I did not dive last night

I was suppose to meet with an internet dive group last night. I ended up meeting with 2 other people I have dove with before and we struck out on our own after not really finding "the group". We made the swim out in rather choppy waters and as we were descending my mask was tweeked. I rose back up to make the adjustments. Got things complete, looked down... nothing. No lights nothing. I decided to drop down to about 25 feet and still nothing. Damn! lost my partners. We had decided earlier that if there was separation that you would be on your own because there was no way you could see another person on the surface with all the chop. Now I have to make the decision. Do I want to do a solo night dive in 5 to 10 foot vis with medium surge? No, not tonight! I went to the surface and started to kick in. Lost night. It happens. As I am kicking in I see a group of 10 or so divers heading out. It must be the group that we could not find earlier. I get close and asked if I could buddy up with a few of them. Yeah! the night may not be not lost after all! My answer. "No, were are good". What! I know the group is usually new OW divers but "No". I did not push it since it was hard to deal with them in the chop and just decided to call the night. Oh well, sometimes things go well and sometimes things don't. Last night I did not dive but there is always tomorrow!

I can understand why a team might not want to add a diver that they bump into in the water in the dark. Maybe on shore the dive was planned in detail, equipment was checked, gas management gone over, prodigals, signals, turn pressures, depths, time, assignments as to who would navigate, lead, etc... Were they doing a deco dive? All that stuff is too late to go over once in the water. Maybe there were drills planned. Maybe one diver was looking after a newer diver and didn't think they could handle the added unknown.

I think it was wise for them to decline.

I don't think it was wise for you guys to plan a dive where, in choppy waters at night, with less than 100 dives under your belt, upon separation, everyone was solo, IHMO.

I do think it was VERY WISE for you to call your dive. Good on you! You're right. There's always tomorrow.

That sucks. But, a buddy team of three is tough enough to maintain control of in good conditions, it sounds as if you may be better off unless everybody there would have been comfortable (and capable of) calling it a solo dive. Did the other two continue their dives? It is rather an interesting approach to buddy diving....if I lose you, you are on your own and do not expect me to look for you. Basically, if you decided that doing the dive solo was a bad idea, you made the right decision to call the night.

I deleted what I wrote. In summary:

1) equipment is almost always better resolved on the bottom than on the surface
2) breaking away from a group that doesn't know you are leaving is a mistake
3) a dive plan that says "we're all solo divers, ready and willing to abandon a buddy" is absurd
4) Cyalume sticks are often visible on the surface
5) flashlights can also be used for signaling on the surface
6) whistles are useful

This is the kind of dive that requires serious introspection.

Richard

Good for you for calling the dive, sometimes that's a tough one.

I'm wondering about the dive plan myself. If the plan on buddy seperation was to basically solo shouldn't everybody be ok with soloing? Also, did you have a plan to rally after the initial descent? Because people can have problems like you describe (as well as different descent speeds) I always like to say something like "we'll meet on the bottom and go from there" just before pulling the plug. It tends to keep the group tighter.
Not a criticism, just curious.

Everyone was OK with Soloing. I was also but and I have done so before. The area we dove was very familiar to all of us. When I got down to the bottom after losing them I just did not feel up to it. Some days are better than others and last night just was not happening. The two people I dove with have many more solo dives than me and might be more comfortable than I was. The conditions on bottom and top were not very good for finding a lost buddy thus the you are on your own attitude. Now if it had been just two of us rather than three the dive plan would have been different.

rstofer:

I deleted what I wrote. In summary:

1) equipment is almost always better resolved on the bottom than on the surface
2) breaking away from a group that doesn't know you are leaving is a mistake
3) a dive plan that says "we're all solo divers, ready and willing to abandon a buddy" is absurd
4) Cyalume sticks are often visible on the surface
5) flashlights can also be used for signaling on the surface
6) whistles are useful

This is the kind of dive that requires serious introspection.

Richard

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1. Not always
2. It was understood
3. Finding a lost person in choppy waters with a strong top current and about 30 fishing boats with squid lights on in the distance at night. Good Luck

Like I said it was not my night to dive. I also think diving ar night may be better with two rather than three.

83aztec:

Now if it had been just two of us rather than three the dive plan would have been different.

Click to expand...

How so ?

Steve50:

How so ?

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Probably would have made a plan to come back in meet at shore line and try again.

83aztec:

1. Not always
2. It was understood

Click to expand...

It might be "understood" but is still wrong. If you had been swept out to sea or trapped in a net instead of messing around on the surface, it could have easily been an hour before anybody even thought there might be something wrong.

Terry