Soloist
Contributor
I’ve been reluctant to post this incident, but considering the concerns raised by the Accidental DECO and mild panic in a non tech certified diver. thread it’s relevant. The intent of this post is not to embarrass, impugn or criticize, but rather further the discussion, awareness and edification.
I have been very fortunate to have only ever had one dive buddy. It’s either her or “no-buddy” since we are both avid solo divers. However, I did have an insta-buddy experience. He was an extremely nice, funny and wicked smart individual with a doctorate in medicine. I immediately asked about his experience, training and comfort level. He had been certified roughly twenty years earlier, but had not been diving in a very long time. He was using rental gear including a dive computer. We were doing minimal current anchor dives with 50 feet visibility, 60 minute max with air filled aluminum 80’s. Nitrox was unavailable. Seriously?
The boat was delayed getting underway due to several cruise ship divers yet to arrive. No problem. The first dive was a shallow wreck and reef with an average depth of 35 feet. My new buddy was very relaxed, trimmed, controlled, alert with better than average gas consumption. Great! At 45 minutes I noticed we were the last two in the water, but he signaled everything was fine, so we continued to explore until it was time to go up.
Thirty minutes after we exit the water everybody starts gearing up. I mentioned our minimal surface interval time to the dive mate, but it was dismissed. I assumed they were rushed due to the late departure, but it was irritating nonetheless. So my buddy and I splashed after a 44 minute SI. Not a problem if diving nitrox, but diving air? Moreover, the group immediately descends to over 80 feet. There’s a dozen curious reef sharks buzzing around, so I am interested in extending the dive for a long as possible. My NDL is plummeting, so I signal to my buddy we should move up to the top of the reef. Throughout the remainder of the dive I’m pointing at gauges and receiving okay signals in response. Once again at 45 minutes into the dive we are all alone, but continue with our dive for another ten minutes. Average dive depth 49 feet.
As I am coming up the ladder the DM says “hey, sorry for coming up so early, but I went into DECO”. Really? I stated I was down to 11 minutes NDL at one point. He laughed as as if I told him we were hanging out with Elvis and riding purple unicorns during our safety stop. I was compelled to tell him my Shearwater Perdix gradient factor was set for low conservatism. Out of curiosity I asked my buddy about his NDL on that last dive. He responded with “what’s NDL”? No freaking way! I questioned if he was serious. He was. Turns out he had gone into DECO, locked up his computer and was completely oblivious.
I impulsively launched into a long self righteous rant about NDL fundamentals, why it’s critical to monitor NDL, accumulative nitrogen associated with repetitive diving, computer essentials, DCS, blah, blah, blah, BLAH, BLAH!!! In other words, I felt responsible. He said he felt fine, but was genuinely appreciative and concerned. Then proceeded to do the night dive he scheduled with a different dive op and was back on the boat the next morning. The dive mate did reprimand him though by saying “don’t lock up any more computers, because we won’t have enough to go around, haha”! I kid you not, so he used yet another computer the next morning. Fortunately, I believe my deco-buddy has a newfound respect for NDL.
This level of complacency is concerning. Is scuba diving becoming the equivalent to bungee jumping, whitewater rafting and zip-lining?
I have been very fortunate to have only ever had one dive buddy. It’s either her or “no-buddy” since we are both avid solo divers. However, I did have an insta-buddy experience. He was an extremely nice, funny and wicked smart individual with a doctorate in medicine. I immediately asked about his experience, training and comfort level. He had been certified roughly twenty years earlier, but had not been diving in a very long time. He was using rental gear including a dive computer. We were doing minimal current anchor dives with 50 feet visibility, 60 minute max with air filled aluminum 80’s. Nitrox was unavailable. Seriously?
The boat was delayed getting underway due to several cruise ship divers yet to arrive. No problem. The first dive was a shallow wreck and reef with an average depth of 35 feet. My new buddy was very relaxed, trimmed, controlled, alert with better than average gas consumption. Great! At 45 minutes I noticed we were the last two in the water, but he signaled everything was fine, so we continued to explore until it was time to go up.
Thirty minutes after we exit the water everybody starts gearing up. I mentioned our minimal surface interval time to the dive mate, but it was dismissed. I assumed they were rushed due to the late departure, but it was irritating nonetheless. So my buddy and I splashed after a 44 minute SI. Not a problem if diving nitrox, but diving air? Moreover, the group immediately descends to over 80 feet. There’s a dozen curious reef sharks buzzing around, so I am interested in extending the dive for a long as possible. My NDL is plummeting, so I signal to my buddy we should move up to the top of the reef. Throughout the remainder of the dive I’m pointing at gauges and receiving okay signals in response. Once again at 45 minutes into the dive we are all alone, but continue with our dive for another ten minutes. Average dive depth 49 feet.
As I am coming up the ladder the DM says “hey, sorry for coming up so early, but I went into DECO”. Really? I stated I was down to 11 minutes NDL at one point. He laughed as as if I told him we were hanging out with Elvis and riding purple unicorns during our safety stop. I was compelled to tell him my Shearwater Perdix gradient factor was set for low conservatism. Out of curiosity I asked my buddy about his NDL on that last dive. He responded with “what’s NDL”? No freaking way! I questioned if he was serious. He was. Turns out he had gone into DECO, locked up his computer and was completely oblivious.
I impulsively launched into a long self righteous rant about NDL fundamentals, why it’s critical to monitor NDL, accumulative nitrogen associated with repetitive diving, computer essentials, DCS, blah, blah, blah, BLAH, BLAH!!! In other words, I felt responsible. He said he felt fine, but was genuinely appreciative and concerned. Then proceeded to do the night dive he scheduled with a different dive op and was back on the boat the next morning. The dive mate did reprimand him though by saying “don’t lock up any more computers, because we won’t have enough to go around, haha”! I kid you not, so he used yet another computer the next morning. Fortunately, I believe my deco-buddy has a newfound respect for NDL.
This level of complacency is concerning. Is scuba diving becoming the equivalent to bungee jumping, whitewater rafting and zip-lining?