rainbowangel:
---Hrm, I'm not certain where this idea that either of us were disobeying or not listening to our OWI came from
You were indeed working with skills that you had been taught, but you were adding to the stress AND going significantly beyond your comfort threshold by stacking multiple skills.
An air share is a basic skill, but requires the full attention of the donor.
Especially during a work-intensive skill such as gear removal or weight belt removal, and OOA situation is not a good thing to add. "Surprise" drills should certainly be done only under supervision of an intructor, or after class, a VERY experienced diver.
We were there out of class practicing, as is encouraged by out OWI.
This I find particularly disturbing. Until after your checkout dives, you are NOT a certified diver and, under the standards of any training agency, should NOT be in the water on scuba gear without an instructor present.
If he is recommending in-water work out of class, I would urge you to report this instructor to whatever agency you are training under. Your incident could have turned out VERY badly.
We weren't trying anything we hadn't done before.
You were R&Ring your gear WHILE your husband pulled an OOA drill. Following this logic, I should be able to drive at 100mph while playing guitar and reading a book... after all, it's nothing I've never done before. Of course, it would be insane to attempt that.
he's the one who suggested things like, randomly practicing out of air drills, etc.
That's fine... but the intent is NOT to pull a surprise OOA drill while you are doing something else that is already pushing you to the limits of your skills (which it is, and will be for 20-50 dives whether you realize it or not).
As far as the skills themselves, I've never once had to R&R my equipment on the bottom, nor have I ever had to R&R my weight belt. I do it every dive on the surface.
I am able to perform the above skills, but there has never been the need for it. The likelyhood that someone is going to approach you for air while you are involved in one of the above activities is extremely remote. I don't even know if I would be able to handle an OOA with my rig half on.
Your OWI's intent was (hopefully) for the OOA drill to happen while you are swimming along looking at the coral.
My sole concern was should I tell our OWI about what happened or not.
Everyone gets a mouthful of water every now and then. Thankfully, he didn't get hurt, and hopefully, he won't do the same thing from depth.
At the point you (and all OW students) are at now, and for the next 20-50 dives (depending on how frequently you dive), you are still in basic survival mode when things go wrong. Your first reaction to a problem is what you are most familiar with... seek a familiar environment and get to a source of air. In the pool, the air at the surface is close, and more instinctively "available" than the air in the tank, which is why your husband bolted.
This thought pattern needs to be broken. I've removed my reg to cough at 60ft. I've gone OOA at 30ft, looked at my buddy, signalled OOA, and headed for the surface. Our instincts are geared for survival on the surface... not underwater. What may save us on the surface may kill us underwater.
