What would you have done?

[nereas]

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.

Yes, it was a bad plan. But realize that you are now second-guessing a scuba instructor.

It was also a poor instructor, who came up with the poor plan, and who became a really poor buddy, for a fairly novice diver.

 

[nereas]

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?

Don't worry, it's not your fault.

A novice diver, who is buddied with an instructor, ought to be able to take for granted that he/she is going to be watched properly.

You were not, unfortunately.

If you had died, which you easily could have, and if I were on the jury, I would have voted against the dive instructor, store, and boat in the lawsuit by your family.

 

[nereas]

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.

I believe this represents the most likely findings of the jury, had the diver died and a subsequent lawsuit resulted.

 

[Kingpatzer]

Yes, it was a bad plan. But realize that you are now second-guessing a scuba instructor.

It was also a poor instructor, who came up with the poor plan, and who became a really poor buddy, for a fairly novice diver.

Maybe I'm just really lucky with my shop . . . but my regular instructor basically tells everyone "question everything I say, having more pretty cards doesn't make me god."

It's every diver's job to be fully comfortable with the dive plan, conditions, equipment, people, and every aspect of the event prior to getting into the water. How many certs someone carries is immaterial to that . . . if a diver is being asked to violate standard practices, go beyond their training, or engage in actions they know to be against normative practices, they are responsible for speaking up.

And yes, with few dives it's hard to do that. Like I said, maybe my LDS and instructors are above average in this regard, but I've always felt comfortable discussing a plan before agreeing to it with them.

 

[Puffer Fish]

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?

Well, depending where you live, that can be very easy or very hard (you don't have your profile filed out).

I am fortunate to dive with a lot of the people on this board, and many are truly excellent people to dive with.

But, I've met people on "cattle boats", shore dives, and at dive shops.

Finding a buddy is usually easy, finding good buddies is not always and what you may want from a buddy is somewhat different than what I would expect.

 

[Kingpatzer]

Don't worry, it's not your fault.

Yes, it is. It might well be an excusable and understandable mistake due to inexperience, but it's decidedly his responsibility.

A novice diver, who is buddied with an instructor, ought to be able to take for granted that he/she is going to be watched properly.

Sorry, I don't buy that. Unless he was on the boat as a student, which it doesn't sound like he was. This wasn't a class dive. The instructor was just a guy who happened to be on the boat, it doesn't sound like he was in charge of the event or there in any capacity as instructor. He was just a guy who got picked to be the buddy-du-jour.

 

[Puffer Fish]

Yes, it is. It might well be an excusable and understandable mistake due to inexperience, but it's decidedly his responsibility.



Sorry, I don't buy that. Unless he was on the boat as a student, which it doesn't sound like he was. This wasn't a class dive. The instructor was just a guy who happened to be on the boat, it doesn't sound like he was in charge of the event or there in any capacity as instructor. He was just a guy who got picked to be the buddy-du-jour.

I could not agree more (as an instructor). I do dives where we agree that the fast breather will go up alone... I do dives where my buddy-du-jour and I will dive on their profile....depends on a lot of things. Honestly, I also do dives where my buddy and I are in the same ocean...but I would never agree to do the dive that was explained in this thread...

 

[nereas]

Maybe I'm just really lucky with my shop . . . but my regular instructor basically tells everyone "question everything I say, having more pretty cards doesn't make me god."

It's every diver's job to be fully comfortable with the dive plan, conditions, equipment, people, and every aspect of the event prior to getting into the water. How many certs someone carries is immaterial to that . . . if a diver is being asked to violate standard practices, go beyond their training, or engage in actions they know to be against normative practices, they are responsible for speaking up.

And yes, with few dives it's hard to do that. Like I said, maybe my LDS and instructors are above average in this regard, but I've always felt comfortable discussing a plan before agreeing to it with them.

Let's examine the various failure points that occurred on this particular dive:

1) the diver was on an advanced boat that he/she was not ready for;

2) the diver was assigned a buddy who did not behave competently nor responsibly;

3) the irresponsible buddy happened to have an instructor rating, which disguised his/her incompetence;

4) the boat captain made a bad choice for assigning a buddy to the single diver, although by all appearances any instructor or even D/M should have done a better job as a buddy;

5) the diver started as a dependent buddy, after which he/she ended up solo.

It is a lucky thing that the diver was not killed on this dive.

Any responsible D/M or instructor could have handled this situation easily, it just did not happen that way. So it is a good thing there was not a death and also a lawsuit afterwards.

So, I do hope that your store has better D/Ms and instructors than this.

 

[The Logic Theorist]

Let me clear up a few more items of confusion here:

This was not a class, it was a dive trip.

I signed up through my LDS and not the boat charter.

The pairing up was made by the LDS representative who I signed up for the trip with, NOT the captain.

The instructor I was paired with was supposed to be leading the trip as per the LDS, and I was paired with him as a fallback due to no other buddy being present for me.

 

[Puffer Fish]

Any responsible D/M or instructor could have handled this situation easily, it just did not happen that way. So it is a good thing there was not a death and also a lawsuit afterwards.

I agree, as I've been on the other side of that a lot. But our new diver still has to be responsible for what he does...just because he is assigned a somewhat less than safe instructor, does not relieve him of his dive plan responsibilites.

I would also be a bit concerned if this was just a person on the trip that said they were an instructor or one actually from the store. From the store would scare me, well both would actually.