Saturday incident at Haigh Quarry

[jepuskar]

No ambulance needed, no medical attention needed, no noticeable incident to anyone else..except for me and the three other people I was diving with.

I had no planned buddy to dive with that day so seeing that I am not too shy I found a huge group of divers from a dive club in the NW burbs...anyway, I dove with an instructor and 2 new divers where this was their first dives after certification, their instructor was the guy we were diving with.

Ok, first dive went crappy for me.....I led the group with the instructor following up...I was just really nervous because I wasnt too comfortable with them, they each had a fin come off underwater (poor fitting rental equipment), and they were all over the place...no big deal for me..I was just concerned because it was pretty sloppy diving. First dive ended...

2nd dive, instructor was leading and I was trailing with the 2 divers in between. We were at 45 feet, I took a lookie to the left and then back in front of me...all I see are 2 divers and a weighbelt on the bottom of the quarry. I look up and she was half way to the surface. I ascended probably a little too fast to see if she was ok, next time I'll take it slower, but I get to the surface and she thought it was amusing. I was dead serious with her..Are you ok? Did you breath normally on the way up? You sure your ok? It was like she had no idea of the consequences...she was totally relaxed. I would have been more than a little worried if that happened to me...put me on 100% O2 right now!!

Anyway, I called the dive after that point...got back to our staging area and the instructor was joking about the new PADI Dropped Weightbelt Specialty with her and everyone else around. COME ON!! Are you serious?

In a couple weeks I start my DM training....I am really thinking about holding off on it now. I just know if I can supervise divers without being a nervous wreck, let alone to be in a position to find out the people I am DM'ing for are not be thorough.

Ugh!

 

[Coogeeman]

I'm hoping that the instructor was making light of the situation in order to ease everyones fears and calm people down. I'm also hoping that the person in question was making light of the situation because she was so nervous after having experienced the lost weight belt..and the reason that she made it to the surface without rupturing a lung was because she followed her training.

In order not to embarrass her he should take her to the side away from the other divers and make sure that she did what she was supposed to do.

These things happen but it seems that she made it through the ordeal ok and will live to dive again....I bet when she does though her weight belt will be tighter than it has ever been before!

Coogeeman

 

[Laser]

I was there Saturday. It was very crowded. Lots of classes happening.
What was the shop that you were involved with? This doesn't sound right.

 

[Doppler]

You need to be part Mother Hen and part Clairvoyant to be a dive leader... and of course, empathy, integrity and solid diving skills help... At the same time, you need to lighten up otherwise you will burn out very quickly.

Not suggesting you turn your back on things that you feel are important... and in this case, are important... but you will see much worse in the coming years, and if you get too wound up, you will not be in the best place to manage situations.

 

[jepuskar]

Let me be a little more specific. There was a big group of people from this scuba club in the nw burbs...all were trained, no classes were going on. Just out doing some dives......I dont know them at all, but they were really nice people and a fun group.

What doesnt sound right?

 

[Laser]

What doesnt sound right? [/B]

Doesn't sound right to joke about it, unless as the previous poster said, it was a way to make the diver feel better about it, while still understanding the seriousness of what could have happened.

 

[daylight]

Jepuskar,
When you spend time as a DM or Instructor, you will be amazed at how creative students and new divers are at having problems.

If I'm working, thats one thing, but if I'm just out diving I try to stay in the clear and avoid them. Get some feedback from experienced DM's and Instructors before you decide if you want to be a DM. It definitly isn't the money.
Dive Safe,
Larry

 

[Butch103]

.....I started my DM course this spring and I did my first OW checkout dives with the group. The first day I was also very nervous, but the second day very relaxed and got my positioning right to view as much as possible the whole group. A couple of times a diver and his buddy took off in front of the instructor. I didn't painc or really worry. I figured the instructor could see them, and he also must have seen them go past him. I felt it was my responsibility to watch the rest of the group.

After the end of the dive I did question my instructor and he felt I did the right thing.

All this too say, relax, stay observant and your instructor will answer all your questions, and give you advice where and when necessary.

BTW, Tinamn is also doing (or finished) his DM and we PMd the other day. He asked what I thought of DMing and my opinion was I felt like a cowboy at roundup.

 

[MISFIT DIVER]

For what is worth Jep, I trained with my instructor for almost a year before I did my DM class. I would go to the pool with new students, Go to the Open Water checkoput dives. He would not let me do anything but observe. Towards the end he started to get comfortable with my skills and let me help a little. When I did do the class, I was much more comfortable with myself as well as what to expect from students. Part of my internship was to work with other instructors. Gives you a chance to see the different trainning each instr. does. I would encourage you to take the class. If your not completely at ease, go do some training with classes as an observer. really helped me

 

[jepuskar]

Sounds good everyone.

It is one thing to talk about screw ups on this board as it really does de-sensitize them....it is much different to actually see something go wrong. I made a couple mistakes during both of those dives that I learned from....they both dealt with helping the new divers.

The instructor in this situation made the call after her fast ascent to abort the dive. He was concerned about her wealthfare to as he was asking me what I saw and asking her a bunch of questions. I dont think the joking around on the surface has anything to do with her feelings as I dont think she knew what could have happened. I ended up swimming back to the entry area with her boyfriend/buddy and he wasnt the least bit concerned about her..openly anyway....we were talking and he acted as if everything was ok. When we got back to the staging area and when the girl and instructor arrived...her boyfriend didnt ask if she felt fine or anything.


It was just an odd serious of events that made me feel eerie. I always think about some of the people on this board when I see something messed up....It is like...ohh man if so and so could see this they would have a fit..hehehe

I am going to pursue my DM, but I am going to do it a much slower pace the previous planned. I love to learn more about diving.

:mean: