Near Panic in WPB @ 85FSW

[Puffer Fish]

How could you train for this incident. Is there a spearfishing cert offered by any of the agencies? I think it would be more about keeping your composure and like the OP said "Stop, Think, Act".
Very useful information anyway. Its posts like these that are helpful for those of us (me at least) to read and then fall back on in the same or simalar situations.

Glad you made out O.K. and were able to keep the gun!

It was a joke.. I was with him on that dive...there was absolutely nothing he could have done, except let go of something. Floats are easy to replace. And all of us had SMB's and reels... big ones...easy to see ones.

He was stretched out tight..

My only regret was that I was too far away to rescue him...as I would have liked to have the gold star.

Note: Howard rescues are one of the most sought after rescues, just below the super model class, and above the normal instructor rescue.

Naui #4186

 

[Marvel]

Note: Howard rescues are one of the most sought after rescues, just below the super model class, and above the normal instructor rescue.

You're just jealous since Howard was rescued twice last weekend- neither time by you!

Seriously, Howard. Thanks for posting this. A great example of how the panic cycle can interfere with clear thinking.

 

[Hank49]

The group in question were all good friends and quite familiar diving together. EACH AND EVERY one of them would have shot Howard with their own guns if he would have dropped the Wong. .

....which is the most important message of this thread..... always put an SMB on your Wong in case you have to drop it.

 

[do it easy]

Thanks for posting- it's certainly a good lesson for all of us. Glad you made it back and with all your gear. I think the fact that you nearly drained your tank is quite telling how intense the situation was.

 

[Puffer Fish]

You're just jealous since Howard was rescued twice last weekend- neither time by you!

Seriously, Howard. Thanks for posting this. A great example of how the panic cycle can interfere with clear thinking.

My thanks also, and you are correct.

It is particularly interesting, because he only had seconds to make a choice, at a point where all of us would have taken time to decide what to do. Once he was pulled tight, his air consumption was going to shoot up. The timing of the situation made making the right choice almost impossible.

 

[MeiLing]

(if you'd have lost your Wong it would have sucked big time. )

If he'd lost his life, it'd sucked way worse! It'd be whole 'nother viewpoint if you were sitting on the other side of the Pearly Gates pondering your choices! I'd save my weinie butt first!

Thanks for posting this. It's always good for everyone to learn from experiences.

 

[dman1959]

Another option ....tie/connect your buoy line to the spear gun then follow the spear gun line to the bottom and free it or cut it. Then follow the spear gun line back up through a slooooow safe ascent.
I admit this impossible if your already at 350 psi.
I adhere to a 10 X depth = minimum psi rule at all times during a dive.

Glad you are ok. And thanks for sharing.

 

[D_B]

Dang! ... "in the blink of an eye"
So glad your OK Howard (well, except for the hair )
Wow again, thank you for posting
... so much here for me to think about
I am afraid that I will freeze up and lose my ability to reason in an emergency .. inspite of my training ... I can see that tendancy in my makeup .. It is one reason I am considering taking rescue again at some point