Panic without reason

[Web Monkey]

a refresher last spring and then we hit Key West with my brand newly certified friend, PADI cert. through the DVD version of the class, who had 5 logged dives. Not to slam the DVD version of the course, I think its a great thing but I think that they don't quite hit the safety precautions and get them emphasized as much as a regular class.

I didn't know they had a DVD Class.

Is this a regular class that uses a DVD instead of a video tape, but still has an instructor and pool sessions, or is this "Watch the DVD, take the test, do the dives and here's your card"?

Terry

 

[Web Monkey]

Underweighted of course. So the DM tells my buddy to pull me down the anchor line, still shoot to the top when he lets me go.

Never, ever do this. If you're lucky it's a good way to see if your DAN insurance works. If you're not lucky, it's a good way to see if your state has good long-term nursing home care.

If you can't get under with a full tank, you'll never be able to do a controlled ascent and safety stop with an empty tank.

Said we would sign a waiver and just drop to 60' and stay there and still be able to see everything. I also explained that neither of us had and U/W navigation so if vis was bad we would have a hard time finding our way back to the anchor line and that we weren't good and didn't feel comfortable with a free ascent. Again said we would be fine vis was 50-60'.

Signing a waiver only makes the dive op feel better. It doesn't stop you from getting injured or killed and if you have a good lawyer doesn't protect the dive op either.

At this point in time I'm convinced I'm going to never see the surface again, and there'll be thousands of divers reading about in Rodales going what was the moron thinking. So the panic is really starting to set in, my reg was breathing a little wet, my mask was leaking a little and I'm freezing on top of everything. I managed to keep my cool, control my breathing some and fight the urge to shoot to the surface.

That would be a really good time to thumb the dive and start ascending. In fact, any time you're not feeing right is a good time to thumb the dive. You had enough things going wrong that any one of them could have started a disaster.

1. Cold
2. Cold
3. Already fatigued getting in & out of 2 wetsuits way to small in the hot sun
4. Dive Well beyond our training and comfort levels
5. Conditions way beyond our comfort levels
6. Equipment problems
7. Not familiar enough with my new gear
8. NOT USING MY HEAD - Actually the Number 1 Reason

I'm glad you're still alive and well!

I didn't quote the whole message, but you'll often find people that try to push you into a dive. Don't let them.

What they're really saying is they value your $100 (or whatever) more than your enjoyment or possibly your life.

Once you say "No", stick to your guns. Pretend they're trying to sell you a condo in Orlando duing August and don't buy it.

There's always another dive, assuming you don't get killed on this one.

Terry

 

[JJP161]

I didn't know they had a DVD Class.

Is this a regular class that uses a DVD instead of a video tape, but still has an instructor and pool sessions, or is this "Watch the DVD, take the test, do the dives and here's your card"?

Terry

To the best of my recollection it is a take home course that you watch videos, read and do a workbook. You then do a couple of nights in the pool with an instructor and then go to your cert. dives. Now if I'm off on this somewhat forgive me as it was last year and my buddy did it not me. I guess my main point was that in this type of instruction the video will not be a able to deliver a message as powerful and forceful as an instructor saying hey you do this and it will hurt you. Just seemed that it gave my budddy a very false sense of security because he didn't even know how dangerous what we did was. If that makes sense.

 

[WarmWaterDiver]

One thing you didn't mention was dehydration. This was probably in fact a factor based on being fatigued from squirming in & out of wetsuits in the hot sun, and on puking your way to the sites. The 'gimpy' fin part is something I haven't personally experienced, but I guarantee it would make for a memorable, but unpleasant dive (and for some reason, I keep picturing a charachter from Pulp Fiction wearing black skintight stuff, almost like a wet suit, wearing two different size fins crawling out of a box - I can't help it!).

Being mis-weighted from one side to another I have had a few times, like first tech checkout training dives with slung 40 ft3 Al of deco gas on one side, double 80 ft3 Al's on the back, and guessing how much weight to put on the side without the deco bottle vs otherwise. It took some empirical work on my part to work this out, and get more comfortable, through practice and using more smaller weights so I could shift 2 or 3 lb easily if I needed to, and both my fins were the same size, and we were in warm water (for me, of course!) with 80' - 100' vis.

It's amazing you didn't chuck trying diving ever again after such an experience!

 

[MoonWrasse]

One thing you didn't mention was dehydration. This was probably in fact a factor based on being fatigued from squirming in & out of wetsuits in the hot sun, and on puking your way to the sites. The 'gimpy' fin part is something I haven't personally experienced, but I guarantee it would make for a memorable, but unpleasant dive (and for some reason, I keep picturing a charachter from Pulp Fiction wearing black skintight stuff, almost like a wet suit, wearing two different size fins crawling out of a box - I can't help it!).

Being mis-weighted from one side to another I have had a few times, like first tech checkout training dives with slung 40 ft3 Al of deco gas on one side, double 80 ft3 Al's on the back, and guessing how much weight to put on the side without the deco bottle vs otherwise. It took some empirical work on my part to work this out, and get more comfortable, through practice and using more smaller weights so I could shift 2 or 3 lb easily if I needed to, and both my fins were the same size, and we were in warm water (for me, of course!) with 80' - 100' vis.

It's amazing you didn't chuck trying diving ever again after such an experience!

I agree 100% about the dehydration aspect, and I believe that it is a hidden risk in diving (as well as other sports and life). Here's a quote from the US Navy's Aeromedical and Survival guide (thanks to Rick) :

"8.3.2.16 Dehydration. Of all causes of fatigue,
one of the most treatable is dehydration. Early stages of
dehydration can lead to emotional alterations and
impaired judgment. Flightcrew should be aware of the
following:
a. Heavily sweetened drinks should be avoided
since sugar can slow the absorption of water in the
body.
b. Alcohol and coffee (caffeine) are diuretics and
will cause the body to lose more than it gains.
c. Ingestion of plain water throughout the day will
reduce probability of dehydration and resultant
fatigue."

OPNAVINST 3710.7
http://www.nps.navy.mil/avsafety/co...T%203710.7'

 

[JJP161]

One thing you didn't mention was dehydration. This was probably in fact a factor based on being fatigued from squirming in & out of wetsuits in the hot sun, and on puking your way to the sites. The 'gimpy' fin part is something I haven't personally experienced, but I guarantee it would make for a memorable, but unpleasant dive (and for some reason, I keep picturing a charachter from Pulp Fiction wearing black skintight stuff, almost like a wet suit, wearing two different size fins crawling out of a box - I can't help it!).

Being mis-weighted from one side to another I have had a few times, like first tech checkout training dives with slung 40 ft3 Al of deco gas on one side, double 80 ft3 Al's on the back, and guessing how much weight to put on the side without the deco bottle vs otherwise. It took some empirical work on my part to work this out, and get more comfortable, through practice and using more smaller weights so I could shift 2 or 3 lb easily if I needed to, and both my fins were the same size, and we were in warm water (for me, of course!) with 80' - 100' vis.

It's amazing you didn't chuck trying diving ever again after such an experience!

Your absolutely right I was fairly dehydrated as well. Being a Firefighter and a medic I should have picked up on this. I felt like I was in a segment of Pulp Fiction alright. To be honest if I hadn't been on some really enjoyable dives in the past and this was my only exposure to diving then yes I may have said forget this. I mean when I'm on duty putting my life on the line or facing serious injury or disability is part of the job and I accept that, on my days off and when doing something fun for stress relief it's not an acceptable risk.