One more near-miss

[cummings66]

Having read this I see no conclusions you've come to other than the fact that you wish others to learn from your dive.

What did you learn from the experience?

From what I've read it seems that everybody did their own thing and come up when they ran LOA and you did a second dive when your computer locked you out. At least the other two had the sense to not dive the other dive.

IMO soem of the lessons to learn are gas management, buddy skills, and that just because you pay for a dive and screw up the second dive does not need to be done. Why risk your life over money?

We all make mistakes, hopefully we'll learn from them. I know I learned LOTS from my mistake I made this past Sunday. Scuba Diving should have a column like the AOPA mag does called "Never Again." It would be useful.

 

[hlsooner]

The thought of being at 100', with only 500 psi, and 5 minutes of deco obligation scares the he** out of me. :11:

 

[gangrel441]

Thanks for sharing, plongeursousmarin

To take the issue of gas reserve a bit further, my understanding was always to be back on the boat with at least 500, not to start ascent with at least 500. Without even considering rock bottom, that means figuring out how much gas you need to get you to the surface, then adding 500 psi. This is how much tank pressure you should have at a minimum when you start your ascent. Considering you had a deco obligation, 500 is even less sufficient. OOA buddy makes it even more hair raising.

Glad you made it back, live and (most importantly) learn.

 

[plongeursousmarin]

Having read this I see no conclusions you've come to other than the fact that you wish others to learn from your dive.

What did you learn from the experience?

From what I've read it seems that everybody did their own thing and come up when they ran LOA and you did a second dive when your computer locked you out. At least the other two had the sense to not dive the other dive.

IMO soem of the lessons to learn are gas management, buddy skills, and that just because you pay for a dive and screw up the second dive does not need to be done. Why risk your life over money?

We all make mistakes, hopefully we'll learn from them. I know I learned LOTS from my mistake I made this past Sunday. Scuba Diving should have a column like the AOPA mag does called "Never Again." It would be useful.

Tough crowd. But I deserve it. I learned nothing from the experience you say? I regret that my post suggested anything of the sort. I've learned plenty from reliving that whole day over and over since the incident. To sum up, it had been a few months and I was very eager to dive again. I chose a dive that I felt would be manageable but the fact is that a few elements combined to make it more of a challenge from the get-go for me, despite being certified since 1989, having gone through Divemaster training in 1995 and 150-some dives (50 of them in 2006). 1st there was the tank issue. I'm used to AL-80s. I was diving every week-end in Pompano Beach last year penetrating wrecks there and getting to the line with 1000-800 psi with no deco - by the book -and would do a safety stop with a good amount left in the tank believe or not. So this time I did not think about how the LP steel 80 would affect my air and especially how it would screw up my weight. Then there was the current and the rest of the story is how I told it. If I had taken a hit, it would have been completely "deserved", same for my buddy, who I think was looking for a Darwin's Award even more than I was (except for diving with a locked out computer - fwiw the max depth was 20 feet). I know I was a meat head, I admit it. People - even, and sometimes especially, instructors - do things sometimes that are not recommended by agencies. Complacency, cockiness, laziness, whatever the motivation or driving force is behind the behavior, is what can turn a routine dive into an fatal incident and then people instead of insulting you, say nice things about you. Like you said, what matters is to be able to learn from the mistakes. Peace.

 

[plongeursousmarin]

Thanks for sharing, plongeursousmarin

To take the issue of gas reserve a bit further, my understanding was always to be back on the boat with at least 500, not to start ascent with at least 500. Without even considering rock bottom, that means figuring out how much gas you need to get you to the surface, then adding 500 psi. This is how much tank pressure you should have at a minimum when you start your ascent. Considering you had a deco obligation, 500 is even less sufficient. OOA buddy makes it even more hair raising.

Glad you made it back, live and (most importantly) learn.

Thanks. I screwed up and I knew it and that's why I posted this story as penance I guess. But all the advice has been great to read and emphasizes what I know I should have done.

 

[DandyDon]

Plongeursousmarin did your computer demand a deco stop, or did you just blow off what is commonly called a Safety Stop. If it was a Deco obligation, I'm voting with the "Bad Call, Dude" group.

It would help in discussions if you completed your profile.

First, doing the Duane on an 80 is "doable" under ideal conditions. It sounds like you had less than ideal conditions. I would have chosen a 120 or bigger for all involved.

I've considered buying a 120 Nitrox tank, shipping it to Florida before I come out, shipping it back, and rejected the idea. I guess we need to lobby the wreck diving ops on the Keys about supplying more reasonable tanks. Mike did o Tavernier, but he sold out, and I don't know who got his tanks.

I have dived a number of the Florida Keys wrecks but never on Air - always on Nitrox, the last few year with a pony - which I now treat with more respect than at first. Many of the Regs here know that I don't even like to be on the same boat as Air divers for wreck dives.

 

[ArcticDiver]

Thanks. I screwed up and I knew it and that's why I posted this story as penance I guess. But all the advice has been great to read and emphasizes what I know I should have done.

It is said that good war stories come from screwing up and surviving to tell the tale. You have a great story.

It is also said that a screw up survived is a learning gift that shouldn't be squandered. From your posts I don't think you are squandering this gift.

Happy Diving

 

[ERIC.K]

I'll bite on this one, i'm going to get crushed however. I can really feel the TECH overtones on the replies to this thread, all I can say is did the Duane, on air, without a "survival pack", no reel, no jet pack, no "ACME save a diver kit", no rocket powered superduper SEAL fins, simply my recreational rig, carried a safety suasage, dove using an aluminium 80, got back to the boat with 700 psi, seen most of the wreck, hung at the ascent line like a flag, and got back on the boat. Simple. I often get from my friends that diving is soooo extreme, sometimes I think we make it too hard on ourselves as divers, You mean to tell me you have actually thought about mailing tanks to the keys in order to do a dive on a wreck? seems like nonsense to me, if I really felt as though I needed a bigger tank I just might not get off the boat. I have 200ish logged dives, well 234 to be exact and have been under 100 fsw lot of times and never once thought, man I should be breathing nitrox. and to feel putout by diving a wreck with other divers diving air.....let my crushing begin

 

[DandyDon]

You mean to tell me you have actually thought about mailing tanks to the keys in order to do a dive on a wreck? seems like nonsense to me, if I really felt as though I needed a bigger tank I just might not get off the boat. I have 200ish logged dives, well 234 to be exact and have been under 100 fsw lot of times and never once thought, man I should be breathing nitrox. and to feel putout by diving a wreck with other divers diving air.....let my crushing begin

Oh yeah, I think outside of the box a lot - and I hope to keep doing so. As much money as I spend to dive the wrecks for a few minutes each, a few more minutes on each dive would be worth some extra money. I still use more gas than many, and would like the extra. You - diving on air, probly wouldn't need to the extra volume, as you'd run out of NDL before either of us would run out of gas - which is why I hate to buddy with an air diver on the wrecks.

The idea of not liking air diver on wreck boats has more to do with extended SIs often imposed by the captain, but I don't seem to have any support on that one.

 

[ERIC.K]

I understand, your right, I wouldn't think it would be a good idea to mix an air diver with a nitrox diver. I only assumed(first problem) that you would be paired with a diver breathing the same gas. As for the boat full of air divers, again I see your point, I rarely have been on a boat with anyone diving nitrox. I always thought that boat captains always grouped divers accordingly, you know nitrox with nitrox, air with air. with different breathing gases that allows for completly different profiles with people back at the boat at diiferent times....I can see why you might be miffed....Sorry