What have you been entangled in?

[TSandM]

I think the most thoroughly entangled I've been was scootering in kelp, and zigging when I should have zagged. It took me the better part of five full minutes to extricate myself. My buddy was long gone (high speed scootering in kelp is a recipe for buddy separation, I have learned), and when I was free and surfaced, he was floating and watching for me about 20 feet away. I had plenty of gas and wasn't really worried at all through the whole thing -- just annoyed with myself.

In the process of drills and practices, I have ended up with ridiculous amounts of line in the water around me (an entire reel's worth in Catfish sink, when Peter had the smart idea that we could sort out a bird's nest underwater) but I haven't really gotten wound up in it. We DID get wound up in line doing a lights out exit in our wreck class, though.

The funniest entanglement I've seen was when HBDiveGirl checked her SPG and clipped it back to the D-ring, trapping a kelp stalk. She kept TRYING to swim forward, and would look around and not see what she was clipped to . . . while I tried desperately not to flood my mask laughing.

 

[DevonDiver]

I've had minor entanglements in monofilament line on shore dives in the UK.

A couple of times I had to cut myself out of minor tangles in fishing nets drapped over wrecks.

Once I got tangled in a DSMB line that a retarded DM decided to deploy up through my group of divers.

 

[Gilldiver]

Lets See:

Mono, lots of times - That 60-90 pound test they use for wreck fishing is tough.

Stainless steel leader - the worst, only shears or untangle by hand will get you out

Nets once or twice - got to stop and Slooooowwwww Down

Hooks - Mooring lines can have fishing hooks in them so when you go down or up you can get hooked into the line. If it is only in your glove, you can rip free, if it is into the suit the same but costs more, if it went through your glove or suit into you, it hurts real bad and an infection is going to happen. Shears come in real handy, you just don't want to "rip" free.

Lobster Pot line

The worst was a metal bar inside the USS San Diego that had a bend in it like a hook. Somehow it passed between my hoses and manifold and "Hooked" it all. I was solo on that dive, but a buddy could not have helped anyway as they could not have got to it in the restriction I was in. This was the closest I ever came to loosing it, got to the edge, pulled back from it, calmed down, and started to think. Released the belt buckel, then the shoulder buckel, turned over, reached up and got it all clear, and then swam out of the wreck and put the tanks back on.

Pete Johnson

 

[tridacna]

Had a large fish hook penetrate my glove (and thumb - ouch) on a stop when ascending from the Spiegel Grove. My buddy saw what was happening and cut it off. Then he had to perform surgery on the boat to get it out of my thumb. Lucky that he is a doctor. I discovered that it's tough to extricate yourself with one hand.

 

[300bar]

Had a large fish hook penetrate my glove (and thumb - ouch)

Lucky you.

btw this was an actual diver who got hooked.

 

[gcbryan]

I've gotten tangled and untangled in kelp before but it's usually not a problem. I got hooked by a fisherman once in a Marine Sanctuary.

The funniest entanglement that I've heard of but didn't witness happened to a friend of mine at the local aquarium. It was after hours in the Dome (400,000 gallons I believe) and he had a netted bag with metal structure (goodie bag) and was removing some dead fish. To do that you open a drain partially and hold the dead fish near it and water pressure flushes it out into the sound.

He got too close with the bag and it "entangled" (grabbed) the bag and he couldn't get it out...all the while the Dome was draining into the sea. Since no one was within eye sight he had to go to the surface, take all his scuba gear off, go find a pair of bolt cutters, put his gear back on and get the bag out of the drain before too much water was released.

Now, that's the funniest entanglement story I've heard to date!

 

[D_B]

Here are some threads on this/similar question ...
... http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/ad...er-used-cutting-tool-emergency-situation.html
and an old/good one by Snowbear
... http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/basic-scuba-discussions/67060-can-i-really-cut-myself-out.html

LOL, Kelp ... the mysterious hand of ... "I'm not getting anywhere" :laughing:

 

[Rick Inman]

I got hooked by a fisherman in the leg at the Breakwater in Monterey.

I scootered into a gill net. THREAD LINK

 

[Peter_C]

Another one for kelp and lots of kelp. Typically scootering we just stay on the trigger and try to pull free. Our rigs are very streamlined though to pass thru the kelp.

Not sure this really counts as diving, but just when I got in the water at Breakwater a student headed out of the water and I got tangled together by fishing line. He had the hook attached to his rig, and I had a knot around me. We were both standing up on a calm day so it was no big deal. His instructor brought the fishing line in for disposal.

Often if I see fishing line, I will pull out one of my tools, typically shears, and cut the line in a few places. Good for practice and keeps the line from being a giant obstacle. Even cut a decorator crab loose recently.

 

[RICHinNC]

A couple of the worse relationships possible.