Scary backflip

[socaldiver2]

Last weekend my wife had a near miss. We were on a wreck dive in our drysuits and the dive went great. During the briefing we were told to climb up the ladder with our fins on and to remove them once we got on the deck. She was diving with 20lbs on a weight belt due to al tank and thick undergarments.
She got to the deck fine and was balancing herself while she was pulling a spring strap off her foot and the DM reached over and unclipped the strap from her fin. This immediately threw her off balance and she went backwards off the boat.
She ended up fine and said once she realized she was going over she pushed away from the boat. I am convinced if she would have tried to stop the fall she would have hit the boat or ladder and gotten hurt. Also, if someone would have been below her it would have been very ugly.
We took our fins off in the water for the rest of the dives.




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[mruseless]

I always remove my fins in the water, and put my hands through the straps, one fin on each arm. I assume this was a ladder with the post in the middle that allows one to climb up with fins on?

 

[Peter69_56]

I always remove my fins due to knee surgery. It is impossible for me to use "fin friendly" ladders. When told to just climb up I ignore the advice and remove them. I however do explain later why I do what I do.

Know your limits. Do what's safe, not what's convenient for dive boats.

 

[socaldiver2]

I always remove my fins in the water, and put my hands through the straps, one fin on each arm. I assume this was a ladder with the post in the middle that allows one to climb up with fins on?

Correct.


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[WarrenZ]

Thats why I try to be very clear when I am communicating with a "Helpful" Person trying to render assistance there has been a couple of times where IN a similar situation I just did the slow shuffle to where I could take a seat and then get my fins off and a couple of times where I just asked for them to help steady me rather than f--- with my fins.

 

[Scubatude]

Last weekend my wife had a near miss. We were on a wreck dive in our drysuits and the dive went great. During the briefing we were told to climb up the ladder with our fins on and to remove them once we got on the deck. She was diving with 20lbs on a weight belt due to al tank and thick undergarments.
She got to the deck fine and was balancing herself while she was pulling a spring strap off her foot and the DM reached over and unclipped the strap from her fin. This immediately threw her off balance and she went backwards off the boat.
She ended up fine and said once she realized she was going over she pushed away from the boat. I am convinced if she would have tried to stop the fall she would have hit the boat or ladder and gotten hurt. Also, if someone would have been below her it would have been very ugly.
We took our fins off in the water for the rest of the dives.

Thank you for posting that story. It is a good reminder that we always dive our own dives, before, during and even after the dive. Nobody can tell you what is right for you. In the end, you decide. Well done.

 

[JohnN]

Last weekend my wife had a near miss. We were on a wreck dive in our drysuits and the dive went great. During the briefing we were told to climb up the ladder with our fins on and to remove them once we got on the deck. She was diving with 20lbs on a weight belt due to al tank and thick undergarments.
She got to the deck fine and was balancing herself while she was pulling a spring strap off her foot and the DM reached over and unclipped the strap from her fin. This immediately threw her off balance and she went backwards off the boat.
She ended up fine and said once she realized she was going over she pushed away from the boat. I am convinced if she would have tried to stop the fall she would have hit the boat or ladder and gotten hurt. Also, if someone would have been below her it would have been very ugly.
We took our fins off in the water for the rest of the dives.




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In the PNW my experience has always been that the dive boat operators will remove (or help you remove) your fins before climbing the ladder. Makes great sense to me, both from a customer service and liability perspective

 

[vincent54]

Or just get a pair of these, Omega Amphibian Flip Fin at LeisurePro, plus they are on sale.

Personally, I like to take fins off, strap over shoulder, and climb in. Then stumble to tank rack.

Years ago, I was told to keep reg in and inflate the BC a bit in case you do fall back in. Then you just have to put your fins back on and swim back. For some reason, I can't kick/swim with Scuba gear on with no fins. That is why I never give up my fins to the boat.

 

[socaldiver2]

In the PNW my experience has always been that the dive boat operators will remove (or help you remove) your fins before climbing the ladder. Makes great sense to me, both from a customer service and liability perspective

That is how we have done it in the past as well. We were trying to abide by the briefing as we have never seen that type of ladder before. She would have been fine if he hadn't unexpectedly unclipped the spring strap. In the future we are going to be taking them off and handing them up before climbing out.


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[Akimbo]

My take-away from this is reinforcement to stay clear of the ladder when someone else is climbing it. Falling back in the water with or without fins is much lower risk than having a Scuba tank with a diver attached coming straight for your head! Glad nobody was injured.