What would you have done?

[ippy01]

Wow -- as noted by others, you were NOT well served here. But, I think you handled this well, given the situation. You were clearly watching your computer carefully and knew the implications of your depth & air status.

At the risk of starting an endless thread on decompression theory. I would have made a 1 min. stop at ~60 before proceeding to an extended safety stop as you did.

Other than adding another stop at half your max. depth, I think you managed the situation. I think everyone with any experience has had at least one bad dive that provides a great learning experience. My "bad dive" was very similar to yours in that it had its origin in an unknown dive partner (who turned out to not follow the plan, descended like a maniac, didn't seem to be watching his profile, etc., etc.). I ended up lost at 130 feet and finally surfaced FAR from the boat. Stupid on a bunch of counts: but it was a formative experience that continues to influence how I dive. So, count your blessings -- you got this out of the way early in your dive experience and will be a better diver for it.

 

[The Logic Theorist]

To answer a couple of questions:

I did my AOW with this shop, so they were well aware of my experience level and had recently seen my logbook. I don't think they had any control over the dive site the charter would pick, but I had absolutely zero idea of the depth of the dive until we were anchored in. I did have some trepidation, but having shelled out bucks to be there I didn't want to pass on the dive and lose my money (I would not have gotten a refund). PADI's AOW says 130ft is the absolute limit, I'd planned to stay above 120ft.

I was on a steel 100 with 3200psi starting.

I did recognize pretty clearly that if my buddy had a problem I would not have been able to get both of us safely to the top. I expected he was cognizant of this being that he's an instructor, and as stated I was "trusting" his assesment of the situation.

He was diving doubles, and I knew up front that he would be down there way longer than me. I did not know he was planning a staged deco dive, although in retrospect that should have been fairly obvious to me.

All 4 of the people diving with the shop were fairly experienced, and I felt guilty about making one of them end a dive early because I was inexperienced. That's the reason I agreed to a plan that involved me surfacing alone. Also, all 4 of these guys seem pretty cavalier about diving solo, one of them re-entered the water for his second dive alone and is not certified to dive solo, and I'm not certain anyone even knew he was going.

I have had a lot of trouble in general with trying to find situations in which people of relatively similar experience level OR more experienced but willing to dive within my limits are around. Everyone on that boat seemed to have years and years of experience and not really willing to indulge a newbie. Likewise, my only other non training dive was immediately after my OW in Belize, and I ascended alone there as well. 3 people were on the dive, and I was out of air first. The DM handed my his computer to keep time and went on about his way.

Thanks for all the constructive criticism and tips, please keep them coming.

 

[diver 85]

Sounds like you are an AOW diver on a piece of paper only.........That dive plan was horrible from the beginning(ie you ascending on your own from that depth etc etc)...Also, the 'insrtuctor' was a piece of crap, my tips are 2 fold, (1) never dive with those idiots again and (2) never bet on 3 legged horses........good luck in the future, as you can see, AOW means NOTHING as long as you're looking @ the letters on a piece of paper......(get you some more experience)

 

[Kingpatzer]

Ok, I agree with some of the posts that the LDS / instructor has some blame here, but frankly, I learned in OW to always check my NDL with a table and to dive with the plan.

Did you look at the table and see what your NDL would be?

Did you check your air frequently as you were taught to do for deep dives in AOW?

I'm glad you were ok, but you were really lucky to not end up bent or worse.

Here's the biggest lesson I think you need to take away from this (and something my LDS instructor drills into my head all the time):

YOU are responsible for YOUR dive plan. And if YOU are the least bit uncomfortable wtih the dive plan, YOU are reponsible for calling the dive.

There are several things that should have made you very uncomfortable here:
(1) depth exceeding your training and certification recommendations
(2) depth/time pushing the limits (against training recommendations)
(3) "buddy" on a completely seperate dive plan (so this was a solo dive in essence!)
(4) solo ascent from 120+ feet when you've never even been that deep before

Your first mistake was to not seriously question this plan before gearing up.
After that big error, everything else follows.

 

[sytech]

I agree with Pufferfish and others-----

Ist rule - take care of yourself... Say that 1,000 times.

Also be very aware that the "buddy" you get, whether a tourist or member of the crew may be marginally competent themselves or as is quite common, suffering the after-effects (impaired judgement, increasing chance of getting decompression sickness) of a bender they went on last night.

Heavy drinking and scuba are part of the diving culture. No question about it and I've seen people trashed in bars and diving the next morning. Some will take the most extreme and miniscule precautions with their gear and technique but will totally disregard that their pickled brain may cause a very serious hazard itself.

Be aware of this as it's very common.

Sy

The setup:

I have an AOW cert, but this was my 2nd non training dive (11th dive total). I'd booked a trip through my LDS for wreck diving this past weekend. I do not have someone I dive with regularly, and asked when I booked the trip if I could expect to be paired up with someone on the boat. I was told yes, you're on a trip with us, we'll make sure you are able to dive.

