New Divers and Dangling Equipment!!!

[HammerNoMore]

Not paying attention to where she was going, she had buzzed right over the top of my hubby and myself... the dangling computer wrapped through my regulator hose, the bungie snagged on my hose and hence as she moved on, it yanked my regulator with it.

A couple of comments on this. Everyone's pretty much covered the no-danglies thing so no need to retrace those steps.

1) You will notice as you continue to dive that you will almost gain a sixth sense about these things happening. You'll develop a subconsious awareness of other divers/things around you. Working with students, I can't tell you how many times I've turned to avoid getting my mask kicked off, without even realizing I did it.

2) I'm not trying to push a specific geat configuration here but I will say that the way my hoses are rigged, they don't stick out like the more typical recreational setup. It would be next to impossible for someone's dangly to pull my reg out of my mouth without the diver tackling me in the process .

James

 

[Marek K]

Just shows how much things have changed.

About 15 years ago, when I was first certified, everything dangled... we were just starting to understand that it was really a good idea for your octopus to be clipped up, to keep it out of the sand and muck; but gauges/consoles always dangled.

And unfortunately, there also wasn't the stress on not touching stuff that there is today. You just had to be able to identify fire coral!

Rainbowangel's post just shows another reason not to dangle.

She apparently never even noticed anything had happened... Looked down at me as I was retrieving my reg and putting it back in my mouth, shrugged and swam on.

That brings up another good point... It's impossible to see facial expression through a mask and regulator. Assuming the other diver realized what had happened, is there any way to express an apology by hand signals? I've seen it as "OK?" ("I'm sorry I just kicked you in the face with my fin... are you OK?"; answered by "OK" ("No problem, and yes I'm OK").

--Marek

 

[Mitchell]

Are there any pictures of great ways to secure everything?

Just curious...

 

[MikeFerrara]

That brings up another good point... It's impossible to see facial expression through a mask and regulator. Assuming the other diver realized what had happened, is there any way to express an apology by hand signals? I've seen it as "OK?" ("I'm sorry I just kicked you in the face with my fin... are you OK?"; answered by "OK" ("No problem, and yes I'm OK").

--Marek

It would seem both prudent and polite to flash some one an ok and get a response after such an accident.

A new diver on their first night dive might have been pretty clueless (nervous, task loaded ect) about what was going on around him/her though. The diver may have just been unaware of what they should verify that the diver they just unintentionally molested is ok.

It brings up other questions doesn't it?

 

[Wristshot]

My buddy has over 50 dives, and I still can't get him to streamline. Mostly because he has too much crap! He has retractors and all that, but there is still a bunch of crap hanging all the time.

He definitely qualifies as a slow learner. He lost a compass in Key Largo when his console caught on a wreck (open area). He lost a weight pouch and his compass again on a wreck in Cozumel (inside). Fortunately I retrieved his weight pouch and compass the second time. It seems like his console and his light is always dragging.

I show him pictures, and describe the silt he kicks up but still no changes. He is always amazed at the amount of sand in his console, but still no changes.

Some day I need to get tough and refuse to dive with the human dredge. Until then I try to lead by example, suggest gently, refer to best practices, apply peer pressure and learn from his bad example.


Wristshot

 

[rainbowangel]

Thanks for the congrats on my OWC everyone. : ) I'm definitely excited about it... can't wait till my next dive trip. As for everyone's questions, here goes...

Did she re-attach her computer after the incident? - If ya gonna make a mistake, at least learn from it.

Nope, she didn't. She just continued on with the dive. I looked when she was climbing back into the boat, and the computer was still dangling at her side.

Did you mention anything to her after the dive?

I didn't mention anything to her myself. I spoke with the assistant instructor about it... Who then, I presume, mentioned it to her.

Did the DM see and signal to her or talk to her after the dive?

The DM was waiting at the bottom, watching everyone descend in a large group. I'm pretty certain he didn't see the incident, because he would have made sure I was okay, if he had.

That brings up another good point... It's impossible to see facial expression through a mask and regulator. Assuming the other diver realized what had happened, is there any way to express an apology by hand signals?

I couldn't see her facial expression very well... She did however actually physically shrug her shoulders. While it is possible that she didn't realize exactly what had happened, it's scary to think she didn't notice anything... 1) she was yanking on my regulator hard enough that it had to be impeding her movement (was practically dragging me behind her)... 2) she saw me messing with her dangling computer and then replacing my reg. However... it is entirely possible that she just didn't get it and/or was nervous/anxious because of the night dive.

I'm not trying to push a specific geat configuration here but I will say that the way my hoses are rigged, they don't stick out like the more typical recreational setup. It would be next to impossible for someone's dangly to pull my reg out of my mouth without the diver tackling me in the process.

James - anywhere you have a picture of your gear config? Or have a good description of it? I'm greatly interested in finding a way to accomplish something like that... but my reg goes over my shoulder and into my mouth... I can't think of anyway to change the fact that the hose curves outward a little....

 

[HammerNoMore]

James - anywhere you have a picture of your gear config? Or have a good description of it? I'm greatly interested in finding a way to accomplish something like that... but my reg goes over my shoulder and into my mouth... I can't think of anyway to change the fact that the hose curves outward a little....

As I don't want to hijaak your discussion with a gear config debate, I'll send you a PM with some info and some threads on here to look at.

James

 

[scubapro50]

I always though that one of the jobs you dive buddy is to do is check each others equipment ..... you know .... air turned on, tank secured, weight belt on, reg/oct. and air guages and assorted other stuff attached to you BC ....

 

[gfisher4792]

I always though that one of the jobs you dive buddy is to do is check each others equipment ..... you know .... air turned on, tank secured, weight belt on, reg/oct. and air guages and assorted other stuff attached to you BC ....

True, but if neither buddy has been taught about danglies...

 

[SquattingRadishDM]

if neither buddy has been taught about danglies...

send thier OW indtructor back to take his OW again :kopfab: