Stupid mistakes....lucky,scared stiff

[FireMedic]

Hello, I would like to run something before the masses. I have been OW certified for a little over a year. I was recently on a dive with some family and friends, and my OWI. This was a pleasure\elective dive. We were using Nitrox (32%), my first experience with this gas. First dive went well. Strong surface current, but no problems. 98' with my brother was a great day. The problem came with dive #2. I was the 4th off the boat. As I hit the water, I lost my reg and mask. No problem. I replaced them, and then heard my brother yelling "swim #@%-it!". When i looked around the current and I had left the boat. Well, I inflated rolled over and started swimming to the boat. To no avail. They had to float the buoy and I had to pull myself in. When I reached the back of the boat I was quite winded (and EXTREMELY embarassed). My brother was in the water checking on me and asked if I was OK. I gave the good sign and said lets go. BIG MISTAKE. We had to pull against the current and then down the anchor line. Cross current in about 40'. Once we reached the wreck I knew that I wasn't right. My brother was in front and he left the line. I was hyperventilating. I took one good kick to get his attention and let him know that I was in trouble and needed to get out. I made it back to the line and was almost ready to spit my reg. (I kept it...good call). All I could see was BLUE. I knew that I was about to loose control. My brother rotated around in front of me so that when I opened my eyes all I could see was him. We ascended about 15-20' and I was a "little better", still breathing way to fast. I stopped and thought, if I leave the water several things were going to happen.... (1) my dive is ruined (2) My brothers dive is ruined (3) If I get out of the water I might as well sell all of my gear and forget diving (I DONT QUIT WELL). I finally got my respirations back into normal limits and i decided to finish the dive. The rest of the dive was OK other than the fact that I was scared $&*less. When I got back on the boat, I gathered everyone I could to let them know what happened so that they might learn from my mistakes and never put themselves in that position. I have been in the water 15 - 20 times since and it wasnt until the last dive that I didn't have something run up my back right as I entered the water. Heck, I am getting a heavy feeling now as I type this. By the way, I never saw my OWI in the water, and I was never really briefed on Nitrox. Was I on my way to 02 toxicity? I just needed to get this out, embarassing as it is, please, please, please, if you get fatigued, rest before decending. A little feedback would be greatly appreciated. (By the way, it takes alot for this Firefighter to admit to being scared....haha)

 

[CuriousMe]

Glad you're ok.

I have no idea that the nitrox had anything to do with it.....it sounds like straight panic. Before using nitrox again though, I'd definately recomend getting nitrox certified. It's not worth the chance man.

Peace,
Cathie

 

[FireMedic]

Thanks, Cathie. It actually was supposed to be an elective dive for my OWA... Still, I will be better prepared next time.

 

[RichLockyer]

If you were getting tunnel vision, you very well could have been very close to a seizure. You were well within the limits of 32%, but studies have shown that CO2 loading can be contributory to O2Tox. The CO2 loading also contributed to your narcosis (600x as potent as N2). I've had a couple of dives where I had to swim hard against a current and had to sit and catch my breath... until getting flushed out and back to normal, the narcosis had me absolutely slammed.

 

[Uncle Pug]

I gave the good sign and said lets go. BIG MISTAKE.
*************8
When I got back on the boat, I gathered everyone I could to let them know what happened so that they might learn from my mistakes and never put themselves in that position.

Please elaborate as to what you see as your mistakes that you wanted everyone to learn from.

 

[mccabejc]

Please elaborate as to what you see as your mistakes that you wanted everyone to learn from.

I was about to ask the same thing....

 

[Northeastwrecks]

I doubt that it was attributable to nitrox. My guess would be that you overbreathed the reg and ended up with a CO2 buildup and a "dark narc". The CO2 buildup would cause the rapid breathing and increase the degree of narcosis you experienced.

If you were under instruction, where you instructor was hiding? Even if the dive can be done without being under direct supervision, the instructor should have been present once you started experiencing problems.

