To be truly safe yes you are correct. The plan should have been to head back to shore after so many minutes since finding people on the top was going to be tough.
I did not dive last night
- Thread starter 83aztec
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To be truly safe yes you are correct. The plan should have been to head back to shore after so many minutes since finding people on the top was going to be tough.
Bubbletrubble
Contributor
@83aztec: I'm sorry to hear that things didn't go as planned. I applaud your decision to call the dive. It sounds like you were attempting a night dive at La Jolla Shores. I'm guessing that you were going to do the Main Wall (straight west from Vallecitos) or the South Walls (south of Vallecitos). I've done a fair number of dives there. For those unfamiliar with the site, it's a gently sloping sandy bottom in a westward direction (away from shore) to about 50 fsw where there's a 5 - 6 ft tall wall that runs parallel to the shore. Currents appear infrequently and are usually quite manageable. Surf and surge are variable. Typical vis during the day is 10 - 15 feet at depth. Vis at night will vary based on conditions and how strong your light is. 
Many of my LJ Shores dives have been done as a threesome. A three-person dive party does have its challenges -- especially if any one member is not vigilant about keeping tabs on the other two. No one likes playing "monkey in the middle." I sure don't. I will acknowledge that visibility at the Shores can be so crappy at times (< 5 ft) that you'll only be able to see one member of your dive party. If you insist on diving in such conditions, I recommend you dive in parade formation, shoulder to shoulder. If one person stops to check out something in the sand, then everyone should stop. Just common sense, right?
You may want to re-think your dive team's buddy separation protocol, especially as it applies to the beginning of the dive (initial descent). Consider the myriad things that can occur during descent: ear-clearing issues, sinus problems, mask leaks, buoyancy problems, lost weight pockets, forgotten weight, drysuit-specific issues, and light malfunctions. I would argue that this part of a dive has the highest probability of buddy separation. I suggest that all members of your diving party descend together so that people will know if anyone is having any issues. If vis or current prevents descending together, then meet at the bottom in the sand (at about 20 fsw, depending on where you descend) and give "OK" signs with your lights before proceeding with the dive. Everyone turns his/her light on before descending so that they can see and be seen. There's really no excuse for getting separated at the beginning of a Shores dive...particularly on a night dive. Even with a great deal of surface chop at that site, a diver can be seen at the surface at night. He has a light, right?
Buddy separation at the end of a Shores dive is a different issue. Vis in the shallows can be really bad at times. Generally people just do their safety stop while kicking in along the sandy bottom. Since everyone is heading east towards shore anyway, it makes more sense to not surface immediately and just keep an eye out for a missing buddy. FWIW, at shallow depths on night dives, a topside observer can usually spot a diver's UW light at quite a distance away.
As for trying to buddy up with strangers...in the dark...as they enter the water...
Uh. That's just a horrible idea. Especially with such a large dive group, it would be really easy to get separated from your new buddy. My advice is not to dive with anyone for the first time at night. Period. I don't care if they are related to Jacques Cousteau or if I see gill slits on their neck.
What would have happened if you had joined the group just going out? Wouldn't your original buddies wonder where you went when they surfaced...and you were nowhere to be found?
A couple of years ago, our dive group had to say "No" to a stranger who wanted to join us on a night dive at the Shores. He seemed like a nice guy who was using some expensive equipment (DUI drysuit + Halcyon BP/W + Aqualung Legend regs). He said that he was an out-of-towner whose buddy canceled on him. He had never dived at the Shores but had heard good things about it. I actually felt bad when some members of our group told him: "Thanks, but no thanks. Our dive team/plan is set." I then went on to recommend that he not attempt a solo dive since he was unfamiliar with the site.
After our 80 minute dive, we found out that he had attempted a solo dive but was disappointed with the lack of life out there. He complained: "All that's out there is sand!" He then inquired about how much weight I used. It turns out he had never used a drysuit or a BP/W rig before! After looking at his SS BP + heavy STA + HP100 steel tank, I asked him how much lead he was wearing. He said, "About 50 pounds...but I was having a hard time staying down."
This guy was an accident waiting to happen. He exhibited poor judgment on so many different levels.
How you dive is up to you...but I would suggest revising some of your dive team's practices. The Shores is a great place to enjoy night dives. Maybe we'll be treated to one of those highly anticipated squid runs soon.
Have fun and dive safe.
