Potapko
Contributor
Two weeks ago I went with a group to Croatia to do some diving. The location is in the North with shore dives along several deep walls. You can choose your depth to view the wall from 10 meters to 50+. Depends on what you want to see or what your goals are for the dive.
We arrived a bit later than I wanted to and began setting up our equipment. There were two guys from our group going to dive between 30 and 40 meters. The second group of three consisted of a man and wife along with another man doing his first dive in a dry suit. The wife had not been in the water since last year sometime and with the one trying out his new drysuit, that group intended to dive to between 20 and 30 meters.
The husband and I have dived together many times and we intended to carry a stage just for the practice. It was possible we may do a deco dive on a wreck over the weekend and he wanted to be ready, having not been in the water with his full doubles set-up and stage and camera and...
I intended to breath down an al80 on this dive that I had filled at home. I was going to save some money so I pumped my doubles up and filled my one stage to use and not have to pay for a fill until after 2 or 3 dives.
I told them I would go with the two going deeper as I enjoy deep diving and felt they were more suited to my style and goals. As I was sitting inside the hatch of my van I just had a sudden feeling that I should go with the other group. I had no reason to, it just seemed like the right thing to do.
We all jump in the water, have a great uneventful dive. My max depth was 24 meters. The woman on the dive with us fared very well as did the man doing his first dive with his new drysuit. We climbed out of the water after 50 minutes and were removing our gear and beginning to stow it when I realized what a nearly deadly mistake I had made.
I brought two stages with me on this trip. One filled with air and one filled with 50% nitrox. It was during the process of dismantling the gear that I noticed I had carried and breathed from the wrong tank! There I was swimming along at 24 meters breathing 50% nitrox thinking everything was just fine.
The more I thought about it the more it bothered me. I intended to go with the two divers to 35 meters. The most likely outcome is that I would have O2 toxed and died. As it was swimming at 24 meters gave me a partial pressure of 1.7
Of course I, as a Christian and a Pastor give credit to God for redirecting me prior to entering the water. Only divine providence kept me alive that afternoon. Some of you will say it was dumb luck and I do not begrudge you that opinion.
What did I lear and why am I writing this here?
I looked at my oxymeter and made a conscious decision to leave it at home because I "KNEW" what was in my tanks and which was which. Nearly a fatal decision
I should have taken the tester AND tested the tank at water's edge prior to entering the water to confirm what was in it.
So, don't be as dumb as I was. Always test your tanks prior to a dive, even when you "know" what is in them.
I also learned that complacency can not only kill others.........it can and almost did kill me.
We arrived a bit later than I wanted to and began setting up our equipment. There were two guys from our group going to dive between 30 and 40 meters. The second group of three consisted of a man and wife along with another man doing his first dive in a dry suit. The wife had not been in the water since last year sometime and with the one trying out his new drysuit, that group intended to dive to between 20 and 30 meters.
The husband and I have dived together many times and we intended to carry a stage just for the practice. It was possible we may do a deco dive on a wreck over the weekend and he wanted to be ready, having not been in the water with his full doubles set-up and stage and camera and...
I intended to breath down an al80 on this dive that I had filled at home. I was going to save some money so I pumped my doubles up and filled my one stage to use and not have to pay for a fill until after 2 or 3 dives.
I told them I would go with the two going deeper as I enjoy deep diving and felt they were more suited to my style and goals. As I was sitting inside the hatch of my van I just had a sudden feeling that I should go with the other group. I had no reason to, it just seemed like the right thing to do.
We all jump in the water, have a great uneventful dive. My max depth was 24 meters. The woman on the dive with us fared very well as did the man doing his first dive with his new drysuit. We climbed out of the water after 50 minutes and were removing our gear and beginning to stow it when I realized what a nearly deadly mistake I had made.
I brought two stages with me on this trip. One filled with air and one filled with 50% nitrox. It was during the process of dismantling the gear that I noticed I had carried and breathed from the wrong tank! There I was swimming along at 24 meters breathing 50% nitrox thinking everything was just fine.
The more I thought about it the more it bothered me. I intended to go with the two divers to 35 meters. The most likely outcome is that I would have O2 toxed and died. As it was swimming at 24 meters gave me a partial pressure of 1.7
Of course I, as a Christian and a Pastor give credit to God for redirecting me prior to entering the water. Only divine providence kept me alive that afternoon. Some of you will say it was dumb luck and I do not begrudge you that opinion.
What did I lear and why am I writing this here?
I looked at my oxymeter and made a conscious decision to leave it at home because I "KNEW" what was in my tanks and which was which. Nearly a fatal decision
I should have taken the tester AND tested the tank at water's edge prior to entering the water to confirm what was in it.
So, don't be as dumb as I was. Always test your tanks prior to a dive, even when you "know" what is in them.
I also learned that complacency can not only kill others.........it can and almost did kill me.
