situation
- Dive Location is Myrtle Beach SC, 27 Feb 07
- Dive site is the Pinnacle (an artificial reef area with a barge and some APCs)
- Dive Operator was Coastal Scuba
this was a day dive
- Water temp = 51 F°
- Visibility less than 2 feet (fine particulates stirred up from storm 2 days before
found this out after guide made the initial dive to tie off anchor and wreck reel line)
- Depth = 59 ft
- Current ~ 1 Knot
Heres the joke (the knowing nod folks will now be able to figure out the punchline
)
- First time diving my drysuit in open ocean conditions (3rd time with the suit overall
19 dives total = a newbie)
- First time diving in low visibility conditions
- First time diving with any weight in new trim pouches on shoulder (6 lbs
18 lbs in lower BC area)
Heres the context
Lets work this from the bottom up. I need more weight at my shoulders because
I just do. I dont float, my legs are always beneath me and I cant move the tank any higher. However
I failed to control what I could
I didnt test the new trim pockets (and the chosen weight) in a pool or quarry. I instead wisely chose the Atlantic in February!
Now I was certified in Apr 05 but havent had the good luck to get any night dives in due to bad timing/luck in either having the time to go dive and/or the buddy to go dive. So
upon hearing that the vis was 2 feet I apparently thought is was best to go Low Vis in (you guessed it!) the Atlantic in February!
Having acquired the Drysuit of my dreams and completed the PADI class to properly employ said device
in the best spirit of the Not Ready for Prime Time Players I giant step into the Atlantic in February! Never mind that I couldnt hover but instead compensated by what could be best described as a combination of breath control and hand/fin flicks reminiscent of a puffer fish. Never attaining the perfect horizontal profile because of legs that sunk deeper than the rest of me. But thats OK
its just the Atlantic
in February!
Heres the results
Though properly weighted overall, my wise choice to dive with >25% of the total weight by my clavicles meant that my legs were no longer the lowest part of my profile. Bonus was that since air rises my feet were well ventilated inside the Drysuit. Oh yeah
and since Ive never experienced a constant headsdown profile in a Drysuit
Ive never had the need to use my bottom dump valves on the BC so imagine my surprise when I reached for them and they werent where I expected them (I was about 30° off with the added bulk from the suit). Lets throw in the low vis and spatial disorientation looms as a potent specter throughout the dive along with a fairly healthy current tugging at my sleeve.
So there I was
Approaching exhaustion fighting buoyancy issues
working against the current
tilted head down at a 30-75° angles
spatial disorientation
consciously suppressing panic at least twice
had to grab the dive guide once to keep from floating away
task saturation
did accomplish one sommersault to get the air out of my feet
not nearly enough.
And the punchline
I
didnt
call
the
dive. I survived it, tired, exhausted, a possible DCS skin hit. But when faced with the no kidding decision on a go/nogo for this dive, I did not recognize how deep the doodoo was and failed to pull the ejection handles when I should have. Pride played a role too
as did outright stubbornness.
The epilogue
Back to the pool
and back to the quarry. I am simply not ready for these conditions and my skills must improve. Those of you familiar with the Atlantics Eastern Seaboard know full well that vis can drop from 20 to 2 feet pretty damn quick. Having the best equipment money can buy doesnt stand up against conditions demanding skills
instead of tools.
The lesson
You can pick apart each misstep and provide the proper path but thats not where the learning will really sink in for me. Ill learn (and re-learn) in the pool/quarry. And this final paragraph is really where the value of all these words comes to bear: if you cant master the skills in a pool or a quarry
its damned unlikely youll master the skills in a more hostile environment.
Thanks for reading
hope this helps somebody
Dane
) will be in Myrtle Beach from 24 Feb thru 3 Mar so as you might guess I'm seeking your counsel as to who you would gladly dive with again..."Today". I know it may be very tempting to "flame" with a question like this so please hold-fire...I'm just looking to have a great experience in South Carolina. The Myrtle Beach "area" shops I'm aware of are:
