One more near-miss

[deepwrecksc]

Thanks for posting your experience!

Did the Duane twice this Summer (early August) with a very good charter operation (they used steel 80s too...), and both times the current was ripping (like as in "oops there went my mask":11 and seas were rolling. I learned a LOT from those dives and your story reinforces what I took from the experience - it sounds all too very familiar. Here is my two cents.

After doing the Duane and the Spiegel Grove (both on Nitrox), I have rearranged my gear and my attitude. First of all I added a pony bottle to my gear. Boat-arranged buddies don't have much of a stake in your well being and are prone to run off on you. I had that unsettling experience 10 minutes into one of my Grove dives (they had a gear malfunction and just bugged out without bothering to let me know). I feel a lot more comfortable knowing that if this happens again at least I have my own redundant gas supply to get me back to the surface from >100 fsw.

I agree with the other posts - 80 cu ft is not enough gas for a dive >100 fsw, particularly on Nitrox. I now dive a steel 119, and I bring them with me instead of renting.

There were a LOT of people on the first Duane charter, and that sucked big-time. My wife and I were almost last off the boat (won't do that again), and wasted gas while waiting in line to descend. More troublesome was the traffic jam at 15 feet for the safety stop, jostling for a decent hold on the line without getting swept away . I'm used to a "carolina-rig" with hang-bars at 15 feet. OK so a jon-line is now standard equipment on my rig.

As for the current, I don't get off the boat without a "survival pack" - ocean dye, fresh water, safety sausage, dSMB, reel, air horn, strobe.

I truly believe that there is no "perfect" dive rig for everyone, but I'm trying to close in on my own version.

 

[albane]

First I would like to thank Plongeursousmarin for taking the time to put his story up so we can all learn from his experience.

The way i see it.
Insta buddy is ok, done that.
Deep dive is ok, done that.
Back from a long break to diving is ok, done that.
Wreck penetration is ok, done that.

My problem involves the communication.
There is no mention of a dive plan other than we’ll meet at the buoy. No predive equipment check? No signal review? No s drill? No alternate assent plan?

Descending alone, playing catch up, separated, low on air, deep dive with no gas management plan?
I would recommend against it. ie half +200, thirds, all usable. Something is better than nothing. Unplanned deco? Unsupported deco? I shutter to think of what more could go wrong.

Please don’t take this the wrong way I just don’t like to dive like that. Not that I wish to be a snob. The penalty for error is so high for what? Sounds like five minutes getting to know your new friends could have yielded a better outcome.
Our friend Plongeursousmarin may benefit from some advanced training. An advanced nitrox class or deco procedures may be helpful . Some kind of dive planing protocols.

Without getting into a political debate the benefits of team diving can not be discounted here.

My first post for ‘07 must end with
HAPPY NEW YEAR!! :14:
AL BANE

 

[ArcticDiver]

The fact is that a diver traveling solo is pretty much at the mercy of the dive operation and the others on the boat for equipment and buddies. I've been there; on the Duane in current at that.

Having to take the tanks and buddies available doesn't mean you have to forget all dive planning and execution. In fact, it is time to emphatically, but as nicely as possible, lay down some guidelines; which I don't see you did. Everytime, without exception, that I passively allow someone else to establish the guidelines I get bit.

Lesson 1: Be assertive in planning the dive. Be sure everyone understands discipline and is committed to follow it.

Did you discuss what you were going to do when they deserted you; as they did in the descent? From your post the other two guys sound like they knew each other and thought of you as an unwelcome addition to be dumped at the first opportunity. This isn't uncommon so the solo diver must plan for it.

Lesson 2: Firmly establish "desertion procedures". Be sure you are mentally prepared to be a solo diver because once your "buddies" get more than a few fin kicks away that is what you are.

That is a pretty stiff dive for a first dive after a layoff. At the same time I know dives on the Spiegel and Duane, etc are often done by brand new divers as their first dives after certification. So, certainly there are differences of opinion. As for me; I wouldn't dream of doing that dive unless I was very current on my experience and was using gear I was very comfortable with.

Lesson 3: After a layoff do some easy dives before going for more difficult ones.

