sixt3denied
Registered
Hi all. I need some advice on something that's been bothering me since a recent dive.
I was in the Florida Keys (Key Largo) 2 weeks ago. Diving was fantastic! But.....
On one boat trip - the seas were pretty rough. We were diving on a wreck about 45 feet down. The wreck was spread out over a very big area. It has been there for about 70 years. There was a fairly strong current and a lot of surge - even on the bottom. We went into the water at a pretty good distance from the wreck. It was a good 15 minute swim against the current to get to to the wreck. Due to the current and strong surge, visibility was not good. Luckily the dive was being led by 2 divemasters. There was a total of about 10 of us. Long story short, when we reached the half way point on our air, we all headed back to the boat. The general course was a big oval to the dive site and then back. I was really worn out fighting the current and surge while trying to maintain my buoyancy to get to the wreck etc. I ended up losing track of where the boat was. Due to the poor visibility, you could not see the boat from the bottom until it was pretty much right above you. So anyway I continued following the divemasters back to wherever the boat was. My air started getting low (700psi) and my dive computer began chirping and flashing "low air". Not usually a problem because I usually have an idea where the boat is and if I'm close I dont really worry because I can predict how much air I will need to get back to it. But on this dive I had no idea how much farther away the boat was. I couldn't see it, and wasn't sure how much longer of a swim I had. Although I kept my cool - the dive computer alarm and flashing "low air" on the display was getting me a little nervous. I knew that once I was on the surface I would be fighting the rough seas and waves while awaiting my turn on the line - getting my fins off and get back on the ship. So my regulator would be staying in my mouth until I was pretty much on the boat. So in my head I was accounting for the air I would need while ascending, performing a safety stop, and also while on the surface. It was a little rough for snorkel use - unless I had no choice.
So the big question is - what can I do to not lose my bearings on where the boat is? I was thinking that I should have taken a heading with my compass when swimming to the wreck, but this still would not help me account for how much farther away the dive boat was when heading back. Due to this "oval" dive pattern, you aren't passing the same wreck or reef areas on the way there as we did on the way back. So the use of underwater landmarks was difficult.
Any suggestions? My loss of bearings as to where the boat was is really bothering me!!!!
I was in the Florida Keys (Key Largo) 2 weeks ago. Diving was fantastic! But.....
On one boat trip - the seas were pretty rough. We were diving on a wreck about 45 feet down. The wreck was spread out over a very big area. It has been there for about 70 years. There was a fairly strong current and a lot of surge - even on the bottom. We went into the water at a pretty good distance from the wreck. It was a good 15 minute swim against the current to get to to the wreck. Due to the current and strong surge, visibility was not good. Luckily the dive was being led by 2 divemasters. There was a total of about 10 of us. Long story short, when we reached the half way point on our air, we all headed back to the boat. The general course was a big oval to the dive site and then back. I was really worn out fighting the current and surge while trying to maintain my buoyancy to get to the wreck etc. I ended up losing track of where the boat was. Due to the poor visibility, you could not see the boat from the bottom until it was pretty much right above you. So anyway I continued following the divemasters back to wherever the boat was. My air started getting low (700psi) and my dive computer began chirping and flashing "low air". Not usually a problem because I usually have an idea where the boat is and if I'm close I dont really worry because I can predict how much air I will need to get back to it. But on this dive I had no idea how much farther away the boat was. I couldn't see it, and wasn't sure how much longer of a swim I had. Although I kept my cool - the dive computer alarm and flashing "low air" on the display was getting me a little nervous. I knew that once I was on the surface I would be fighting the rough seas and waves while awaiting my turn on the line - getting my fins off and get back on the ship. So my regulator would be staying in my mouth until I was pretty much on the boat. So in my head I was accounting for the air I would need while ascending, performing a safety stop, and also while on the surface. It was a little rough for snorkel use - unless I had no choice.
So the big question is - what can I do to not lose my bearings on where the boat is? I was thinking that I should have taken a heading with my compass when swimming to the wreck, but this still would not help me account for how much farther away the dive boat was when heading back. Due to this "oval" dive pattern, you aren't passing the same wreck or reef areas on the way there as we did on the way back. So the use of underwater landmarks was difficult.
Any suggestions? My loss of bearings as to where the boat was is really bothering me!!!!