Whats the dumbest thing you've done?

[Water Monkey]

This is great stuff!

One thing I forgot to mention, NO FLAMING OR BASHING, lets just let it all hang out for a bit.

Anyone who is willing to admit to making mistakes and to learn from them is ok in my book.

 

[Diver0001]

I think the stupidest thing I've ever done was botching a deep dive.

We (me and two buddies) had planned a dive to about 30 metres on EAN 36. We planned it for a particular site that we wanted to dive a slack tide.

When we got to the site, just before slack, we discovered that a whole group of Belgian divers had decided to dive the site. They were planning on (so they said) diving all depths from 10 to 40 meters. There were about 30 of them diving and another 30 watching. ..... too busy, we said, so we decided to change our plan.

We drove to a site a few kilometres away that is known for light currents during tide changes. Problem was, it was adjacent to a shipping lane. We entered the water at about 20 minutes after slack and descended to 30 metres. On the bottom we were swimming parallel to shore and about to make the turn when something strange happened.

The tide turned. It was spring tide but none of us had noticed.... It wasn't like you normally expect. I was looking at a bit of plant growth and one second it was pointing east (tide ebbing) and the next second it flipped over and pointed west (oops) ..... It was like someone flushed a toilet and we were in it.

We started to get pushed into the middle of the straight we were in. At 32 metres we were unable to swim against the current (which shouldn't have been there) and I made the call to ascend off of the bottom. At first we ascended to 20 metres and started swimming back to shore on the compass.

The problem was, however, that we had been swept into the shipping lane. There were large boats passing overhead and I was reluctant to ascend too far..

At 20 metres we were swimming back to shore. After a few minutes one of my buddies signed that he wouldn't make it to shore at this depth (sign was "level out" AND "low on air") so we ascended to 15 metres.

A few minutes after that he signed it again "level out" and "low on air" so we ascended to 10 metres and kept swimming

Another few minutes and he signed it again .... but we were still in the shipping lane and ascending any further was suicidal.

So I signed back to him "level out" and "share air" so he knew he could use my air. He came close to me and we kept going. The 3rd buddy at this point descended 5 metres below us. His air consumption was unbelievable and it was evident to me that he took the low road to look for the bottom. We exchanged "OK's"

After another few minutes, I looked at the buddy beside me again. He was looking at his SPG and suddenly started hitting it with his fist.... LOL. He was stressed out.

I signed to him "level out" and "share air" again (I only had 80 bar left) and we kept going. I handed him my alternate and about that time the buddy under us flashed me with his light and signed "bottom". He could see the bottom.

So we finished the dive making a safety stop and swimming to the east to come out near where we went in. When buddy #1 was through his air we ascended and discovered that we were only about 50m from the exit point. That was bad for us because we were accustomed to exiting on a dime.

We learned a few things from that but concluded that it was the stupidest thing we had ever done together.

R..

 

[chrispete]

I've got a list. Was doing an OW class and demonstrating giant stride. I always stress to my students that they should take a couple of sharp breaths off of their reg while looking at their SPG as a final safety check before stepping off. I was chatting away and made a show of doing the check but didn't really register that the gauge had dropped from 3k to 500PSI until I was in mid-air.

You feel a bit silly looking up from the bottom of the deep end of a pool with four students peering down at you from the surface, watching your every move, and you don't have your air turned on. At least I was able to turn it into "solve your problems underwater, calmly" and "beware that familiarity breeds content" talking points.

 

[Paladin]

This story has been posted elsewhere on SB, but I'll repeat it here for those who haven't seen it.

(It happened in the summer of 1978. The equipment consisted of a Healthways steel 72, Aqua-Lung Aquarius reg, White Stag Deep SPG, USD Atlantis mask, USD Otarie fins, 5 pounds on a USD weight belt, USD diver's knife. I had just bought the Aquarius and this was my first dive with a single hose reg with a pressure gauge.)

One year, when I was just a kid, my family went to Tennessee for vacation. While we were there, we visited Tuckaleechee (sp?) Caverns. From that time on, I was fascinated by caves. By the time I reached my early twenties, I had spent thousands of hours exploring underground and crawling through some pretty tight places. I even became a member of the Tri-State Search and Rescue Team, specializing in cave rescue.

So, when my friend and I discovered a cave in the rock wall of a man-made lake where we were diving (I'm not going to say where because I don't want to tempt anyone), we decided to check it out.

Yeah, I know. We were young and stupid. I should've known better.

Anyway, Fuzz led the way and I followed him into the cave. The passage was tight and Fuzz kicked up the sediment to the point where I couldn't see squat. I groped along behind him, hands out in front, trying to keep up. Then, I suddenly found myself in clear water and Fuzz was nowhere in sight. I switched off my light to see if I could detect his light. Nada. Black as Hades. At that moment, I felt my tank grate against the ceiling for an instant, then come free.