You don't give much on your profile. But, it seems to me from what you post that there is a pretty cavalier attitude about the dangers of DCS and running out of breathing gas.

Lesson 4: This should be an Attitude Check.

Thank you for posting this incident. I know others have had similar experiences and haven't posted. We can all learn from each other's mistakes. Such learning is much cheaper than an injury or death.

Lesson 5: When a person makes a mistake post it so other's can learn and maybe save their own bodies.

 

[String]

Just to buck the trend here i'd just like to say ive dived the Duane on a steel 80 cu ft tank with a randomly assigned buddy using nitrox. It was great

 

[ArcticDiver]

Just to buck the trend here i'd just like to say ive dived the Duane on a steel 80 cu ft tank with a randomly assigned buddy using nitrox. It was great

I've had the same experience. So, not knocking the random buddy system. Just suggesting some tips to make it a great dive instead of what was posted.

 

[Vicente]

I've dove the Duane many times, and the Bibb a couple too.

I've seen quite a few incidents like you describe. Specifically the Duane seems bad about this. It's deepish and often with current. The combination of not just insta-buddy, but insta-TRUDDY, imperfect conditions, etc. all add up to frequent cases of this.

The "truddy" setups to me are usually equivalent to diving solo. To assume 2 people you've never met before are going to manage the task of keeping track of 2 buddies in perhaps difficult conditions, doesn't make any sense. I've had 3-somes before where the 2 buddies go in different directions and you have to choose which one to stick with. I really wonder about the crew practice of getting to a site, THEN saying hey let's stick this random diver with these other 2 guys. IMO this is a rather sloppy practice that serves no useful purpose except for getting to claim no one was....*gasp*.... solo-diving. If it's a buddy-team that knows each other and you are the extra guy, you are in fact diving solo and we just aren't officially calling it that.

Once witnessed a drowning on the Duane. Dad OOA at depth, son watching with big eyes. He revived fortunately. Yes there are lots of folks who do the Duane who don't seem to know how to watch an SPG or plan a dive.

I like the company at 15 feet hanging off the ascent line like a flag in the wind, guess I'm weird. However, little tip for ya, unless the waves are really bad I stow the snorkel or leave it on the boat. The biggest contributor to that "pull the mask off" effect is the snorkel, ditch that and I'm fine.

In my playbook also, going up the line is a CONVENIENCE not a requirement. It seems clear at least one member of your truddy team burned up air-margin and risked a serious OOA situation trying to reach an ascent line for..... what exactly? The convenience of staying in a neat group for quick pickup? Bah. More than once a buddy and I have had trouble returning to an ascent line, so we just did a free ascent, deployed SMB and waited for pickup. I would hazard that a lot of incidents occur from a misguided sense that you MUST ascend along line so-and-so. Discuss these things with buddies and crew beforehand. Keep in mind what things about your dive-plan that you think are required, are actually elements that you can change according to conditions. If it is kicking your *** trying to get to an arbitrary up-line and your SPG is sliding towards your ascent-margin your dive-plan should have a branch for that, not a "head-down must-get-to-line" mentality. IMO it's the boat-drivers job to come pick you up wherever you surface. I will take advantage of that as needed. Yes I have seen briefings where crew specifies which ball you should come up, I will usually raise my hand and inquire if other options are okay especially if there's someone on deck who might be confused about it. N00bs to wreck-diving, and a sloppy crew-briefing, can lead some to unwittingly think they have a glass-ceiling and can only go up a certain line. The effect of this is Open Water divers, diving as though they are in an overhead environment which is wrong. Much simpler to break the glass on the surface during the briefing.

Last time I dove the Spiegel Grove, buddy and I got about midships near the helipad. Quite frankly the viz was low and I was a bit narced and after a few look-sees couldn't remember which way was fore and which was aft. It's a big boat and if you can't see the ends and can only see the 40 feet right around you and haven't memorized the layout this can easily happen. We looked around a bit and did a free ascent, didn't bother hunting a line. Sure I had to wait a bit for pickup but so what? If the crew were in some way unhappy about having to drive the boat a little ways to pick us up, I wouldn't dive with that operation again.

