ScubAtlanta
Registered
Greetings – new to diving, and new to this Forum. My 17 year old son (“Son”
and I took the PADI “Scuba Diver” course (2 dives with instructor) about 18 months ago, then got our OW cert through Pirate Divers in Key Largo last year. Since then, we've done one dive on our own at Ginnie Springs.
Last week, Son and I took a cruise which stopped in Nassau, so we booked a two-dive trip with Stuart Cove. I was impressed with their operation – smoothly run with friendly employees. Our boat had a dozen divers – all (except us) seemed experienced. We rented our gear, including full 5 mil suits. I'd never used that much neoprene, and guessed at 22 lbs of lead (I'm 6', 250 lbs), which worked okay.
First dive was on a wall which started around 55-60'. DM said he'd lead the group down to, and along, the edge in an arc around the boat. Those who were appropriately certified and had computers were welcome to descend up to 100'. As for those who remained with the DM, he said we'd surface as a group when one of us began running low on air (we were on a tight schedule); however, he reminded us it was our individual responsibilities to surface if and when we needed to.
We suited up, and I “squirted” my reg to make sure it had air flow, but that was it. When I hit the water, though, my reg seemed stiff – very hard to draw a breath. We had decent chop and a moderate surface current, which I fought as I swam to our drag line, where I was to meet up with Son before descending. By then, I was breathing hard against the reg, but assumed I'd be okay once I descended. Wrong. Down 10', I literally couldn't catch my breath. I tried to get Son's attention, but he was on his way down. I surfaced – luckily, DM was still up top. I removed my reg to swim to him – and promptly swallowed a ton of water in the chop. I don't think I was panicking – I've spent my life “in” the water, have been WSI certified and taught lifesaving for years, so I know what panic in the water looks like –but I was gulping air. DM did something to my regulator which loosened it up a little (CAN ANYONE TELL ME WHAT?), and back down I went . . . still gulping air. LESSON #1 – TEST AND BE HAPPY WITH YOUR EQUIPMENT BEFORE YOU GET IN THE WATER.
By the time I met up with Son, I already was at 2000 psi, which put me way ahead of everyone else. I signaled same to DM, and he signed “ok.” I finally settled down, and had a good time looking around at the beautiful reef. Some of the group peeled off, but most stayed with the DM – I followed a few feet above and behind him. I signaled at 1500 psi, and again at 1000. When I signaled at 900, he motioned for Son and me to pair up – Son had drifted 20' or so away to look at something – but he kept swimming and leading the group (I checked Son's air – he was at 1300). Mistake number two – I kept following. At 700 psi, I tugged on his fin, and got a look I interpreted as “why are you still here?” He motioned for Son and me to go up together. Unfortunately, Son had drifted about 20' behind and down again, and I had to swim down to get him. We went the short distance to the line, and completed our safety stop. By then, I was entering the “red zone” (300 psi – Son still had 900 psi), and the reg was getting hard to pull on again (whether the original problem, or running low, I don't know). I did have enough to inflate my BCD at the surface. LESSON #2 – THE DM IS NOT MY NANNY; IT'S MY RESPONSIBILITY TO SURFACE WHEN I NEED TO.
On the boat, Son and I talked about it, and agreed I should have surfaced at 900 psi. I don't fault DM at all – I know my gas consumption was way ahead of everyone else due to my early problems. One of the other divers sitting next to us also talked with Son about staying closer – Son, properly contrite, promised he would. The diver also talked with me about making sure he did. LESSON #3 – STICKING TOGETHER IS A RESPONSIBILITY OF BOTH BUDDIES – HIS AND MINE.
Second dive on a 50-60' reef went much better. I knew what to expect with the reg, and relaxed, and my air consumption and down time improved significantly. Son stuck with me like glue. I played with my buoyancy and breath control, and found myself slightly over-weighted, so I could have gone without 2-4 lbs of the lead I carried. I signaled to surface when I was under 1000 psi (we were already back near the boat), and we rose to do our safety stop. We stopped at 15 ft, purging our BCDs as we went (but not fully – I was a bit over-weighted, right?), and I checked my depth for thirty seconds or so. Was stable, so I started watching a large school of yellowtails that swarmed around us. Next thing Iknow, I feel something slapping at my back – I'd surfaced less than a minute and half into the stop. LESSON #4 – JUST BECAUSE THINGS LOOK FINE ONE MINUTE, IT DOESN'T MEAN YOU SHOULDN'T KEEP CHECKING.
