I had a pretty big scare about 5 months ago. A friend (I met in my PADI rescue class) called me up to see if I wanted to dive with him. Our orginal plan was to dive with a local op right out of West Palm Beach. (Other than out of the country dives, this had been the only charter that I had used) My friend called me and told me the WPB op was full and that he decided we she go just a little bit north of there to Jupiter. I was a little hesitant, but agreed to go. We arrived to the dive shop and checked in, did all the basic stuff prior to leaving the dock. I got all my gear onboard and ready to go. As always, I was looking around the boat, checking out faces, looking at gear, ect. First red flag for me "should" have been all the tech stuff people had, some of this stuff I didnt even know what it was. I figured all is fine, they just have more money than me
. **diver error #1 , I should have asked questions**The dive instructor/shop owner asked whose air was onboard, (I was the only one not using Nitrox) I felt embarressed, but spoke up and told him it was mine. He had one of the guys take my air off the boat and TOLD me I was diving with Nitrox... whistles, sirens, and you name it, where going through my mind as I explained to him that I wasnt certified to use Nitrox. After 15 minutes of going back and forth, he pretty bluntly said he was an instructor and that it was perfectly safe and okay for me to use Nitrox seeing how he would be right there next to me. I finally agreed and signed off on the little sticker showing what my mix was, even though I wasnt sure what it was for at the time. **diver error #2, I should have told him NO and either went with air or 86 the dive**
And we're off.. I started talking to my friend and telling him I felt a bit uncomfortable with the whole thing and he assured me it would be fine. It took two and a half hours to get to the first dive and was the first time I had heard about where exactly we were going. We ended up doing a wreck dive to the USS Rankin, I dont know the exact depth cause I only made it to 97 feet. (BTW this was dive#22 for me) The water temp was 69f so I wore my hubbies 3mm shortie over my 3 1/2 full, I just added some more weight and figured I was good to go. We had our dive plan ready and in we went. Here I am, in the water bobbing at the surface while watching people descend head first (never seen that before). I finally make it down to about 4 feet and I feel a hudge jerk on my fin, looking down I see that its my dive buddie pulling me to him. Here's where the first accident happens. At about 10 feet, I start descending very fast, in my mind I know I need to slow down. I added little puffs of air into my bc and fanned out my legs. I held my computer in one and tried to equalize with the other. At about 45 feet the viz went to maybe a foot, theres lots of blood in my mask and I have this horrible HORRIBLE!! pain in my right ear and then a small little pop and the pain was gone. At 97 feet I've finally managed to stop but the bubbles are all going sideways.. (wierd feeling) Thank God I had a fab. instructor, I kept hearing his voice telling me not to panic, take my time and figure the situation out. He had always said, trust your compass, and remember bubbles always go up.
I got back on the boat by myself and noticed I wasnt hearing much out of that ear, but no pain, I figured I must just be having problems with my eustachian tube and popped some claritin(the nosebleed stopped shortly there after). Everyone else staggered back on the boat about 10 minutes later, the viz blew that dive out. I told 2 of the divemasters onboard what had happened, they said it didnt seem like that big of deal and I should be fine for the rest of the day.
dive two.. another 2 1/2 hours back and we get dropped off at The hole in the wall. I explained to my buddy I was having a problem with my ear and that if I couldnt clear I would surface alone and he could continue the dive, he refused that offer and insisted we would go up together. This time I weighted my self much better and all seemed fine. We descend normally as I watch my computer I'm into total disbielf at our depth. 110,120 125, 130, 133 was the last depth I remembered although my computer had me at 138. I remember just looking around and thinking everything was pretty damn funny my computer is going off and there I was thinking, I cant believe this thing even plays music. I was all by myslf (so much for my dive buddy). Had it not been for one divemaster that came back for me, I dont think I would have been here to tell my story. He brought me up a few feet and I was back to myself. He took me up to 75 feet where we hung for just over 5 minutes and where I ran out of air, and then another deco at 20 for 5 more minutes. I now know how bad buddy breathing sucks.
Back on the boat, I just wanted to be left alone, I was so mad at myself for even being in that situation in the first place. The divemaster told me not to beat myself up and that running out of air is something that has happened to the best of divers (bs) and that he was just so proud of me for not panicking. I was still mad. I sat the next dive out, but the last dive the instructor (to whom I hadn't seen all day) came up to me and told me I needed to get right back in the water so that expierence wouldnt haunt me. I did just that **DUMB** the last dive for me was an easy one for me. We went to the Tunnels and at 73 feet I felt pretty comfortable. **lost count of all the diver errors**
It was a very long day, and not only was I mad at myself, I was a little....um... "flustered" with my dive buddy for leaving me. One day later I'm in the E.R. with major ear pain only to find out I blew the eardrum.I kept hearing the doctor say I may never be able to dive again. (although I now have some hearing loss I'm thankful it healed well enough for me to dive again, 4 months later)
I told the entire expiernce to my own instructor a few days later. My so called buddy had told him I had a small problem with my ear, but not a word about anything else. He sat there in horror while I spilled it all and wanted to know who, what, & where. I didnt realize the whole nitrox thing then, but I now know just how dangerous it was for me @138 feet with a 33% mix.
I dont blame the dive op or the instructor (although many disagree with that). I do believe my dive buddy shouldn't have left me on that deep dive the way he did, but ultimately, I chose to dive and I am responsible for whatever actions I take. Ignorance is no excuse.
I still have dreams about this day now, but I'm hoping to use it as a teaching tool for others. My lessons learned,know who your diving with and all the details of the dive, and for God sake, when that little voice says not to, make sure you listen to it.
Sorry this ended up being a whole lot longer than I intended it to be..
