When have you called a dive and why?

[Humuhumunukunukuapua'a]

One time we swam out, dropped down and only knew we were at the bottom when our faces hit it...we called that one

There have been a few times when conditions just didn't add up. If you can't see your hand in front of your face or the swell is bigger than expected, we have occasionaly cancelled a dive.

 

[Ber Rabbit]

Let's see, I've aborted several:
*Teaching an AOW class and getting ready for the deep dive. Couple of students arrived late, another one had a high pressure inflator hose o-ring blow out while gear was just laying on the gear table. Something else weird happened but I don't remember what it was I just remember there were 3 "issues" I'd had to deal with. I started having really ominous feelings about the dive and told them we would do it tomorrow. Tomorrow comes, head out with first group for deep dive, get to about 50 feet and start having this really freaky feeling, aborted dive. We waited until the next weekend and did the deep dive at another site without incident.

*Boat dive. We get in and find out from the DM that the wreck wasn't hooked. We get out of the water to wait for DM to run a line to the wreck from the anchor. Visibility was about 4 feet and I decided I didn't want to have to find a cave line in that sort of vis since I'd had enough trouble finding the anchor line on the previous dive so I aborted.

*Boat dive. Going down the buoy line in a threesome. Got to the point where we were going to follow the line that runs from the buoy line to the wreck and I started getting this weird feeling so I told my buddies to stay down and that I was ok but was aborting. Freaked my hubby out, we always ascend together and he indicated that he would come too. I told him "No there are others coming down the line, you go dive." He finally relented and they went on their way. On the way up I got a big-eyed look from one of my former AOW students as he was going down--guess its a little weird watching your instructor abort a dive you're getting ready to do. The captain was having a cow, "What's wrong, what's wrong?" Nothing was wrong I just didn't want to go.

*Boat dive. First time I'd ever been on the Great Lakes and first time I'd ever been on a "real" boat. We're going down the buoy line and we are at 30 feet or so and I'm suddenly certain a monster at the end of the line is going to eat me. The thought will not go away and panic is starting to rise since I don't want to be eaten. I get face to face with my dive buddy who had also been my instructor but the human contact isn't helping (my mask is pressed against hers). I finally decide that I'm not going to be able to control the rising panic much longer so I thumb the dive. (Much later I realized that seeing monsters is what happens when I mix Sudafed with Dramamine when I dive--won't be doing THAT again).

*Second day of my check-out dives. I'd had a dream the week before about a diver in a black and red wetsuit who got stuck in a crevice, I tried to save them but couldn't. Day 2 of my check-outs in the quarry my buddy (in a black wetsuit with red trim) ends up sinking between a boat and the wall, she signals ok but I start playing the dream in my head and feel like I can't get to her even though I'm right there. Eventually she gets her buoyancy sorted out and gets out from between the boat and the wall. We end up ascending a bit and I get a reverse squeeze but don't realize that's what it is right away I just know it feels like someone put an ice pick in my ear. I put my head on her shoulder and tell her to take me up to alleviate the squeeze. I no longer know which way is up and can't figure out why she is descending (pain is increasing) I finally look at my bubbles and realize we are going the same way they are, up. That's when I realize I have a reverse squeeze, we break the surface shortly after. We try to descend one more time but by now I'm thoroughly freaked, I finally told the instructor who was with us that I wanted to abort cause I was afraid I was pushing myself to a limit that was going to get someone else killed. I finished the dives another weekend.

*Planning to do my first dive to 120 feet in the local quarry. It was supposed to be my dive buddy and I but at the last minute two other divers join the group. I was exhausted after working all night and really had no business doing the dive anyway. I told my buddy I wasn't comfortable doing the dive with the other 2 and I was going to sit it out. I didn't want him to have to deal with more than one freaky diver and I knew the chance of me having a narcosis issue was good. Turned out my bad feeling was well founded as one of the divers ended up running out of air and my buddy had to deal with that.

*Dive planned to 90 feet at quarry. Three of us were getting ready to dive and my buddy asked what depth we wanted to use. I said I didn't care and the other diver said 90 feet. I went to get my gear ready and started having a serious anxiety issue about the depth for no reason. I told my buddy, I'm already freaking about the 90 feet so we changed it to 50 and the feeling went away.

There's no shame in calling a dive. I had a student just recently feel bad about having to cut our 90 foot dive short. He was very narced and unable to control his breathing, he said he kept telling himself to breathe slow and deep with long exhales but could not make his body do it. He kept apologizing when we got to the surface even though I told him there was nothing to be sorry about, he had done the right thing. Believe me I did not want to see him continue the dive only to end up so narced he might panic and bolt to the surface. Everyone needs to realize there is no reason to apologize for aborting a dive whether at the beginning or at the end. Accidents are a series of small problems that compound themselves until they reach a level you can no longer handle. Do yourself and your buddy's a favor, if you really don't like the way the dive is going skip it. I would rather spend all the money in the world and have to switch buddies or not get to dive than have to bring back the body of my dive buddy.
Ber :lilbunny:

 

[HBDiveGirl]

I've thumbed dives due to:

Beach conditions.
I've been educated by the surf a few times. I get it. If the surf looks too rough, it is. I've got nothing to prove, and the beach isn't going anywhere, and I can return and dive again on another day. It isn't worth hurting myself, my teammates, or our gear. I was pummelled and lucky enough times. Give the guardian angels a rest.
(Don't waffle. If I decide to go, I'm all "GO" with no hesitation. If I can't get that full commitment, I won't go.)