Another tip for ya on moving efficiently near a wreck. Get close to the deck, and in the current-shadow if possible. If you can glide close to deck, or in an open hold, or hand-over-hand along railings (you did bring gloves right?), you will not have to rely so much on big air-sucking muscle-power to get to somewhere up-current. Think like a fish, see how little work they put into moving around a wreck with current. Do the fishies swim WAY out there 10 feet into the current? No, they hover in the boundary layer where it's less work.

 

[AXL72]

I agree with ArcticDiver and Vicente. I have seen exactly what Vicente describes as a threesome with two of the three going off in two separate directions. Instead of choosing a direction, I tried to unite us into a buddy group again, to no avail. I had to choose, and I chose the one that did not have a pony bottle. The one with the pony was errogant and wanted nothing to do with buddying up or communicating that he preffered and was OK with diving solo.

If you dive with a pony, plz make sure that you still stay with your assigned buddy who may not have a pony, because you are his spare air.

 

[lamont]

I had about 500 psi and my Aladin indicated a 5 minute decompression stop at 3 meters (I was raised in the metric system...). No problem, been there before.

And I take it you'll be there again? It'll be interesting to see what happens when your buddy OOAs you at 30m instead of 6m... For bonus points make it a 500 psi Al80 instead of a 500 psi LP80...

 

[jeckyll]

Interesting report. Thanks for posting it, though I have similar concerns as a few other folks.

We did a similar profile dive minus the current 2 days ago (the Cape Breton). 100 fsw 3 people one of whom was new to the other 2, some current and chop at the surface, however, no current at depth.

Just a few comments:
I'd be uncomfortable doing a 'serious' recreational dive with new folks without a detailed discussion before the dive. On our dive my buddy and I actually met a few days before and planned the profile, worked through the detailed plans for the 2 dives that day including gas management, potential for deco obligation, bluewater ascent plan (we'd practiced shooting some bags just days before) etc.
I agree with the comments about this basically being a solo dive to 100 fsw. I'm somewhat shocked at the attitude towards gas management for this type of dive. If you're not with people you are comfortable diving with and who are going to stick with you, at least make sure you've got the air to do the dive.

Glad you're ok, I really hope that you take something valuable away from this.

 

[Seadeuce]

Good post, and some good replies also.

Won't repeat the good advice given, but will add a few tips from my experience with wrecks in current, and "insta-buddies":


1. On reaching the shotline (buoyline) on the surface, take a minute or two to get your breathing back to normal. Too often have I seen divers reach the shot and follow the already-descending buddy. This will cost you a lot more air my friend.
Your buddy should wait at the bottom of the shot for you.

2. If the buddy is not there, then you are on a solo dive - which most wreck dives are anyway, as watching both the wreck and your buddy is haphazard at least. Any wreck dive done should be done self-sufficiently, ie no dependence on a buddy.

3. Getting back to the line, as said, should be an ideal - not a necessity. Follow close to the wreck contour for minimum current, pull yourself along till your past the shotline, then leave the wreck letting the current assist you in reaching the shot.

4. On reaching stop-depth on the line you should have the line "cradled" ie your arm around it, allowing the shot to rise and fall in any swell. You should NOT hold on to it as you will be subject to pressure differentials as you rise and fall with the shot. Divers have been bent this way while on their deco stop.

5. Let the boat do the work after the dive. The less effort by the diver the better - read up on "PFO in divers".

6. Don't EVER let your computer make decisions for you! On your dive you were doing a WORKING dive, ie your metabolism was racing from the word go with the extra effort needed to (a) reach the shot, (b) haul yourself down, (c) fight the current, (d) cope with narcosis, (e) worry about buddies/non-buddies, (f) render assistance to same on line.
Your computer was sitting happily on your wrist/console believing the dive to be a relaxed, no-effort dive. It did NOT compensate for all the work you did.
As with Table-diving, which is the basis for all safe dives, and which you would be well-advised to read up on the rules at least, the diver must compensate for any unexpected variables that may arise.

7. If I had done the dive as you described I would have done an EXTRA stop at half the depth for a minute, then added a couple of minutes to my 6m stop. Then, and ONLY then, would I have even considered doing a second dive - on which I would AGAIN add a couple of minutes to my safety stop.


Dive safe.


Seadeuce