Tell us about your entanglement experience?

[fisherdvm]

I've gotten tangled only once. Not much of a story to read. Actually on my third dive with a drysuit (totally uncomfortable), and scared to death. Sucked half of the tank. Simply tangled on the line set by the DIR folks I dove with. Got untangled myself, but it was embarrassing explaining why my SAC rate was so pitiful. The two guys saw me, but allowed me to muck up the water and got untangled myself. Errors - night dive with new skill (drysuit), task loading with new BP/W set up (which did not have a knife or cutting tool on it), and holding a lamp in the hand I am not used too. I broke every rule in the book.

Please tell us your story, how you did or didn't s**t your pants or drysuit, and what could have been done better.

 

[1_T_Submariner]

I have not got into a entanglement situation. Interesting thread however, I'll keep watching.

Shouldn't they have kept the line under control or did you swim into it?

 

[Dive Junky]

I once had four OW students doing their certification dives off the Jersey Coast. There was also a DM along that I was using as an assistant. The six of us all got entangled in the same web of monofilament.

Every time any of us went to move we just kept yanking and pulling and entangling each other worse. To make matters worse none of the students had knives. After getting everyone to kneel on the wreck and relax I went along between each diver and cut all the line that was stuck on us.

Needless to say that was pretty much the whole dive. We went to the surface and back to the boat only to find we all still had line and hooks hanging all over us.

 

[sberanek]

I haven't been tangled, but our DM in Jamaica got himself royaly hooked on a lobster trap. He was trying to get an angel fish out of it and he, somehow, got his tank valve hooked through the mesh of the trap.

I went over, tried to unhook it, but ended up having to signal him to take his BC off. He was then able to get it out of the trap mesh, and we all continued our dive.

--Shannon

 

[dive_lover88]

During the 4th dive of my OW course, i got entangled in the bouy line...apparently i stood in the slack rope of the line and when a wave swept over the line, i got a free ride on the line. My instr had to drag me down and out of the line.

 

[Gombessa]

Second time trying to deploy an SMB (first time I lost the entire spool and had to abort) I neglected to reel in the line as we ascended. It pretty much stuck to me and I had to float there for a good 5 mins as my buddies freed me.

 

[TSandM]

I've gotten tangled in line I was running, but never severely, and I've always been able to untangle myself.

I got tangled in line during a blind exit in our wreck workshop, but I don't know if I had a little "help" doing so. I required my buddy's assistance to get free. It was interesting to have to ask him with touch contact signals.

And during our recent cave class, Danny didn't like the way I had my loops tied in my pockets. I had the cord going through the grommet and creating a single, continuous loop. He told me things would migrate out of the pockets along the loop and cause problems. I thought he was being ridiculously anal, and besides, I couldn't get the knots untied (they'd been there a long time) and I didn't have any cord to redo them. So I told him I'd fix it when I got home (or when I got around to it, but I didn't say that).

Within two days after class, I'd been caught in the line twice by a boltsnap migrating out along those loops. They've been changed, now.

 

[tc]

Fishing line, many times, just stop as soon as you feel the tug and cut it loose.
Fish hooks/lures, several times, didn't stop quick enough after feeling the line, just in the neoprene luckily.
Kelp, many times also, just stop and unwind it or snap the stalk.

Best advice- STOP! The more you keep moving the more wound up you get.

 

[dbulmer]

Ok - here's my story.

Directly after my GUE-F course I was pretty sick and tired of all the skills practice we'd been doing in our local mud pit - I'd got to the point where the lads in the club and my GUE-F instructors had told me to stop practicing and get out and have some fun.

We had booked a trip in Plymouth in the Southwest of England and I was looking forward to it immensely. The first day we dived the James Egan Layne (JEL) and had a great dive. In the evening we had a great night out with lots of banter etc and so I was really looking forward to the next day when we were to be diving the Maine.

The Maine lies at about 30m and as is the norm for the UK we were all praying that we would have good vis. My buddy and me jump in and head down down for the Maine. We were having 10metres vis and it was lovely and warm with no current !

Since my buddy and I were diving singles I had allowed enough gas for both me and her (Minimum Gas). During the course of the dive I could see we were not far timewise from having to ascend so I reached my pocket for a DSMB and held it in my hand as we swam down trhe port side of the wreck. After perhaps 3 minutes or so I realized I had a DSMB in my hand but that I had dropped the spool. I signalled my buddy and we traced the line back to where I'd dropped it. At this point there was line everywhere and it was time to ascend so I had to cut the line to start our ascent. It took me a minute to deploy my knife (first time I've ever had to use it) and I cut the line free. It then took me 2 mins to get the knife back in my pocket. We're at 30m and I'm faffing around - not good.

It gets worse ! I stuff the other DSMB back in my pocket and take my spare out. At this point the boltsnap has fallen off and there's line in my pocket so I take out the DSMB and put it on top of the wreck. As I'm doing this my buddy hands me a third DSMB and instead of tidying up my spare I decide to deploy my buddy's.

I inflate the DSMB with my long hose and oh no - the bloody spool has jammed so I'm pulled up about 12m or so - (I could not let go quick enough) and line from my right pocket is coming out. Effectively I'm in mid water with line trapped on the wreck beneath me.

My buddy signals another team of 3 club divers and the A team move in !

I'm given the long hose by one of the A team as he noticed I was low on gas -the other member cuts me free while the third assists my buddy. We start the ascent and I can feel my laboured breathing and wonder why we're taking so long on our stops - (The A team have a formal deco obligation so for my sins I'm breathing off a long hose in a deco situation)

We get back on the boat and the mickey taking starts immediately and a few days later my buddy and I were presented with T-shirts showing an entangled diver.

So if I speak of entanglements I can say - yeah done that and got a t-shirt

On a more serious note there were mistakes made on that dive and I've learned from it but it was a fun dive I won't forget in a hurry (the T shirt is always a good reminder).

 

[ScubaCrow]

Interesting thread. Our police dive team recently offered an entanglement class in a local pool. Most of the class participants dive with the Institute of Maritime History and spend a lot of time diving in the Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay. We also maintain the U-1105 by putting up the buoy and clearing monofiliment off the U-boat.

The class consisted of blacking out our masks and following lines laid out in the pool. The primary line took you under a weighted net through two tubes that required you to doff your BCD and push it in front of you and several other challenging obstacles. It was a great class and reinforced a calm, analytical approach to diving in these situations.