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[KathyV]

Didn't mean to suggest anything about Reef. Assume they wouldn't do it casually. It's the technology that scares me. I'm just waiting for some dumbass to hook it up to their iPod.

Good grief, that would be awful! What I hate is people who hang flashing lights on their tanks during night dives. I don't mind a tank light but not blinking lights!

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

I guess so!

Yeah, not gonna happen. I'd rather speak to the manufacturer at DEMA or something. The idea that they would suggest this makes me question the op.

 

[KathyV]

I hope they never employ an aspiring rapper!

I'm beginning to get your sense of humor - and that's a scary thought!

 

[KathyV]

Yeah, not gonna happen. I'd rather speak to the manufacturer at DEMA or something. The idea that they would suggest this makes me question the op.

They were kindly responding to my note and I can't demo a siren with words. It was not directed to you personally. I think that your sense of humor is a bit wicked!

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

I'm beginning to get your sense of humor - and that's a scary thought!

That's a dark place most people prefer to avoid!

 

[mi000ke]

But it makes me grateful for the excellent and thorough boat orientation that is given to all new arrivals by the Reef Divers op in the Caymans the first time you start a new trip with them. It doesn't matter if you have dived with them in the past, they review all of the boat/dive operations and especially the safety procedures when you start to dive with them - either as a repeat or for the first time.

You reminded me of a recent incident. I dive with the same few dives ops frequently on GC and have gotten to know them, their boats, and safety procedures pretty well. They all adhere to a similar protocol whereby everyone is expected to listen to the safety briefing regardless of familiarity with their operations. So when I decided to go to the back of the boat to rinse my mask during a safety briefing that I had heard dozens of times, I got nicely yelled at by the dive master (who is actually a friend) to pay attention. And he was right. And now I do, always.

 

[lowviz]

I was clearly not thnking at that point - I was desperately fighting to survive. I will do whatever I can to avoid a repeat.

Surprised that your 'Ah Ha' moment took this long.

You are an old hardshell who has been around for quite a while. Not the least bit 'huggy-kissy' from your past posts either. Mine came when I realized the stupidity of always making sure my kid had more air than I did. It was ugly.

Re to your 'avoid a repeat': Dive a balanced rig.

Make it to the surface somehow. DROP YOUR WEIGHT BELT. Orally inflate. Stay off your gas but keep a reg in your mouth.

YMMV. I've done it and just knowing that it worked once as a knee-jerk response in a very stressful situation calms me out.

 

[JamesBon92007]

Thanks everyone for your input. It's given me a lot to consider and the idea to learn from reading incident reports and evaluating them is a great suggestion.

As far as evaluating what happened to me - I've done that and am continuing to do that. When I get it all sorted out I will probably post. However, I have no intention of subjecting myself to the kind of trashing common at times on this board. While most replies are attempts to be helpful. Too many are not. Sorry, I just don't need that right now.

What was unthinkable was that a boat would not respond to a repeated distress signal (which they heard and were aware of) for 20 minutes because other divers had not finished their dive. Waves were 4-5 feet and the other divers had instructers with them and a mooring to support them on the surface.

Were there a lot of things I did wrong - absolutely, beginning with splashing in the first place and not immediately aborting in the second. I ended up swept away from the boat, out of air in the main tank and my pony, in conditions where my snorkel was useless. Still there were things I should have done to make the situation better. I was clearly not thnking at that point - I was desperately fighting to survive. I will do whatever I can to avoid a repeat.

Did you drop your weights?

 

[KenGordon]

What was unthinkable was that a boat would not respond to a repeated distress signal (which they heard and were aware of) for 20 minutes because other divers had not finished their dive. Waves were 4-5 feet and the other divers had instructers with them and a mooring to support them on the surface.

A thing that I find concerning is this scheme boats in the US and some other parts of the world have of dropping anchor and using the static boat, and worse anchor line, as a base for dive operations. Maybe it is our tides, or the lower limits of no of divers per boat, but that is just never done in the U.K. The boat is always available to pick up a diver in distress, divers on a dive make no assumptions about where the boat is, you surface under a DSMB and wait to be collected.

Say a rescue takes place with one of these anchored dive boats, a diver is in the surface with an unconscious casualty 100m away, what is supposed to happen?

 

[johndiver999]

Thanks everyone for your input. It's given me a lot to consider and the idea to learn from reading incident reports and evaluating them is a great suggestion.

As far as evaluating what happened to me - I've done that and am continuing to do that. When I get it all sorted out I will probably post. However, I have no intention of subjecting myself to the kind of trashing common at times on this board. While most replies are attempts to be helpful. Too many are not. Sorry, I just don't need that right now.

What was unthinkable was that a boat would not respond to a repeated distress signal (which they heard and were aware of) for 20 minutes because other divers had not finished their dive. Waves were 4-5 feet and the other divers had instructers with them and a mooring to support them on the surface.

Were there a lot of things I did wrong - absolutely, beginning with splashing in the first place and not immediately aborting in the second. I ended up swept away from the boat, out of air in the main tank and my pony, in conditions where my snorkel was useless. Still there were things I should have done to make the situation better. I was clearly not thnking at that point - I was desperately fighting to survive. I will do whatever I can to avoid a repeat.

I would be very interested to hear the actual account. A diver should be able to be fine on the surface for 20 minutes without air in the tank and a functioning BC, unless they are having a medical issue

I'm not sure how a mooring is going to support a bunch of divers and their instructors in 4-5 ft seas, after they return to the surface to find no boat. Trying to have a bunch of people hang onto a mooring in rough conditions, would be much harder than drifting and I would probably avoid that if I didn't have air to go back down and chill at 15 feet.

I'm also curious how a snorkel became useless - did a purge valve fail or something?