I learned a good lesson last night and wanted to pass the experience on to others.
I'm a fairly new diver, just finished AOW with 25 dives under my belt. I know how to use a compass and basic navigation skills.
Last night I went for a Night Dive with a LDS to a local lake very close to where I live. The conditions were less that favorable. The first dive was an evening dive with some sunlight still, but I carried my light anyway. Due to a group before us the line out to the dive site was very low vis, only 1' to 3' and less at some points. They stirred up the silt really well! I was alright with this. We got out there and back with no issues. My buddy was another AOW diver with a bit more experience than me and we worked well together given the conditions.
The second dive of the night was a night dive. The conditions in terms of the silting had improved, but I was a bit wary of diving again given the conditions on the previous dive. I was buddied with a DM, so I felt a bit better. The trip out was pretty good. Our group didn't silt-up the line like the other group, so we had 5' vis most of the way out with just a few cloudy spots. Once we got out to the wreck things changed. The vis was poor, only 3' vis at best and our lights reflected the silt and particals real good. We dove around the wreck (old wooden boat, not much left) but ended up losing it when we got turned around somehow. No problem, I had taken a compass reading on the way out, so I knew which way to go I thought. The DM started to use his compass and signaled that we were going back to shore. I followed, not using my compass. As we swam, I became concerned that I couldn't really tell were we were in relation to the bottom anymore, but trusted him. After more swimming and not getting shallower, I took out my compass and looked at the heading. He was swimming in the complete opposite direction to shore, out into the middle of the lake. I signaled to him that we should be heading west and not east and he disagreed with me. That's when for the first time in diving, I actually felt panic. I grabbed him and called the dive. It was a risky thing to surface where we did because I knew we were away from the flags and buoys and it was dark.
When we surfaced, he swore up and down to me that we were going the right way even though we were 50-60 yards past the wreck in the bay.
I guess the lesson here is that you have to trust your own judgement first and NEVER be afraid of calling a dive even when your buddy is a DM and is more experienced than you. I wasn't completely comfortable with the dive to start because of the vis. Was it a good experience? YES! From now on, I'm going to trust my buddy, but take action to protect myself first by taking frequent compass readings in low vis and night dives and not follow like a lemming. It didn't feel right and I know I made the right call.
Just wanted to share that.
I'm a fairly new diver, just finished AOW with 25 dives under my belt. I know how to use a compass and basic navigation skills.
Last night I went for a Night Dive with a LDS to a local lake very close to where I live. The conditions were less that favorable. The first dive was an evening dive with some sunlight still, but I carried my light anyway. Due to a group before us the line out to the dive site was very low vis, only 1' to 3' and less at some points. They stirred up the silt really well! I was alright with this. We got out there and back with no issues. My buddy was another AOW diver with a bit more experience than me and we worked well together given the conditions.
The second dive of the night was a night dive. The conditions in terms of the silting had improved, but I was a bit wary of diving again given the conditions on the previous dive. I was buddied with a DM, so I felt a bit better. The trip out was pretty good. Our group didn't silt-up the line like the other group, so we had 5' vis most of the way out with just a few cloudy spots. Once we got out to the wreck things changed. The vis was poor, only 3' vis at best and our lights reflected the silt and particals real good. We dove around the wreck (old wooden boat, not much left) but ended up losing it when we got turned around somehow. No problem, I had taken a compass reading on the way out, so I knew which way to go I thought. The DM started to use his compass and signaled that we were going back to shore. I followed, not using my compass. As we swam, I became concerned that I couldn't really tell were we were in relation to the bottom anymore, but trusted him. After more swimming and not getting shallower, I took out my compass and looked at the heading. He was swimming in the complete opposite direction to shore, out into the middle of the lake. I signaled to him that we should be heading west and not east and he disagreed with me. That's when for the first time in diving, I actually felt panic. I grabbed him and called the dive. It was a risky thing to surface where we did because I knew we were away from the flags and buoys and it was dark.
When we surfaced, he swore up and down to me that we were going the right way even though we were 50-60 yards past the wreck in the bay.
I guess the lesson here is that you have to trust your own judgement first and NEVER be afraid of calling a dive even when your buddy is a DM and is more experienced than you. I wasn't completely comfortable with the dive to start because of the vis. Was it a good experience? YES! From now on, I'm going to trust my buddy, but take action to protect myself first by taking frequent compass readings in low vis and night dives and not follow like a lemming. It didn't feel right and I know I made the right call.
Just wanted to share that.
