I'm interested in any opinions on a bad dive yesterday. It really ended up being a cluster, not from any major problem but from a series of little things that led to me calling the dive.
I've been looking for a drysuit for a while now but I'm not confident on sizing, so what better way to try a few out than attending the Whites Demo Tour at our local quarry. This past week I've had a bit of a head cold so I contemplated not diving, in the end I decided I'd make the attempt but call the dive if I had trouble clearing.
I was fit for a suit (L/XL) and from the outset it was too tight in the shoulders, much too tight. The reps assured me it was the right size, but having the limited flexibility in the shoulders made getting geared up a real struggle. I get in the water and three other divers can't get down, not enough weight. I come back up and wait patiently for them to get more weight. There is one instructor and four divers including myself. We finally all descend and a few things are happening:
1. My mask is fogging because of the cold water (47 degrees)
2. I did not wear my depth gauge, and my computer does not appear accurate
in shallow depths, so I'm not trusting my depth
3. My fins are much too tight in the rock boots vs. the normal soft shoes I
normally wear. Really tight bordering on painful and cramping.
4. I'm slightly overweighted and need to use my wing as an "elevator"
5. My ears clear fine until 25 feet, at which point they're blocked solid.
With all of the above factors, I decided against rising a few feet and trying to clear. My heart rate was up, I felt task overloaded, and was getting worked up almost on the border of a panic. I swam to the nearest diver, tapped them, signaled problem with my ears, thumbed, and we swapped OK signs. The instructor was too far ahead leading the team for me to be able to get his attention, and the diver I informed would later signal to him that I'm fine but had ear trouble and thumbed the dive.
During my ascent, I was using the wing as an elevator, trying to vent the drysuit, looking through a fogged mask, and had trouble "swimming" up. The last 10 feet went quicker than my normal 30 ft/min rate. I popped up a little at the top.
A few things I took away from this:
1. I didn't use my normal dive configuration (lack of the depth guage I usually
dive with). I trust it much more in shallow depths, that would have helped.
2. I did defog my mask, but should have given it a good scrub and then let the
defog dry on it before rinsing due to the cold water.
3. The fins were much too tight, I could have asked someone to borrow a pair
4. The suit was too tight in the shoulders. The feeling of restriction makes
every task 10 times as hard and tiring. Never dive with an uncomfortable
piece of equipment, even if that means waiting until another day to dive.
5. The Demo instructor failed to assign buddy pairs, so we were diving in a
group. Although we we're just off the dock and there were people on shore
watching us, this was a significant oversight on the instructor's and divers'
part. None of the other divers thought much about it. Major mistake for all
for all of us.
All of these, except the lack of buddy pairs, were little things that were adding up to a continual decline in comfort and increasing problems. I was never in any real danger but the feeling of panic starting to set in was horrible.
All of the above are my responsibility. But I do think that the Demo events need a better process requiring a buoyancy check and the assignment of buddy pairs.
Would would you have done differently or advice would you give?
I've been looking for a drysuit for a while now but I'm not confident on sizing, so what better way to try a few out than attending the Whites Demo Tour at our local quarry. This past week I've had a bit of a head cold so I contemplated not diving, in the end I decided I'd make the attempt but call the dive if I had trouble clearing.
I was fit for a suit (L/XL) and from the outset it was too tight in the shoulders, much too tight. The reps assured me it was the right size, but having the limited flexibility in the shoulders made getting geared up a real struggle. I get in the water and three other divers can't get down, not enough weight. I come back up and wait patiently for them to get more weight. There is one instructor and four divers including myself. We finally all descend and a few things are happening:
1. My mask is fogging because of the cold water (47 degrees)
2. I did not wear my depth gauge, and my computer does not appear accurate
in shallow depths, so I'm not trusting my depth
3. My fins are much too tight in the rock boots vs. the normal soft shoes I
normally wear. Really tight bordering on painful and cramping.
4. I'm slightly overweighted and need to use my wing as an "elevator"
5. My ears clear fine until 25 feet, at which point they're blocked solid.
With all of the above factors, I decided against rising a few feet and trying to clear. My heart rate was up, I felt task overloaded, and was getting worked up almost on the border of a panic. I swam to the nearest diver, tapped them, signaled problem with my ears, thumbed, and we swapped OK signs. The instructor was too far ahead leading the team for me to be able to get his attention, and the diver I informed would later signal to him that I'm fine but had ear trouble and thumbed the dive.
During my ascent, I was using the wing as an elevator, trying to vent the drysuit, looking through a fogged mask, and had trouble "swimming" up. The last 10 feet went quicker than my normal 30 ft/min rate. I popped up a little at the top.
A few things I took away from this:
1. I didn't use my normal dive configuration (lack of the depth guage I usually
dive with). I trust it much more in shallow depths, that would have helped.
2. I did defog my mask, but should have given it a good scrub and then let the
defog dry on it before rinsing due to the cold water.
3. The fins were much too tight, I could have asked someone to borrow a pair
4. The suit was too tight in the shoulders. The feeling of restriction makes
every task 10 times as hard and tiring. Never dive with an uncomfortable
piece of equipment, even if that means waiting until another day to dive.
5. The Demo instructor failed to assign buddy pairs, so we were diving in a
group. Although we we're just off the dock and there were people on shore
watching us, this was a significant oversight on the instructor's and divers'
part. None of the other divers thought much about it. Major mistake for all
for all of us.
All of these, except the lack of buddy pairs, were little things that were adding up to a continual decline in comfort and increasing problems. I was never in any real danger but the feeling of panic starting to set in was horrible.
All of the above are my responsibility. But I do think that the Demo events need a better process requiring a buoyancy check and the assignment of buddy pairs.
Would would you have done differently or advice would you give?
