BMETdiver
Registered
This weekend I had my first out of air incident. I dive with a group that is charting wrecks in the tidal potomac. And have made several no vis dives with them. One of the first things you learn on these dives is you have to be comfortable with your own skills to dive these conditions, as all dives are solo, whether someone else is in the water or not. Anyway this weekend I started my dive it was pitch black and took me 900lbs of air to get down 73 feet. I started my search pattern for the wreck that we located on sonar and actually found it by feel. Well once I found it I felt along about 10-15 feet of it I turned to go back at this point I had 1200lbs left and it was a good dive execpt no vis. I have worked with a wreck reel a few times but still am far from proficient with one. As I was reeling the line back in to unclip it from the anchors on the line to the surface it started to birdsnest on me. I stopped dropped the 2 feet to the soft mud and worked out the birds nest got back to the line and unhooked the reel from the anchors. About this time I took a breath and got the no air feeling so I checked my gauge and had zero air pressure. At this time I started a CESA and got a few more breaths off of the tank as I came up. My ascent rate was way too fast and I had to spend the rest of the afternoon on the boat checking for DCS signs and symptoms.
The lessons that I learned from this incident, if the reel jams up and I can't get it straight quickly I should have completed my return to the upline and clipped off the reel so it is recoverable.
I also should make sure to check my gauges more often.
I also am starting to get more proficient with the reel on dry land with my eyes closed as I had no ability to see to untie the mess.
I also feel that because we were able to do the 10 minute neurological exam it was reassuring for me and gave us a way to gauge me for less visible signs and symptoms.
If anyone else has suggestions what I should have learned please let me know.
The lessons that I learned from this incident, if the reel jams up and I can't get it straight quickly I should have completed my return to the upline and clipped off the reel so it is recoverable.
I also should make sure to check my gauges more often.
I also am starting to get more proficient with the reel on dry land with my eyes closed as I had no ability to see to untie the mess.
I also feel that because we were able to do the 10 minute neurological exam it was reassuring for me and gave us a way to gauge me for less visible signs and symptoms.
If anyone else has suggestions what I should have learned please let me know.