Underwater panic.

[ERP]

I thought this experience was worth sharing, since it really highlights a few points, more so for the newbies like myself.

I had convinced Uncle Pug to let me try out a backplate, so he borrowed a complete setup for me to try including long hose primary and necklaced backup.

UP adjusted the backplate and I got into the gear, we went over some air sharing drills on the surface and went on the dive with the intent of practising them.

About 10 minutes into the dive after an air drill, I replaced my primary reg, inhaled and got a mouth full of water. I tried to purge the reg, but couldn't find the purge button, (note to self -- in future know how to purge regulator before diving with it) after what seemed like an age I did manage to find the purge button, I purged the reg and it went into freeflow. At this point I relaxed slightly, assuming I could just breath the freeflowing reg, when I inhaled I got more water, by this point my mask had also completly flooded and I couldn't see anything, I paniced, and did an ESA from 40ft .

On the surface it was easy to work out the cause of the problem, being unfamiliar with the long hose routing I'd wrapped it around the wrong side of my neck and as a result the regulator was inverted in my mouth. :bonk:

That's not really the point of the story though, the point is there were two other working regulators available to me, the one around my neck, and the one in UP's mouth. At the time it never occured to me to use either, the problem was at least in part due to my lack of experience with the configuration. Once I surfaced I realised what my options were, but in the stressful situation at 40ft, I wasn't thinking.

I was saying to UP later over chowder, in some ways I'm sort of glad it happened, I've never panicked underwater before and it was good to have experienced it, I think next time I'll be better prepared to deal with the problem. It also really hammered home to me how important it is to be familiar with your equipment, and it's uses, you really need to practice OOA drills and any other safety drills (using the bungied backup in this case).

Anyway just thought I'd share.

 

[Tavi]

You are being assimilated

 

[jiveturkey]

I agree. What doesn't hurt you makes you stronger. Experiences like these keep you on your toes and prepare you for other things that could go wrong. They encourage you to learn more and keep your skills practiced and up to date. I'm sure it wasn't fun but you learned something from it and I think that's the most important thing.

 

[ckharlan66]

It serves to remind us all to practice our skills.

I am glad it didn't turn more serious and you walked away merely learning a lesson and not in more trouble.

Chad

 

[holdingmybreath]

I could not help but think that this would have been another instance to have had some practice holding your breath. You can not beat apnea training for deterring the panic that you experienced while in an out of air experiece. One thing you learn is that you have time, more than one would think.

 

[Cave Diver]

ERP once bubbled...

That's not really the point of the story though, the point is there were two other working regulators available to me, the one around my neck, and the one in UP's mouth. At the time it never occured to me to use either, the problem was at least in part due to my lack of experience with the configuration. Once I surfaced I realised what my options were, but in the stressful situation at 40ft, I wasn't thinking.

Thanks for posting this. Many divers try to hide their mistakes or embarassing moments when sharing them could save someone else some trouble down the the road (or river).

My first experience with the wrapped long hose and airsharing drill was in my DIRF class and I also routed it the wrong way once. The instructors were quick to notice this, and promptly signalled me that my buddy was out of air. Of course when I went to deploy the long hose to him, I couldn't find it because I had routed it wrong, so I was reaching to the wrong side for it. D'oh! I quickly corrected the mistake and the rest of the drill went without incident. But you can bet I never routed the hose wrong after that.

The closest I ever came to a possible panic situation was doing deco after a deep wreck dive. We were at about 20' when I switched to my stage bottle with 80%. There was a stiff current of about 2.5 knots, so four of us were hanging on the anchor line like flags. Even moving your head slightly to check on your buddies caused the current to depress the purge on the regulator or threaten to rip your mask off.

After one of these quick looks, I sucked a breath in and felt water enter my mouth. I immediately froze so as to not swallow sea water, and assessed the situation. It seems I hadnt zip tied the mouthpiece on the stage bottle securely enough, and the current ripped the regulator out of my mouth but I had retained my bite on the mouthpiece! I ended up stuffing the mouthpiece in a pocket and just sucking on the plastic end of the regulator, which made for a few rather uncomfortable minutes at deco, but much better than any of the alternatives.

