Tried to Kill Myself but Failed!

[scubadada]

Hi @NW Dive Dawg

So, turns out you were lucky to have your Air2 and tried it, could have ended differently.

I do almost all my diving in Florida solo. My primary is on a 40" hose under my arm, secondary is on a short hose, bungeed around my neck. I sling my 19 cu ft pony. My configuration is quite clear and makes it difficult to make an error. However, I have made many other mistakes over the years and learned from each one.

Glad you were able to tell this story.

 

[jadairiii]

Those clips require a good deal of force to open. Unless you're doing penetration dives they're not a problem at all.

Not to derail this thread, but those types of clips can eat monofilament/fishing line, shock cord line on spear guns and dive flag lines with ease. Merely by swimming into it.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

During the early 90's, tech diving, guys had their stage regs clipped near them or over their shoulders (back mounted bottles) so they could switch to their deco gas. quite of few, like the OP did, inadvertently grabbed the wrong second stage, and toxed. Some geniuses developed the "poodle jacket" to try to fix that.....

That is why, in tech, since then, you always bungie the stage reg to the tank (and have the bottle clearly marked MOD), that way, you dont do what the OP did. The time is takes to "unclip" the reg from his harness, you could have the pony reg deployed from its bungeed position.

FYI, I would also never have one of those clips on my rig, too many lines and stuff can pop through that gate and become entangled.

That's a completely different scenario. I thought we were discussing recreational diving with back mounted ponies

 

[NW Dive Dawg]

I like having my chest area clear, so I never slung a pony.

Me too... for hunting and videography especially.... I just prefer the backmount. I won't be changing that.

If the needle drops noticeably, then your valve is not fully opened.

My valves being open was not the issue... but on this subject, I personally believe that the "1/4 turn back" rule is ridiculously stupid. I keep my valves either all the way on or all the way off.

Curious about the decision to breathe off your Air2 when you thought your main tank was empty though?

A combo of pure luck........ and desperation. I was rapidly approaching the ESA decision and I've always kept it in the back of my mind that during an ESA I could possibly have the option of holding the dump valve and "rebreathing" through my BC inflator if the breath reflex overwhelmed me on the ascent. Once I had the inflator / Air 2 mouthpiece in my mug.... my instinct was to inhale and the glorious LP air was there. Best air I've ever tasted for sure!

Anyway.... thanks for all the comments and even for the constructive criticism. The more I think about this the more that I'm actually glad it happened because I know it will NEVER happen again to me and I hope that the discussion might help it from ever happening to someone else..

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

Anyway.... thanks for all the comments and even for the constructive criticism. The more I think about this the more that I'm actually glad it happened because I know it will NEVER happen again to me and I hope that the discussion might help it from ever happening to someone else..

I hope other instructors reading this thread will incorporate somewhere in the training they provide (solo/self-reliant/independent courses at a the latest) where this is discussed. Slowing down kitting up, having different 2nd stages, how to route, etc.. If they make this mistake, stay calm, switch regs, abort the dive, etc.. Figure out where the system broke down, fix it prior to the next dive.

 

[Marie13]

OP, perfect example of how people have died with back-mounted ponies.

Glad you resolved it. I still think slung ponies are a better idea.

 

[jadairiii]

That's a completely different scenario. I thought we were discussing recreational diving with back mounted ponies

Grabbing the wrong second stage. That is what this thread this about.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

Grabbing the wrong second stage. That is what this thread this about.

This thread is in the basic scuba forum.

Getting into different gas mixes, some which are breathable between certain depth ranges doesn't belong in this forum. People may argue that solo diving/diving in the pony doesn't fall into basic either, but lots of recreational divers do this. It doesn't have to be a solo dive.

You can be a new diver, add a pony to the mix. I don't recommend it without some training (doesn't have to be a C-card) (I've seen a number of new divers, like myself, do it and we didn't die) and off you go. In our corner of the country, viz can really suck and a bit of buddy separation and you are alone.

I was actually helping Bruce Higgins (a local NAUI legend who has been maintaining the underwater park in Edmonds since the 1970s) last Saturday. Horrible viz. Couldn't see him at time even if he was 5 feet away. And this is a dive site that is popular for certification as well as for fun dives as there is a lot of life and the maximum depth at high tide at the edges of the park is maybe 40 feet. So for the PNW where the OP dives, diving with a pony does fall under the basic category.

 

[scubadada]

This thread is in the basic scuba forum...

While reading through this thread, I also wondered if it would be better in Advanced Scuba or Solo Divers, but decided it should stay here.

If you are diving a back mounted pony, make sure you are diving off the correct second stage. This certainly applies to a solo diver but may apply just as much to a diver who theoretically has a buddy.

 

[jadairiii]

This thread is in the basic scuba forum.

I understand, its a basic scuba forum, but the OP grabbed the wrong second stage, which (according to the OP) was less than ideal. If, in the future, the OP would like to avoid making the same mistake, he should see how it was addressed in the tech community years ago. Dont get hung up on the tech example. It's still grabbing the wrong second stage.