I made newbie mistakes

[TSandM]

Scubasailor, this was a wonderful experience! You didn't get hurt, and there were a whole bunch of lessons that got highlighted here, and nothing causes a deeper impression than a personal experience.

In my experience, buddy checks are one of the first things to go after people get certified. We've even had DMs on resort boats HASSLE us for doing them, because they wanted us into the water faster. But solving problems on the surface is ALWAYS easier than solving them underwater, so anything you can catch on land is worth doing there.

In addition, you learned another important lesson . . . Descents are one of the times when things go wrong, or when you become aware of things going wrong, so descents are one of the critical times to keep the team TOGETHER. All too often, I see people jump off the boat and descend without reference to one another, with the intention of regrouping at the bottom of the anchor or wherever. But if one person has a gear issue, or can't equalize, or finds out his valve isn't completely open, that's the time to have ones buddy nearby to help.

Anyway, congratulations on calmly handling the issue. You won't forget this quickly!

 

[imwright1985]

Sounds like you learned your lesson and stayed kinda safe while doing it. Great to hear you were in the right frame of mind to do that. When im still topside i check my air/tank bands/weights 2-3 times then as i put on gear probably 2 times i would check to see my gauges octo and reg are routed right. my 5th dive i was rushed to get in the water and my reg hose was under the shoulder strap but since mine buckles i was able to figure out how to get it fixed while i was decending. But it made me want to check all my gear more in the future and get my friends to slow down with getting in the water. As TS and M said it is great to have your buddies with you on descent since that is when you realise stuff isnt quite right, so it is important to make sure your all on the same page.

 

[gypsyjim]

Having two young divers I watch over, I have skipped a few of my own steps over the years. Wish I could say that it was only once that I waited to find my reg before I reached for that first breath on descent! Oops!

 

[idocsteve]

op, you bring up a good point

When something needs to be fixed...such as your situation, it's infinitely easier for your buddy to do it because they can see it much more clearly than you can, if you can even see it at all.

So assuming it's not an emergency, get your buddies attention at the earliest possible time, use proper signals to indicate a problem, point to the area of concern, make sure he understands, and let him do the adjustment for you.

Reminds me of a time when I used to hook my camera and housing to one of my upper BC D-rings. Never again. It floated up and got wrapped around my hoses and who knows what else. I got the attention of another diver (we were in a sort of loose group, and waiting on the bottom for everyone to join us). He immediately saw the problem and got my camera freed up. I doubt I could have done it without removing my rig at depth, and it would have taken much longer and at slight additional risk of complicating the situation further.

 

[DCBC]

On a recent dive, we descended to about 40' when i realized that I had routed my gauge hose under my cumberbund. Well, I unbuckled the waste buckle of my BCD, then pulled on the cumberbund, or what I thought was the cumberbund. It actually turned out to be the integrated weights on my right side.

I got it back in ok, but it sure made me think about what I had just done.

I learned a few things from this experience:

1) When I checked my gauges topside, the gauge hose was connected correctly to the regulator, and the gauges were in the right place in my hand. I must check to make sure that the hose connecting them in the right place, too.

2) My dive buddy and I need to conduct a better buddy check on the surface.

3) I started trying to fix the problem before my dive buddy hit the bottom. I will not try that kind of fix again without my dive buddy next to me and aware of what I am doing. If I had accidentally dropped the weight, I might have had an issue if he were not there to give me a hand.

I hope this post helps another new diver avoid the same mistakes.

Scubasailor,

Thanks for sharing. We all have made some stupid mistakes, but it's part of the learning process. With continued training, experience and good buddy contact, we have a good chance of surviving our errors.

Wayne

 

[TMHeimer]

I had that exact problem early on. Just make sure everything is connected right and well out of the way when you don the unit. During my first 20 dives or so--boat and beach, it seemed that everyone else was in some sort of a race. Seemed that all were relaxed and chatting on the boat ride out then a tornado of activity to gear up with me in the dust. They all had done this many times before. After a time I realized they were just at normal speed! Once in a while if my mind wanders I still do the odd "dumb" thing. After like 100 dives I found myself walking into the water once without the air turned on. It all gets easier as you go. Regarding buddy checks: I have always struggled more than most with equipment--and own my own. I have found that with the exception of very recently certified divers, very few people do the thorough buddy check we were taught in OW. MANY folks disagree with me here. I have found that I always do the thorough buddy check on myself first, so I know all my stuff is right--then let a buddy check me over if he wants. Then I will check him out. This approach will help if you do the Rescue Diver course, or simply if someone is in trouble and you are the only one on shore with no one to buddy-check you.

 

[fnfalman]

Or get a hoseless air integrated dive comp and don't have to worry about routing the hoses. Hehe.

 

[Teamcasa]

Thank you for making your mistake public. We all, no matter our experience or skill level, have made them, but too few of us care to make them public.

My recent one. I did a poor buddy check on my wife and only noticed that her tank straps were not tight just before she splashed in. Thankfully, I was able to stop her and cinch them down in time but only because she was in front of me. If I had been first, the outcome may have been much different.

A lesson well learned will not soon be forgotten.

 

[idocsteve]

If I had been first, the outcome may have been much different.

Well, a tank slipping out of it's strap is something that must be dealt with, but it's not uncommon and it's not usually a crisis...more often than not it's just going to hang there, held by the hoses until it's slid back in and locked back into place...

 

[Teamcasa]

Well, a tank slipping out of it's strap is something that must be dealt with, but it's not uncommon and it's not usually a crisis...more often than not it's just going to hang there, held by the hoses until it's slid back in and locked back into place...

True but it clearly demonstrated that I did not do a proper buddy check.