Multiple small problems that can't be completely solved.
The Rule of 3 should be carefully considered.
Ex: Night shore-dive, two teams of two divers.
1) Failed computer in the parking lot. Back up available. All's good.
2) Short one back-up light. One team still has three lights total. OK, but that's one unsolved.
3) Rough entry rolls one diver, who decides to remain on shore. Reformed team of three decides to continue. hmmmm....
4) Successful entry, but a primary light fails on the surface. We now have enough back-up lights, so we decide to continue with 5 lights for 3 divers. hmmmm...
5) Upon descent, one diver has a tiny leak at a wrist seal due to damage during the rough entry. Small enough to tolerate for a short dive. But this is number 3. We're done. Back to the car. On to dessert and drinks. (...which is not so bad.) And it's all better than finding out what the next problem would have been.... 'cause there would have been a next one...

If you've had three small problems, and you're thinking about continuing, you've gotta ask yourself "why", and think about the answer carefully.

Be safe and have Great Dives!
Claudette

 

[ClayJar]

I thumbed an early return one time when the seasickness I'd had on the surface apparently returned at depth. Nothing left to dirty the regulator, but needless to say, it complicated breathing somewhat.

I'm just slightly obsessive-compulsive (hehe) enough that I've never had a preventable problem thumb a dive for me, and I'm apparently lucky enough that I've never had an equipment failure at depth. I *have* delayed a dive due a disturbance in The Force, but through checking of our gear turned up a minor complication with my buddy's, and once she corrected it, the nagging feeling evaporated and, confident that our gear was now *very* thoroughly checked, we had a great dive. If we hadn't found anything, I would have called the dive -- long before I started diving, I learned that my gut is often more reliable than my more easily distracted brain.

 

[Divin'Papaw]

There's no shame in calling a dive. I had a student just recently feel bad about having to cut our 90 foot dive short. He was very narced and unable to control his breathing, he said he kept telling himself to breathe slow and deep with long exhales but could not make his body do it. He kept apologizing when we got to the surface even though I told him there was nothing to be sorry about, he had done the right thing. Believe me I did not want to see him continue the dive only to end up so narced he might panic and bolt to the surface. Everyone needs to realize there is no reason to apologize for aborting a dive whether at the beginning or at the end. Accidents are a series of small problems that compound themselves until they reach a level you can no longer handle. Do yourself and your buddy's a favor, if you really don't like the way the dive is going skip it. I would rather spend all the money in the world and have to switch buddies or not get to dive than have to bring back the body of my dive buddy.
Ber :lilbunny:

Awesome post Ber! Thanks for your honesty and for sharing your hard earned experience. Very, very helpful!!!

 

[waynne fowler]

I've call way too many to count. They were called for various reasons..

I like the "spidey sense" analogy!... I've had that a number of times, before, while and after entering the water.. I always call it when that goes on! I trust my instinct.

I've called them for equipment issues, buddy issues (though I've never put them on the spot, I always talk with them about the issues... later...)

I've called dives for environmental issues, (current going wrong way, too fast etc..)

I've called them for physical issues (can't clear, current is kicking my ***** today!, man I'm seasick, and others)

 

[TSandM]

I've called a few dives for water conditions -- called one last week on Maui because the visibility was poor and the surge was very strong. It just wasn't fun -- we could have done it, but why? I've called a dive when the current came up and was stronger than I was comfortable with, even though it was blowing us to shore.

I've had equipment malfunctions at the beginning of a dive where I've gone back to shore and allowed my two buddies to complete the dive. I had one dive where I had a freeflow we couldn't stop, and I scrubbed the subsequent dive because I wasn't going down again with that reg until I was sure there wasn't something wrong with it.

And I've had one dive where I seriously thought about backing out before getting in the water, and didn't, and should have. THAT was a real learning experience, and made me much more willing to say "no thanks" in the future.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I've gotten to the dive site a couple of times, taken one look at the conditions, looked at my dive buddy and said "not today".

I've ended dives early on a few occasions, for various reasons.

I've even thumbed dives if my buddy looked like he or she was struggling for some reason that I felt might lead to an unsatisfactory situation (I usually just tell them I was getting cold or something).

In the latter case, you have to understand that new divers, in particular, will hesitate to call dives when they should because they don't want to "ruin" your dive. I have to sometimes tell them that the only way to ruin my dive is to force me to rescue them. Any dive that ends in a controlled ascent is a good dive ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[MaxBottomtime]

I've called a few dives, usually due to extremely poor vis or cold water. On one particular dive at the Caissons, my buddy and I had been at 165' for less than three minutes when we both decided that the 48F and less than two feet vis would not be fun so we thumbed the dive simutanously. A minute before surfacing, two dolphins swam up to us. It is the only time I've seen a dolphin underwater.

 

[H2Andy]

i'm trying to think really hard ... i ususally don't get in the water if things
are iffy, so calling dives for me is pretty rare


i didn't call the dive, but i gave my buddy the option to go on without me
in Daytona once. the thermocline was in the low 60's and i was dying of
cold (cold wus). he went on diving, i went above the thermocline and hung
out at the line for the duration.

i called a dive in a cave when i nearly choked on water and couldn't breathe. it
freaked me out, so i figured better call it.

i called a dive when my primary light died on me about 10 minutes into a cave dive.
i didn't want to call the dive (i had two backups left), but the dive leader called it.

i called a dive into a cave when my reel tangled up and i got frustrated and mad.
i figured that was not the mindset i wanted, and called the dive. we used spools
and went back a few minutes later.


i think that's about it.... normally if i don't feel well, i just don't dive