Despite seeing a lot of beautiful things, I ended the day a bit upset with myself. I got distracted repeatedly, causing me to ignore my training and make stupid mistakes. Those are the kinds of mistakes I used to “beat up” on my lifesaving students about. I'm not saying I was in dire danger – I surfaced still with air and with Son who had more, and my second safety stop wasn't mandatory – but I'd erased important safety “cushions” from my dives. If anyone can add anything, we'd love to hear it. We're all about learning safety at this point. Thanks!
and I took the PADI “Scuba Diver” course (2 dives with instructor) about 18 months ago, then got our OW cert through Pirate Divers in Key Largo last year. Since then, we've done one dive on our own at Ginnie Springs.Last week, Son and I took a cruise which stopped in Nassau, so we booked a two-dive trip with Stuart Cove. I was impressed with their operation – smoothly run with friendly employees. Our boat had a dozen divers – all (except us) seemed experienced. We rented our gear, including full 5 mil suits. I'd never used that much neoprene, and guessed at 22 lbs of lead (I'm 6', 250 lbs), which worked okay.
First dive was on a wall which started around 55-60'. DM said he'd lead the group down to, and along, the edge in an arc around the boat. Those who were appropriately certified and had computers were welcome to descend up to 100'. As for those who remained with the DM, he said we'd surface as a group when one of us began running low on air (we were on a tight schedule); however, he reminded us it was our individual responsibilities to surface if and when we needed to.
We suited up, and I “squirted” my reg to make sure it had air flow, but that was it. When I hit the water, though, my reg seemed stiff – very hard to draw a breath. We had decent chop and a moderate surface current, which I fought as I swam to our drag line, where I was to meet up with Son before descending. By then, I was breathing hard against the reg, but assumed I'd be okay once I descended. Wrong. Down 10', I literally couldn't catch my breath. I tried to get Son's attention, but he was on his way down. I surfaced – luckily, DM was still up top. I removed my reg to swim to him – and promptly swallowed a ton of water in the chop. I don't think I was panicking – I've spent my life “in” the water, have been WSI certified and taught lifesaving for years, so I know what panic in the water looks like –but I was gulping air. DM did something to my regulator which loosened it up a little (CAN ANYONE TELL ME WHAT?), and back down I went . . . still gulping air. LESSON #1 – TEST AND BE HAPPY WITH YOUR EQUIPMENT BEFORE YOU GET IN THE WATER.
By the time I met up with Son, I already was at 2000 psi, which put me way ahead of everyone else. I signaled same to DM, and he signed “ok.” I finally settled down, and had a good time looking around at the beautiful reef. Some of the group peeled off, but most stayed with the DM – I followed a few feet above and behind him. I signaled at 1500 psi, and again at 1000. When I signaled at 900, he motioned for Son and me to pair up – Son had drifted 20' or so away to look at something – but he kept swimming and leading the group (I checked Son's air – he was at 1300). Mistake number two – I kept following. At 700 psi, I tugged on his fin, and got a look I interpreted as “why are you still here?” He motioned for Son and me to go up together. Unfortunately, Son had drifted about 20' behind and down again, and I had to swim down to get him. We went the short distance to the line, and completed our safety stop. By then, I was entering the “red zone” (300 psi – Son still had 900 psi), and the reg was getting hard to pull on again (whether the original problem, or running low, I don't know). I did have enough to inflate my BCD at the surface. LESSON #2 – THE DM IS NOT MY NANNY; IT'S MY RESPONSIBILITY TO SURFACE WHEN I NEED TO.
On the boat, Son and I talked about it, and agreed I should have surfaced at 900 psi. I don't fault DM at all – I know my gas consumption was way ahead of everyone else due to my early problems. One of the other divers sitting next to us also talked with Son about staying closer – Son, properly contrite, promised he would. The diver also talked with me about making sure he did. LESSON #3 – STICKING TOGETHER IS A RESPONSIBILITY OF BOTH BUDDIES – HIS AND MINE.
Second dive on a 50-60' reef went much better. I knew what to expect with the reg, and relaxed, and my air consumption and down time improved significantly. Son stuck with me like glue. I played with my buoyancy and breath control, and found myself slightly over-weighted, so I could have gone without 2-4 lbs of the lead I carried. I signaled to surface when I was under 1000 psi (we were already back near the boat), and we rose to do our safety stop. We stopped at 15 ft, purging our BCDs as we went (but not fully – I was a bit over-weighted, right?), and I checked my depth for thirty seconds or so. Was stable, so I started watching a large school of yellowtails that swarmed around us. Next thing Iknow, I feel something slapping at my back – I'd surfaced less than a minute and half into the stop. LESSON #4 – JUST BECAUSE THINGS LOOK FINE ONE MINUTE, IT DOESN'T MEAN YOU SHOULDN'T KEEP CHECKING.
Despite seeing a lot of beautiful things, I ended the day a bit upset with myself. I got distracted repeatedly, causing me to ignore my training and make stupid mistakes. Those are the kinds of mistakes I used to “beat up” on my lifesaving students about. I'm not saying I was in dire danger – I surfaced still with air and with Son who had more, and my second safety stop wasn't mandatory – but I'd erased important safety “cushions” from my dives. If anyone can add anything, we'd love to hear it. We're all about learning safety at this point. Thanks!
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