Terrible dive today!Opinions?

[Jackie]

I give you credit as you are learning from experience. As beginners we have all miscalculated. The problem here (as was astutely pointed out by an earlier poster) was task loading. Too much was going on at the same time for you to adequately consider what were simple problems.
The good thing about a shallow shore dive is that there is an infinite amount of air less than one minute from where you were. (give or take). Just do a slow controlled ascent )it takes practice without a line as a reference.
Most important-Try and solve one problem at a time, before they snowball and you loose your problem solving skills to panic or fear. Stop, think and act.
First is obvious- air management. Sometimes due to poor conditions, I admit that I have had a problem reading my computer. I like redundancy and also for my buddy to be able to quickly and easily check my air (we do some deep dives in the Atlantic so its not ridiculous). A little reg is cheap and tucks into the cumberbund. Also there have been times where my computer has been a little stubborn about pairing.
You don't need to go to this now. but if you continue to have problems due to the fact that your computer is still more sophisticated than you are or you are conservative see how it goes. Some divers just don't like the integrated air aspect of diving with a computer.
But I have gotten ahead of myself;
Practice basic skills till they are automatic and effortless
1) removing cramps
2) air donation
My buddy and I do this on a regular basis.
Don't be afraid to slow down. Diving is not an endurance sport. You do not need to cover a lot of ground- esp for taking pictures.

Also, as you noted, an empty tank (esp aluminum) makes you very bouyant esp in shallow water (Less than 30 ft).
Last tip, swim slowly- you did a very smart thing in orally inflating your BCD and swimming on your back.
Last last tip. Take the rescue diver course and reread you OW manual.

 

[DandyDon]

Last last tip. Take the rescue diver course and reread you OW manual.

A little early to even be talking about that, isn't it? Additional training and skills is always a good general idea, but he's got 10 dives. He does have the Aow course planned "soon," which would precede Rescue - more dive training and practice with an Instructor. Rescue is a good course, but I wouldn't suggest rushing into it.

 

[SteveC]

If that dive scared you, I wouldn't read "Shadow Divers"

 

[DivetheRock]

I revisit this dive every day in my mind, but for all the right reasons. I dived a couple days after this happened, just so I could control any potential fears I could develop regarding diving and, more particularly, diving accidents. You know, I felt if I were to delay diving after that incident it could make me feel anxious about diving again.
Funny thing is, I read Bob's gas management paper and had a clear plan and communications as to what my brother and I were going to accomplish in the next dive - I surfaced with ~ 1500 PSI (LOL) - I wasn't going to run out again!!!
Since then I have completed Nitrox, and I'm 3/4 way through AOW (I'm doing AOW for more knowledge and experience, not to put another notch in my belt, BTW).
I've learned a lot and feel that I was very lucky not to be a Darwin Award recipient that day, of course due to my own newbieness and consequent stupidity.
SteveC, I was incidentally looking for that book - thought it would make a great read.

 

[james croft]

If that dive scared you, I wouldn't read "Shadow Divers"

Or "The Last Dive" :no

 

[DivetheRock]

james croft, is that the one about the father and son? I was actually looking to read that one, as well. I should just have taken up gardening.

 

[DocVikingo]

It's a super read.

Enjoy.

DocVikingo

 

[TSandM]

Hey, congratulations on getting and reading Bob's paper! It really helps reinforce people taking their time to give advice when they see somebody taking it to heart. And it's great information you got, too, and you're using it. One step toward becoming a thinking diver!

 

[Steve_Dives]

Comment on the calf cramp. If you're over tightening the fin buckle, you can cramp up. I think TSandM provided that tip in another thread, so it's second hand. Once I paid attention to it, my calves were cramp free.

 

[pescador775]

DiveRock, you did nothing wrong except become conflicted about your role as a diver. Diving is really just swimming with aids. Your task was to swim out a distance, go shallow, hang out and swim back. That's all it is except for a couple of special procedures related to breathing compressed air. BTW, forget the "safety" stop for now. Do ascend slowly whenever possible. Your brain is suffering a kind of "hangover" from the Scuba course in which you tried to reconcile a bunch of complex rules and scary scenarios with what amounted to a simple exercise gone wrong. First, go by the basics; carry a snorkel, don't hold your breath, clear your ears early, abort if low on air, or weird currents or weather are about. Swim back on the bottom or surface, whatever you need to do. Have a good day, get some sun, and stop trying to solve the crossword puzzle playing in your head post scuba class. Later, practice with the computer. Better, get a simple unit with the nitrogen graph and wear a wrist watch if you are worried about being late for lunch.

PS: if your fin was too tight you would know it. The cause of cramps is lack of conditioning, dehydration and cold. You can prevent this by using the calf machine, drinking Gatorade or taking a substance called Pycnogenol. This common supplement has been reported in the medical press as effective.