Never Again will I be unprepared!

[boulderjohn]

My nephew was experiencing his first ocean dive. A repair to my regulator was not finished in time for our trip so I used the dive shop's well worn equipment. This was my first and last time doing this. The equipment though used was functional. One unit only had a pressure gauge and the other had both a pressure gauge and a depth gauge. Neither had any timers or dive computers....

This is were the week had the potential to go wrong. The Dive Master took us all spear fishing on the North end of Cozumel. The strong current ...

I found this part to be the most interesting. When you talk about the north end, I assume you are talking about Barracuda Reef and San Juan Reef.

The first two operators I used on my trips to Cozumel would not go to those reefs at all. They said they were too dangerous because of the currents. Frustrated, I called several others before I found an operator who would take divers to those reefs. I have since dived them several times. Once was surprisingly easy, another was difficult, and the third was one of the most difficult ocean dives I have ever had because of the currents blowing diagonally across the reef, constantly trying to take us off the reef. It doesn't sound like your dives were as bad as that, but they had the potential, and I am surprised they would take a new ocean diver there.

Dives in Cozumel are required by law to be led by a DM, and one of the reasons is because of the currents and the need to make sure that everyone gets picked up by the boat at the end of the dive. Sending people up in pairs without any kind of signalling device is pretty risky in any kind of drift diving--if the boat does not see your ascent, they may miss you entirely and you could be drifting on the surface for quite some time while they look for you. That is why the DM's job in Cozumel, unlike most resort dive locations, is to keep an eye on people. When I have dived there and had people ascend in pairs rather than as a group, the DM sent a DSMB up first, and everyone stayed with that line. That way they could feel confident that everyone would be on the boat at the end of the dive.

A number of years ago two teachers who worked in the same school district as I were diving in Cozumel on a reef that had a tough current. The DM did not see them when they were apparently blown off the reef. I say "apparently" because no one ever saw them again.

 

[Hatul]

Thanks for sharing. Here are my thoughts:

Even if you don't take your own regs and need to rent you should bring your dive computer, as it's not unusual for dive operations not to have them and even if they do it's better to use one you're familiar with.

If you don't have a dive computer you still need a depth gauge, timer and dive tables as minimum equipment. Plus, spear fishing or diving with spear hunters increases your risks on top of inadequate equipment.

Adam

 

[VooDooGasMan]

Hank from your post I feel it is the pressure you felt with having a family member and having gear that did not meet your needs to do a dive. you had a choice and dove and that you were responsible for your buddy team. So now you need to get this off your chest, no problem you and your buddy found a unusual problem and found a different way of how to perform a dive with what you had. Your young buddy has learned what to do and can be a better diver cause of it and you know the feeling of when divers depend on you. EVERY DIVE IS A NEW EXPERIENCE.

 

[Hank Shackleford]

I want to thank everyone who responded. From the title of the original post to the end on the post I took full responsibility for the dive. How I forgot a simple dive watch can be attributed to my lack of experience despite having dove over the last 25 years. When you are in the water more often than I am the pre-dive check list may seem second nature but in my case I simply overlooked a fundamental basic. Even though the DM timed our previous safety stops my brain didn't click on this very basic AND CHEAP item until the DM wasn't there.

What we did after this dive hasn't been discussed. First, I asked for and received a Dive Computer for our subsequent dives. Next, I asked for and received a Dive Briefing from the DM prior to our next dive for both me as well as my nephew. For my nephew's benefit (I was already kicking myself over my mistakes) I asked the DM to go over everything he felt that we did right, everything either of us did wrong and everything each of us needed to improve upon.

We were a group of four divers, the other two divers were our travel companions. There were no other divers on our boat the day we went spear fishing on the north end of Cozumel. What would I want from the DM in this circumstance in the future? I'd want him to leave his spear gun in the boat and pay closer attention to the divers. I cannot defend my mistakes, I made them, I own them, I am thankful I didn't cost anyone else to have to pay for them.

One post stated what a DM's job wasn't (babysitting). I thought I would grab a few key items from PADI's website on what someone would learn if they took the DM course;

Leadership Skills
Organize
Solve Problems
Help Others Improve
Supervise
Guide
Teach

Our DM did those things and more. Did the dive shop let us down? Yes. How? The DS loaded all the equipment on the boat in a large pile. Not until you reach the dive site were we provided our equipment. On one trip out the equipment missing was a snorkel. How hard is it to set up four divers? Who is at fault here? Still me. What will I be doing about it? Taking my nephew diving again but this time we will bring every item of our own, take it to the boat ourselves in the morning, take it off the boat at the end of the dive, clean it, inspect it and haul it to our room until the morning when we will start all over again. Plus, to make it easier I will have a new laminated checklist attached to my BC.

My post is a cautionary post, though I have many years of experience I am still a recreational diver and expecting the next DM or DS to live up to those I have experienced in the past is foolhardy at best.

I would like to thank each poster, each of your comments are respected and in most cases have caused me to add your comments and suggestions to my thought process. I would also like to thank ScubaBoard.com for providing this website as I will utilize it to become a better recreational diver.

 

[Hatul]

The other thing I wanted to mention is: dive computers are so inexpensive these days that it's nice to dive with two, especially in repetitive diving. That way if one fails or battery runs down you can continue your dive and the series without interruption. And for recreational diving there's no need to dive with a watch IMO.

Adam

 

[DandyDon]

The other thing I wanted to mention is: dive computers are so inexpensive these days that it's nice to dive with two, especially in repetitive diving. That way if one fails or battery runs down you can continue your dive and the series without interruption. And for recreational diving there's no need to dive with a watch IMO.

Adam

I don't think that advice will work on vacation divers, but there are ways to make sure one gets a computer he understands, and always wear a waterproof watch.

 

[TSandM]

Hank, I love your last post, and I'd dive with you any time.

 

[openmindOW]

Hank, thank you for posting. By posting here, you are helping other divers. You did just fine. It was a learning experience.

You would be an excellent Divemaster if you ever decide to go that route.

Keep diving.

 

[beaverdivers]

You almost had a ( Free? ) trip to Cuba. It won't have taken long in that current, just a week or so.

Indeed, you are very lucky!

I'm sure Never again. Lesson learned!

 

[Pelagicsal]

boulderjohn-
There are lots of dives up north that aren't San Juan or Barracuda. They aren't the marquee dives everyone knows, but there are some nice spots - more shallow, different conditions and profiles. Even the big two can be done in various routes to make them less - or more - challenging.
Hope you get up there to explore sometime soon!