Fast forward to the boat, we're pulling in and dropping anchor at the first dive site of the day. It's 128ft max, 118ft av, which is by far the deepest I've ever been. I go to the guy running the trip and say ok, there are 5 of us on the trip with the LDS, and everyone else on the boat seems to be with a buddy they're used to. Who am I diving with? He puts me with the dive instructor for the shop, who is obviously going to stay down a lot longer than me. I'm assuming I'll run out of air before I run out of no-deco time since I usually do.

We set the plan to be as follows: We'll drop together. When I'm out of air I'll signal to my buddy, he'll make sure I get back to the ascent line, and I'll ascend on my own. I say I'm comfortable with that and agree to the plan.

My line of thinking at this point is: Viz is really high, there's little to no current, there are plenty of divers in the water, and I'm sure I can handle an ascent on my own. I'm not even bringing my camera so I have nothing to distract me from diving safely.

So, we descend. No problems. The wreck is amazing, I see a few huge sandtiger sharks (a first for me to see any sharks at all!), and the next thing I know I'm at 126ft without even really realizing it. I'm diving on a computer, so I'm watching the countdown timer for no-deco and watching my air fairly regularly. With 2 min of no-deco time left I start trying to get my buddy's attention. I get it when the no-deco on the computer is blinking zero, and point this out to him and signal for up. He flashes me an ok, and then turns around and swims off in the other direction from the line! I'm completely confused at this point. I thought the plan was that he was taking me back to the ascent line when I needed to ascend. I wait another full 3 min while he's off doing whatever (I can see him clearly, but he's far enough off that I don't want to swim over to get him) and I realize that now I'm past my no-deco time AND running a little shorter on air than I'd like (I still have 1000 left, but I know I still go through air fairly quickly). I'm hesitant to leave my buddy. I'm not concerned that he's going to need my assistance, but I don't want to just vanish and leave him wondering where I am and cause a possible panic. However, realizing that I'm not going to be able to make a proper ascent and extended safety stop if I wait any more I say screw this and head for the line.

I end up ascending too quickly according to the computer, but I do extend my safety stop to 5 min @18ft and get back to the boat with 300psi.

I talked to my buddy after and he said he was taking me around the wreck back to the line (I didn't think to ask why, as that makes no sense to me to take the long way around when I'm out of time, and had I not ascended when I did I wouldn't have had the air necessary to extend my stop). He ended up staying down 51 min and doing a staged decompression dive btw.

So, is there anything I should have done differently? Could have done differently? As an extremely new diver, I'm always hesitant to leave my buddy even when I know they're much more experienced than me. Should I be pissed that he didn't follow the plan? Should I have bolted for the ascent line as soon as I realized he wasn't going with me? Should I refuse to dive with people who are on a different dive plan than me?

Tips appreciated, as right now I'm thinking every little ache or tingle means I'm bent and going to spontaneously go into a coma at any moment. (Ok, not really, but I am concerned)

 

[fire_diver]

The setup:

I have an AOW cert, but this was my 2nd non training dive (11th dive total). I'd booked a trip through my LDS for wreck diving this past weekend. I do not have someone I dive with regularly, and asked when I booked the trip if I could expect to be paired up with someone on the boat. I was told yes, you're on a trip with us, we'll make sure you are able to dive.

Fast forward to the boat, we're pulling in and dropping anchor at the first dive site of the day. It's 128ft max, 118ft av, which is by far the deepest I've ever been. I go to the guy running the trip and say ok, there are 5 of us on the trip with the LDS, and everyone else on the boat seems to be with a buddy they're used to. Who am I diving with? He puts me with the dive instructor for the shop, who is obviously going to stay down a lot longer than me. I'm assuming I'll run out of air before I run out of no-deco time since I usually do.

This is as far as I read. #1, you had no business on this dive trip. You should have understood your training well enough to know you aren't ready.
#2 Your dive shop should be burnt to the ground. They had no business letting you sign up for this dive. They must be listed as benificiaries on your life insurance.

I asume your story only got worse from that point. glad you survived to write your story. I hope you learned some type of lesson from it. Now go out and do a bunch of easy dives without an instructor holding your hand. After 20 or so dives in the 30 foot range (if you haven't killed yourself) then start pushing deeper by 10 foot and doing dives at that level. Maybe in a year or 2 you'll be ready for a 128ft wreck dive (outside only). Jeez I hope you didn't try penetrating the wreck. I'm not even going to go back and finish reading. Probably get kicked off for TOS.

FD

 

[nolatom]

Look, you came back healthy and willing to keep on diving, so that's the main thing.

Next time, try to check out the itinerary in advance. If the boat's going to a wreck at 120' and "we take anyone", look for another boat that's going to the 50'-80' wrecks instead. Or recognize that the first dive of the day is usually the deepest, and skip it in favor of the later and shallower ones

Also. Getting down to 2 min. non-deco left, too far from your upline, was too little time. If you need 3 minutes to get back to the line, then make your 'turn" to go back there when you still have maybe 5-6 min before deco.

