Lost a mask at ABWA on Sunday, June 22nd...

[bamamedic]

Kenny,

That's exactly why I decided against it...

I remember from doing a lot of reading on the Accidents and Incidents forum at both Scubaboard and TDS, is that it's not usually one big event that does you in, but a ton of small screw ups piled up on top of each other.

Only having 1/2 a tank, plus an ill fitting mask, plus a solo dive (haven't done that before), plus the depth (never been to 120 ft before) and potential narcosis, plus a potential deco obligation (which would be foolhardy to attempt on 1/2 a tank)...well, it started to sound like a potential post in the "Accidents" section!

So, I decided against it...

 

[SuPrBuGmAn]

Yeah, you were definately wise to stay out of that kinda depth at this point. Don't second guess that decision, its easy enough to buy another backup if nobody can round up your old one in a timely fashion.

 

[bamamedic]

Did you do that profile in VPlanner? I used to love playing with VPlanner before my free trial ran out...

I just wish it hadn't been my cool-as-hell Atomic mask that got lost...oh well. I figured it was just a matter of time before I managed to lose something to the quarry monster LOL. At the end of the dive, I was so frazzled about the whole thing, that as I unfastened my harness in order to haul my gear up onto the dock, my can light almost slid off! Now, I would have dove to get that...even maskless .

Kevin, if you happen to be at ABWA, and come across my mask, I'll give you a great big hug when I see you, and buy you dinner! :blinking:

 

[bigken462]

Nahh, I use Deco planner 3. I've toyed with V-planner some, but never bought into it.

Next time we dive, remind me to bring my notebook and I'll give you a run through it. It's a nice nifty program. What I would like is buy one of those HP printers that we use to print EKG's, and such from the bedside cardiac monitor, or what most people may be familiar with a receipt printer. Would it not be cool to print a two inch strip profile, stick it in the laminator and off you go?

I used to have a notebook which had XP on it. I have the gas management program and thought to mount it up in the dive trailer to do field mixes. May still do it, but the puter CMOS battery went out, so tonight I got brave with a screw driver and 80 screws later I came to the conclusion that perhaps I was not as computer savvy as I first thought.

Realizing I was over my head I pulled my trust worthy diving books out and reviewed some.

1. Oxygen clean, static clean gloves - check
2. Black screwdriver - check
3. Black Flashlight - check
4. Diving into a computer which was beyond my training - check-check.

Oh well. It's 0122 and only one EMS call so far. Perhaps i'll gain something from this shift afterall.

Safe diving,

Ken

 

[bamamedic]

Ugh...it's only 4am, and I've run four calls already! You've got it easy in Cullman LOL...of course, we don't have those long transports to Birmingham that y'all have to do on a regular basis.

Poor computer! I wouldn't dare work on my trusty little laptop...I'm absolutely positive I'd screw something up. Unfortunately, I've managed to freeze the battery a couple of times by leaving it in my car overnight during a cold spell...it only works at about half capacity now.

It would be exceedingly cool to be able to print off a strip, and just laminate it and carry it with you...too bad I can't somehow modify my cardiac monitor to do that

Hope you have a pleasant shift....I think I'll go down to the local dive shop when I get off work in the AM and see if they have any mid-sized Atomic masks in stock.

 

[bigken462]

Patrick forgot to bring me my videos as he said he would. But i'll keep on him. His 26yo wife just had a double mastectomy this week so I'll cut him some slack. I would imagine those are the last thing on his mind.

Included with those videos are allot of Paco's cave dive movies. I've got several here at home I downloaded that I'll pass along to ya. Some of my favorite are the ones of Florida and Mexico. I watch them here at work quite often on the large HD wide screen. What better way to enjoy a shift than seeing a few hours of cave videos each night.

It's not been a bad night just yet. We have a few scheduled runs to do this morning, however I did have time to pull the books out some last night and review some much needed formulas. Just when I seem to get them memorized something comes along and causes me to put them away for a while.

Sleep good, time to break the notebook down and pretend to be a medic for a few hours.

Dive safe,

Ken

 

[Flightlead]

The only way I would have attempted it would be on a full cylinder and even then let your partner hold the other end of a dive reel so you can keep tabs on where you are at. However at that depth, I’m not sure even with doing that it would help too much, but certainly for sure better than not having no reel at all. Even then this would be controversial for some.
Your decision to call the dive may have proved to be a good decision. Let’s take another look why:
Knowing your stature and small frame, on a good day I would assume your SAC rate is next to nothing as you have done proved that to me however now you just task loaded yourself with multiple issues which will increase your SAC rate quite a bit.
1. Solo diving – how comfortable are you at doing this?
2. Solo diving in a dark, cold, limited vis environment.
3. Using another buddy’s mask which may not conform to your facial features as needed for a safe dive.
4. Familiarization with how to do a search pattern with limited vis
5. Tired, stressed etc from having previously done two dives, not to mention nitrogen loading from those dives.
Since you were diving with your Alu 80’s you have a tank baseline of 2.67 cubic feet of gas per 100 PSI. (IIRC so check my math) You mentioned 1500 remaining PSI of gas which would have given you just over 40 cubic feet (but you already knew that since it’s half your supply right?)
Not knowing your previous profile, I cant plug those numbers in to see what your deco obligations would be (in your case safety stops) however even had this been your first dive you with a guessing SAC of 0.7 you would need around 44-45cfg. Below is the profile with a 10 minute BT.
Depth Time O2 He PPO2 Ceil 120 10 21 0 0.98 40 Size Rated Fill O2 He MOD Res Cu Ft 80 3000 3000 21 0 187.00 0 44 Depth Time O2 He Start End PPO2 Gas Gas Reqd GF% MVal% CNS% OTU 120 10 21 0 1 10 0.98 0.70 40 0 15 3 8.41 40 1 21 0 12 13 0.47 0.70 1 20 54 4 9.59 30 1 21 0 13 14 0.40 0.70 1 52 59 4 9.59 20 1 21 0 14 15 0.34 0.70 1 69 65 4 9.59 10 1 21 0 15 16 0.28 0.70 1 85 72 4 9.59 0 17 85 82 4 9.59
So, long story short; good decision on your part for sticking to your gut instinct. It’s only expected that everyone donate something to the quarry at some point in their diving career. I have a snorkel somewhere along the bottom – what better place for it!
Safe diving.

Kenny

P.S. The forum program seems to wrap the text......In this case the profile is all gibberish. Sorry

using a reel like that sounds like an invitation to entanglement to me. especially on the ascent. its clear, open water, while invite trouble by putting line into the water?