Reg Blow Out at 60 ft

[Rogersea]

I am sorry to hear about your mishap. You should however, be proud that you handled it well. I Hope you continue to dive and pay attention to the serviceability of your gear.. It sounds like the whole experience was just an accident waiting to happen.

Did you happen to go to the doc after breathing in the water?

 

[dumpsterDiver]

I think it is an excellent story and I hope it scared the crap out of you.

This will probably be one of your most important dives of your whole dive career.

• You now know to not be a dumb assss with your gear..
• You now know that you should not just assume that a regulator will give you air when you want it.
• You have now learned how precarious your life and health really is, actually inhaling water into the lungs, even a little bit is, as you describe, a horrible experience and can cause you to vomit and aspirate puke and it can just go down hill from there. This is EXACTLY the kind of stuff that makes a new diver bolt to the surface and revert back to their natural instinct of holding their breath.
• You now know that depending on the buddy system for help in a life threatening situation, is probably not a good idea.
• You now know that plastic second stages can be damaged and fall apart.
• You now know that you should probably buy a pony bottle and depend on that rather than some anonymous, ill-trained and disinterested buddy.
• You now know that the exact same thing will happen if you mouth piece ever falls off, so you better make double sure it is attached.
• And you now know that you should have a plan b, rather than betting your life on a piece of pneumatic equipment that has been serviced by someone who makes less money per hour than the man who picks up the garbage in front of your house.
• you now know that you have the mental strength to deal with a problem (regardless of the fact that it was your fault) underwater and you should feel confident that you probably won't panic when the crap hits the fan next time.

These are the kinds of incidents that make you a good diver, assuming you are smart enough to be receptive to the lessons it provides.

 

[DevonDiver]

Some good lessons have been shared by the OP. I'd add:

1) When clearing/recovering regulators, use your tongue as a splash guard and assume that you might not have cleared it fully. Anticipating some residual water, means you will inhale slowly and cautiously. This is (should be) taught on the Open Water course. Many divers graduate from OW training and are very forward focused - rushing towards AOW and specialty training - invariably to the detriment of their core skills. Progress your skills only when your existing skill set is ingrained and polished. Don't overlook those 'little things' your instructor demonstrated in the pool... they're often the most invaluable and critical things you'll ever learn....as the OP's experience demonstrates. A skillful diver isn't the guy with the most badges and plastic cards.... he's the guy who can remember and apply with precision everything he was shown in his entry-level training.

2) Every diver carries an Alternate Air Source. It's not just for your buddy. If you experience a problem with your primary regulator - switch to your own AAS. Regulators do get cracked, diaphragms tear, exhaust valves mislocate, mouthpieces fall off... you have an alternate air source on your person... remember to use it. Want to make sure you'll remember - PRACTICE. Then practice some more. And some more.

3) Faults and issues can happen at any time. Unless psychic, you won't be able to predict them. If you can predict them, don't ignore them. If you've trained to rely upon the buddy system as a final safeguard when diving, then you need to ensure that you are applying the buddy system. If your buddy is too far away, or too unobservant, for your liking - then do something about it. Signal "I have a problem.. come closer...stay close". Don't be shy about addressing safety issues.

4) If it feels like a cluster-$%&* underwater, then it probably is a cluster-$%&*. Get out of there! Things go wrong when chaos reigns. It doesn't matter whether it's a training course or a fun dive... if it feels bad.... act on your instincts and end the dive. Like an over-scripted plot from a corny horror movie... so many divers involved in incidents can be heard to say "I could see it going wrong, BUT.....".

5) Until otherwise reassured.... assume that a dive 'pro' is a liability. Let them earn your trust. Until that time, look after yourself. Even after that time.. look after yourself. Anyone can have a bad day... Don't be reliant on anyone, except yourself.

 

[Jax]

Dan, when you waved your regulator at the instructor, did you also give the "thumb" signal? Even with an inconvenience, using Ian's word, you owed the others a communication of your thumbing the dive. If you didn't make it clear to the instructor, he didn't have a chance to assist or to accompany.

There's been an awful lot of stories where the person signals "ascent", goes up by him or herself, and does not get to the surface. FWIW.

 

[AfterDark]

Good job! You're correct you are not prone to panic. We all feel fear; you didn’t give in to it.
I like chromed, forged brass for regulators. Plastic cracks, always made me apprehensive.
Breathing through the water in a snorkel or regulator is alearned skill that every diver should know how to do. Resisting the urge to take a BIG 1^stbreath is the 1^st step. A slowshallow breath will reduce the amount of water you might take in and makebubbling noises to confirm the presence of water: not necessary in yourcase! You done good; keep diving anddive with confidence.

 

[divengolf]

Congrats on handling the situation well. There is a lot of good info here, but go back to the start of the issue. Apparently you allowed the dive op to handle/assemble/move your equipment and this caused the damage if I read your OP correctly. There is a lesson there as well. I don't allow anyone to touch my gear at any time. Comes from tech diving where it is an absolute rule unless asked for assistance or opinion.

When I start with a new dive op, I politely, but firmly, tell them that I will handle all my gear and not to touch it. If they forget I'll remind them once. The second time, they get a good chewing.

Good luck and keep diving.

 

[Thalassamania]

Dan, you did great. Kinda stupid to not fix it before the dive, but we've all been there.

No let's talk about training in general and dealing with the sudden problem of "no air, here's water instead."

Students today do not get much instruction or practice with snorkels, they rarely make long swims on the surface using their snorkel, and their snorkel, often as not, is of the "dry" variety. This all conspires to never really get them to the point that they reflexively stopping inhaling instantly when it starts to get wet. If you have a lot of snorkel practice this reaction is second nature and the sort of incident that you encountered is demoted from scary as hell to a minor inconvenience.

 

[Bombay High]

"If there's doubt, there is no doubt".

All the best, James

Brilliant line !!

 

[Firewalker]

Wow, you and your instructor really screwed up. First youwent on a training dive with a regulator that you knew was damaged and almostdied. Then you didn't tell yourinstructor that the regulator was damaged (they could have had a spare) so youalmost died. You didn't stay in your team, so you almost died. Your instructordidn't check your gear before the dive so he almost killed you. He didn't have group control over his students, so he almost killedyou. Your instructor didn't recognize the problem, so he almost killed you.
The only good thing that happened here was that you didn'tdie and lived to tell the tale.
Learning through discovery is not the best way to train.

 

[FPDocMatt]

Brilliant line !!

From a fabulous movie called Ronin, which I've seen like 5 times.