Next. When your buddy, who's supposed to "see that you get back to the line" boogies on away, screw him, head back to the line yourself, and recognize that you're now on a deep solo dive, so you've got to conserve your remaining air and nitrogen time.

Once you were in the situation, other than waiting too long to realize your buddy was a callous idiot, you kept your wits about you and pretty much did everything right, even if a little improvised and ragged on the ascent.

That said, I once took a newbie instabuddy to 100' on a wreck off Pensacola, but after the first couple of minutes I could tell he was pretty competent and relaxed, and after 5 minutes that his air consumption wasn't half bad, and we stayed close together and watched each others' gauges like hawks. Turned out to be a good dive in perfect conditions.

 

[crosing]

I have trouble understanding why an 'Instructor' would send you to the surface by yourself from 120+ feet. That is incredibly irresponsible. It indicates that he does not take what he teaches seriously as it violates everything that is taught in OW and AOW. I would steer clear of this individual in the future.

I'm assuming he is an Instructor with the LDS, when the LDS guarranteed you a dive buddy and it fell on him to fill that need, he should have abandoned his deco dive and been a responsible dive buddy to you which would mean planning a dive with you and diving the plan. This was a missed opportunity on his part, he could have helped you by giving you a thrilling 'first' dive on a great wreck. Instead he endangered you and himself because he was selfish.

You did make a mistake when you agreed to ascend alone but it could have been your lack of experience and knowledge and trust in an 'Instructor'. Never, never, I repeat, never agree to a dive plan that makes you uncomfortable!

I am thankful that you made it up OK.

 

[The Logic Theorist]

First off thanks everyone for the tips.

I do definitely take responsibility for my part in this dive plan going awol. I was asking what -I- could have done differently so -I- can make better decisions moving forward. One of those decisions may be to not plan dives or trips with that particular shop again, but I definitely recognize that when all is said and done I was the one that chose to get in the water.

As far as checking the itenerary in advance goes, this charter doesn't post one. They pick dive sites the day of based on conditions. I may take that as a sign that I need to stick to charters that do post solid plans until I'm more experienced so I don't end up in the middle of the Atlantic on a dive I've paid for and have the choice of dropping to 120' or not diving.

As far as dive planning goes, I will be going back to using a table and my watch. I realize the computer will give me more dive time, but from this experience at this point that may not be an advantage for me. Kingpatzer - Yes, I did check my air almost constantly. I did not check the NDL on the table, I was looking at the computer for remaining NDL time, but I did look every time I checked my air.

I definitely realized after this that 2 min was not enough time to get back to the line and ascend and will be adjusting dive plans in the future with that in mind.

I will definitely be more assertive about sticking to dive plans that are within my limits, and not agreeing to solo ascents in the future.

But, I am glad to read from a number of you that once I'd made the bad decision to get into the water, I did make good decisions getting out of it.

Unfortunately, I'm not really sure what to do moving forward in terms of finding good buddies. No one I know dives. I know a few people that say they're interested, but they give all kinds of excuses for why they don't take the plunge. I know one guy who seems pretty serious, but thusfar he still hasn't signed up for OW. I don't want to hang around and wait, I -DO- want to dive. Is it bad etiquette to show up at a boat charter alone and try to find a buddy? Or is that how you meet people?

 

[nereas]

...So, we descend. No problems. The wreck is amazing, I see a few huge sandtiger sharks (a first for me to see any sharks at all!), and the next thing I know I'm at 126ft without even really realizing it. I'm diving on a computer, so I'm watching the countdown timer for no-deco and watching my air fairly regularly. With 2 min of no-deco time left I start trying to get my buddy's attention. I get it when the no-deco on the computer is blinking zero, and point this out to him and signal for up. He flashes me an ok, and then turns around and swims off in the other direction from the line! I'm completely confused at this point. I thought the plan was that he was taking me back to the ascent line when I needed to ascend. I wait another full 3 min while he's off doing whatever (I can see him clearly, but he's far enough off that I don't want to swim over to get him) and I realize that now I'm past my no-deco time AND running a little shorter on air than I'd like (I still have 1000 left, but I know I still go through air fairly quickly). I'm hesitant to leave my buddy. I'm not concerned that he's going to need my assistance, but I don't want to just vanish and leave him wondering where I am and cause a possible panic. However, realizing that I'm not going to be able to make a proper ascent and extended safety stop if I wait any more I say screw this and head for the line.

I end up ascending too quickly according to the computer, but I do extend my safety stop to 5 min @18ft and get back to the boat with 300psi.

I talked to my buddy after and he said he was taking me around the wreck back to the line (I didn't think to ask why, as that makes no sense to me to take the long way around when I'm out of time, and had I not ascended when I did I wouldn't have had the air necessary to extend my stop). He ended up staying down 51 min and doing a staged decompression dive btw.

So, is there anything I should have done differently? ...

It seems to me that the store instructor did not take his buddy responsibility to you seriously. It is a good thing that you did not drown on this dive.

I think you should find (1) a new boat to go diving with, and (2) a new dive store.

Short of that, you should speak with the store owner. But that is only if you cannot find another store.