In the future, I would suggest that you take some time on the surface to normalize your breathing and prepare for the dive. I like to hang on the bow line, breathing deeply and regularly before I descend. I'll do this for about 5 minutes. I find that my SAC is lower and that I enjoy the dive more.

Finally, remember that there is nothing down there worth dying over. Sometimes, its better to call a dive than to push it when you are marginal.

 

[RiverRat]

FireMedic,
Yes, please detail what mistakes you felt you made. I've done some stupid things like we all do sooner or later while learning. It really helped me to post on the board and analyze the dives and to get some other SB divers inputs. Sort of a post-crap dive briefing if you will. I've also learned that when s*** goes a little bad, things can sometimes snowball. When that happens and I get a little anxious I just STOP, think, breathe and act. It's amazing how a few deep breaths can get you right back into relaxation mode so you can straighten out your problems and continue on. Heck, I just came back from Ft. Wetherill, RI today and can tell you about a few issues I had to work through...........

 

[divenut2001]

Hello, I would like to run something before the masses. I have been OW certified for a little over a year. I was recently on a dive with some family and friends, and my OWI. This was a pleasure\elective dive. We were using Nitrox (32%), my first experience with this gas. First dive went well. Strong surface current, but no problems. 98' with my brother was a great day. The problem came with dive #2. I was the 4th off the boat. As I hit the water, I lost my reg and mask. No problem. I replaced them, and then heard my brother yelling "swim #@%-it!". When i looked around the current and I had left the boat. Well, I inflated rolled over and started swimming to the boat. To no avail. They had to float the buoy and I had to pull myself in. When I reached the back of the boat I was quite winded (and EXTREMELY embarassed). My brother was in the water checking on me and asked if I was OK. I gave the good sign and said lets go. BIG MISTAKE. We had to pull against the current and then down the anchor line. Cross current in about 40'. Once we reached the wreck I knew that I wasn't right. My brother was in front and he left the line. I was hyperventilating. I took one good kick to get his attention and let him know that I was in trouble and needed to get out. I made it back to the line and was almost ready to spit my reg. (I kept it...good call). All I could see was BLUE. I knew that I was about to loose control. My brother rotated around in front of me so that when I opened my eyes all I could see was him. We ascended about 15-20' and I was a "little better", still breathing way to fast. I stopped and thought, if I leave the water several things were going to happen.... (1) my dive is ruined (2) My brothers dive is ruined (3) If I get out of the water I might as well sell all of my gear and forget diving (I DONT QUIT WELL). I finally got my respirations back into normal limits and i decided to finish the dive. The rest of the dive was OK other than the fact that I was scared $&*less. When I got back on the boat, I gathered everyone I could to let them know what happened so that they might learn from my mistakes and never put themselves in that position. I have been in the water 15 - 20 times since and it wasnt until the last dive that I didn't have something run up my back right as I entered the water. Heck, I am getting a heavy feeling now as I type this. By the way, I never saw my OWI in the water, and I was never really briefed on Nitrox. Was I on my way to 02 toxicity? I just needed to get this out, embarassing as it is, please, please, please, if you get fatigued, rest before decending. A little feedback would be greatly appreciated. (By the way, it takes alot for this Firefighter to admit to being scared....haha)

When ever I have to pull myself along a current line to the anchor line I "ALWAYS" stop and catch my breath before descending.

In your case you had to go alot further to get there. Such arobic activity before or after a dive could possibly trigger a DCS hit. There's "nothing" to be embarrased about when calling a dive. No one will look down on you for it. They will most likely agree that you used good judgement. Calling one dive doesn't mean your diving career is over.

I do have a question. What depth were you at when you reached the wreck? I'm not sure if hyperventilating when on nitrox will give you O2 Tox but going to deep will.

 

[FireMedic]

These are the mistakes I felt were made - (1) I Should have gotten a better briefing about the nitrox from my instructor (2)When I entered the water, I should have grabbed the "rope" before correcting my mask problem (3) When I pulled myself back to the boat I should have stopped for a rest (4) I should not have left the anchor line once I felt in trouble (5) I feel that my instructor should have been in my vicinity if I was performing an elective dive for AOW certification