I realized that I must have taken a side passage and was separated from Fuzz. I started to back out, but couldn't. I was stuck. My tank was lodged in a depression in the ceiling and I couldn't move. My first thought was to simply unbuckle my harness and slip out from under the tank, then pull it out of the cave after me, but the passage was too tight and I couldn't get my hand down to my waist to release the buckle. I thought about cutting the harness away at the shoulders but my knife was strapped to my leg, out reach.

Out of options, all I could do was watch the needle of my SPG as my air slowly ran out. I thought about my parents and my girlfriend. I thought about how stupid I was and I wondered how long it would be before someone found my body.

At 500 psi, my J valve started honking its low air warning. At 300 psi it would cut off and I couldn't reach the rod to turn on the reserve. Panic was about to set in when I felt something moving along my left leg. It moved up to my waist and I felt a tug at my harness buckle. Then, something grabbed my ankles and yanked me backward and free. I pulled my tank after me and followed Fuzz back out to open water. On the way, I had to open the reserve. When we were back on the boat, I had this overwhelming urge to give ugly ol' Fuzz a kiss. I settled for a hug and a handshake.

 

[Protist]

My first dive in fresh water... I didnt realize how much extra weight i would need(compared to salt water) to get my self down. Surface swam about 50 yards to the dive spot. And what do you know...I couldn't drop 5 feet without flying back to the surface.(yes the BCD was empty) So now I always do a weight check.

 

[Scott L]

I think the stupidest thing I've ever done was botching a deep dive.

We (me and two buddies) had planned a dive to about 30 metres on EAN 36. We planned it for a particular site that we wanted to dive a slack tide.

When we got to the site, just before slack, we discovered that a whole group of Belgian divers had decided to dive the site. They were planning on (so they said) diving all depths from 10 to 40 meters. There were about 30 of them diving and another 30 watching. ..... too busy, we said, so we decided to change our plan.

We drove to a site a few kilometres away that is known for light currents during tide changes. Problem was, it was adjacent to a shipping lane. We entered the water at about 20 minutes after slack and descended to 30 metres. On the bottom we were swimming parallel to shore and about to make the turn when something strange happened.

The tide turned. It was spring tide but none of us had noticed.... It wasn't like you normally expect. I was looking at a bit of plant growth and one second it was pointing east (tide ebbing) and the next second it flipped over and pointed west (oops) ..... It was like someone flushed a toilet and we were in it.

We started to get pushed into the middle of the straight we were in. At 32 metres we were unable to swim against the current (which shouldn't have been there) and I made the call to ascend off of the bottom. At first we ascended to 20 metres and started swimming back to shore on the compass.

The problem was, however, that we had been swept into the shipping lane. There were large boats passing overhead and I was reluctant to ascend too far..

At 20 metres we were swimming back to shore. After a few minutes one of my buddies signed that he wouldn't make it to shore at this depth (sign was "level out" AND "low on air") so we ascended to 15 metres.

A few minutes after that he signed it again "level out" and "low on air" so we ascended to 10 metres and kept swimming

Another few minutes and he signed it again .... but we were still in the shipping lane and ascending any further was suicidal.

So I signed back to him "level out" and "share air" so he knew he could use my air. He came close to me and we kept going. The 3rd buddy at this point descended 5 metres below us. His air consumption was unbelievable and it was evident to me that he took the low road to look for the bottom. We exchanged "OK's"

After another few minutes, I looked at the buddy beside me again. He was looking at his SPG and suddenly started hitting it with his fist.... LOL. He was stressed out.

I signed to him "level out" and "share air" again (I only had 80 bar left) and we kept going. I handed him my alternate and about that time the buddy under us flashed me with his light and signed "bottom". He could see the bottom.

So we finished the dive making a safety stop and swimming to the east to come out near where we went in. When buddy #1 was through his air we ascended and discovered that we were only about 50m from the exit point. That was bad for us because we were accustomed to exiting on a dime.

We learned a few things from that but concluded that it was the stupidest thing we had ever done together.

R..

That story is a good testimonal for a long hose configuration. Not all open water LOA/OOA situations involve a near verticle ascent...

 

[Paladin]

My first dive in fresh water... I didnt realize how much extra weight i would need(compared to salt water) to get my self down. Surface swam about 50 yards to the dive spot. And what do you know...I couldn't drop 5 feet without flying back to the surface.(yes the BCD was empty) So now I always do a weight check.

Wait a second! You need LESS weight in fresh water because it's less dense and doesn't provide as much buoyancy as salt water!

 

[Protist]

Wait a second! You need LESS weight in fresh water because it's less dense and doesn't provide as much buoyancy as salt water!

Haha...Maybe. But not when your wearing two separate layers of 7mm wet suits and a 4mm hood and 4mm gloves. I needed close to 26lbs. I only had on 16 when I got in

 

[Scott L]

Wait a second! You need LESS weight in fresh water because it's less dense and doesn't provide as much buoyancy as salt water!

Remember he lives in NJ. NJ = polluted water and thus more dense "fresh" water. Lol

 

[Protist]

haha