Many of my LJ Shores dives have been done as a threesome. A three-person dive party does have its challenges -- especially if any one member is not vigilant about keeping tabs on the other two. No one likes playing "monkey in the middle." I sure don't. I will acknowledge that visibility at the Shores can be so crappy at times (< 5 ft) that you'll only be able to see one member of your dive party. If you insist on diving in such conditions, I recommend you dive in parade formation, shoulder to shoulder. If one person stops to check out something in the sand, then everyone should stop. Just common sense, right?
You may want to re-think your dive team's buddy separation protocol, especially as it applies to the beginning of the dive (initial descent). Consider the myriad things that can occur during descent: ear-clearing issues, sinus problems, mask leaks, buoyancy problems, lost weight pockets, forgotten weight, drysuit-specific issues, and light malfunctions. I would argue that this part of a dive has the highest probability of buddy separation. I suggest that all members of your diving party descend together so that people will know if anyone is having any issues. If vis or current prevents descending together, then meet at the bottom in the sand (at about 20 fsw, depending on where you descend) and give "OK" signs with your lights before proceeding with the dive. Everyone turns his/her light on before descending so that they can see and be seen. There's really no excuse for getting separated at the beginning of a Shores dive...particularly on a night dive. Even with a great deal of surface chop at that site, a diver can be seen at the surface at night. He has a light, right?
Buddy separation at the end of a Shores dive is a different issue. Vis in the shallows can be really bad at times. Generally people just do their safety stop while kicking in along the sandy bottom. Since everyone is heading east towards shore anyway, it makes more sense to not surface immediately and just keep an eye out for a missing buddy. FWIW, at shallow depths on night dives, a topside observer can usually spot a diver's UW light at quite a distance away.
As for trying to buddy up with strangers...in the dark...as they enter the water...
Uh. That's just a horrible idea. Especially with such a large dive group, it would be really easy to get separated from your new buddy. My advice is not to dive with anyone for the first time at night. Period. I don't care if they are related to Jacques Cousteau or if I see gill slits on their neck.
What would have happened if you had joined the group just going out? Wouldn't your original buddies wonder where you went when they surfaced...and you were nowhere to be found?
A couple of years ago, our dive group had to say "No" to a stranger who wanted to join us on a night dive at the Shores. He seemed like a nice guy who was using some expensive equipment (DUI drysuit + Halcyon BP/W + Aqualung Legend regs). He said that he was an out-of-towner whose buddy canceled on him. He had never dived at the Shores but had heard good things about it. I actually felt bad when some members of our group told him: "Thanks, but no thanks. Our dive team/plan is set." I then went on to recommend that he not attempt a solo dive since he was unfamiliar with the site.
After our 80 minute dive, we found out that he had attempted a solo dive but was disappointed with the lack of life out there. He complained: "All that's out there is sand!" He then inquired about how much weight I used. It turns out he had never used a drysuit or a BP/W rig before! After looking at his SS BP + heavy STA + HP100 steel tank, I asked him how much lead he was wearing. He said, "About 50 pounds...but I was having a hard time staying down."
This guy was an accident waiting to happen. He exhibited poor judgment on so many different levels.
How you dive is up to you...but I would suggest revising some of your dive team's practices. The Shores is a great place to enjoy night dives. Maybe we'll be treated to one of those highly anticipated squid runs soon.
Have fun and dive safe.
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From some of what I have been reading on this site, that's not true. You have to earn your tomorrows by making intelligent decisions and managing risks in the water. I don't have the experience to judge, but it sounds like people here think your plan was inadequate. It's good that you made the safe call to end your dive for the night and, indeed, there will be a tomorrow for you.
When your buddies returned to shore at the end of their dive, what was their impression of the situation? Were they concerned that they lost you so early? When did they actually notice you were gone, and did they communicate with each other about it? It would seem that a post-dive meeting to discuss what happened, what could have happened, and what should have happened is an important learning tool for advancing experience more rapidly.
-bob
A post dive discussion did take place. We discussed what could have been done better and learned a bit from that. (One decision was we would be more comfortable at this time to start our night dives at dusk with some light still in the sky to help with any early separation issues) I see the point about not wanting a stranger to dive with you on a night dive. I posted this to get some input and thanks for all of that.
ScubaSteve
Wow.....what a DB
One thing you will always get here is input. Some will be welcome and other may not be. Bottom line is, almost all people os SB are good people who are geuninely trying to help everybody to be a safer diver. Some of us come accross a little harsh but we are still heading in the same direction. Read and listen to all that you get here, and process it for yourself. If you think about it, you will end up better for it (even if you choose to not follow some of the input). Posting here and sticking around for it was a good idea.
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