 

[The Chairman]

While apnea skills are essential for free-diving they are DEATH for Scuba diving. In MY class rule number one is;
Don't ever hold your breath!!!
An inadvertent ascent could result in a barotrauma including an embolism.

Whenever I am doing air sharing skills with a student, whether it is "octo sharing" from either reg or buddy breathing, I initiate contact with the student. I teach my students to do the same but in a slightly different manner. The donor grabs the hose with their right hand (the purge is NOT obstructed). The leach grabs the donor's right wrist with their right hand. Your left hand is free to deal with whatever... grabbing them more tightly, venting air from your BC etc.

Physical contact alleviates stress... it also provides some control from the non-panicked buddy. Yes, I dive with a long hose and necklaced secondary, and this works well. AFTER everyone is calm, I can elect to let go (if our path will not allow two divers to pass) or to keep in contact (which is preferred).

BTW, kudos for identifying a weakness in yourself. As others have said, admitting our mistakes is the only way we can really change them. It is far easier to admit a mistake than to cover one up. It also directs your energy from camoflaging a shortcoming to correcting it instead. It's the one thing that politicians seem to have the biggest issue with.

 

[Wreck/Tec]

Years ago I had a panic/stressful situation. I had about 25 dives under my belt and was feeling immortal. I had a chance to do a navigation dive to a shipwreck at 75 feet, which was maybe a 1/2 mile off shore. I was foolish on several fronts, I didn't know how to use a compass for one, and the guy who was taking me there, ( who was a dive master in training ) was wearing doubles, I was not. I was wearing an 80 with a 15 pony. We managed to get to the wreck. However we were seperated shortly there after. I found that ironic as the vis was excellant. I soon started a verticle ascent as my air was running low. I got off the bottom and realized my computer had stopped working. I was essentially in the middle of space, not seeing the surface or the bottom. I didn't realize if I was ascending or descending, a frenzy set in.
Well, I survived. I said earlier there were several things that I had done wrong. The first two were mentioned, the third was not. There is a time when you have to assess your ability, and not count on others to watch you. I've read in other threads that when anyone dives you essentially dive alone. I feel that's true to a degree. Things happen very suddenly and sometimes with out warning. I relied on others and a computer that let me down. I wasn't equipped to help myself as well. When I hear of divers useing computers to dive this story always flashes in my mind. They are great tools, but aren't as reliable as an analog depth gauge.
My point..........Recognise your ability. Assess your equipment requirements and quality. Be honest with yourself before leaping at the chance to dive, ( see above ).
Be careful, have fun, and Happy Holidays!

 

[Walter]

Panic is the most dangerous part of diving. It can kill. It could have killed you. Heading for the surface while panicked is extremely dangerous. I'm glad you are OK.

You said, "About 10 minutes into the dive after an air drill, I replaced my primary reg, inhaled and got a mouth full of water."

Was this an OOA drill with your buddy? What exactly were you doing? If it were an OOA drill with your buddy, you should both watch each other after the drill until you are sure you are both OK.

Why did you start with an inhalation? Always exhale first. If you can't exhale, go for the purge, if you can't find the purge, cluck.

The next point is you should always practice with a new set up in the pool, beginning in shallow water. Practice, practice, practice. Once you have your alternatives to the point where they are second nature, you will react automatically and will not panic.

 

[jbd]

from "holdingmybreath to NetDoc via Cave Diver.

I think that the point made by holdingmybreath is a good one although as NetDoc points out its not good for scuba divers to hold their breath. Then Cave Diver provides a situation where not breathing for a moment might be the best thing to do.

Holdingmybreath's point is that you have several seconds to think and make decisions before not being able to breath is a serious issue. If people were more familiar with this through practice at breathhold diving it would go along way towards preventing panic.

Cave Divers example supports this when he says he froze when something went wrong. He knew the was enough O2 in his system to allow him to work out a solution to the problem.

Had ERP held his breath during the ESA, Boyles Law would have caused some real problems which is the point NetDoc was making.

This is the whole point for proper training followed by continueing training.

Walter makes a very good point about always exhaling first whenever the reg has been out of your mouth for whatever reason.