Dumb Things I've Done

Thought I'd list all the dumb things I've done in relation to diving, just for kicks .

- Forgot to hook up drysuit inflator.
- Forgot to hook up wing inflator.
- Forgot to get tanks filled.
- Forgot to bring regulators.
- Forgot to change batteries in light.
- Forgot to put batteries in light.
- Forgot to take gear out of car over the weekend (stinky).
- Forgot to turn on my air.
- Forgot to take my fins with me on the hike down to the lake.
- Forgot to bring enough weight when shore diving in SoCal (6hr drive).
- Forgot that I'm not wreck pen certified (oops .
- Forgot that my pony only works if it's with me and not on the boat.
- Forgot to talk about turnaround time/pressure with buddy.

That's about all I can think of at the moment, though I'm sure there are a dozen more.

...on the second dive, forgot to have buddy zip up the dry suit zipper.

Forgot my 7mm booties for a cold water boat dive in Monterey. Thankfully someone had a spare set that my feet barley fit into. B.

I have forgotten to put any weight in my BC
I almost exited the boat without my mask, until someone asked me if I wanted it

I was at the quarry a couple of weeks ago and when I tried to descend I just couldn't get down. I exhaled, I raised my arm and pushed the exhaust valve on my dry suit, and I pulled all 3 dumps on my BC. Then I realized I had forgot my weights. So I exited the water and went back to the set up area for my weights. The next attempt went fine until I kicked and didn't move. I had forgot to put my fins back on. A two fer. DOH!

Let's see...
forgot to change from snorkle to reg when decending
forgot to zip my relief zipper
forgot my mask
forgot my undergarment and hit a second hand store for a sweatsuit
forgot to turn on my isolater valve on until we were half way thru the dive...when I did turn it on the gas equalized and i had to abort the dive.

I've done a lot of stupid diving things, but for some reason, I forgot what they all were.

I don't do dumb things, I have learning experiences.

Non-diving but a classic slow learning curve, 100% true...

My previous phones have died while slipping into the toilet and drowned in a cup of coffee among other things. I am learning to be more careful.

I had to adjust a sprinkler in that yard. I did not want to get my new smartphone wet, so I carefully removed it from my pocked and placed on my car.
Naturally, the sprinkler was broken, so I hopped into the car to shoot down to the hardware store.
Never saw the phone again.

Ah, but my wife gave me her Blackberry, so I was in luck.
I drive to FL to meet up with her and she is at the lazy river.
I carefully remove the phone before I jump in to say hi, shortly there after the heavens open and smartphone #2 is done.

I've done the snorkle descend without regulator, carried my phone in my shorts to 100 feet, and did a giant stride into 2 feet of water at Eden Rock injuring my knee and nose.

If there is a piece of dive gear I have FAILED to forget on a dive, I can't think of what it is . . . And I don't limit myself to one. I showed up at our local mudhole one day, excited to serve as guide to a respected technical diver from Canada. I had forgotten my hood, so I ran down the street to the local dive shop and rented one. Got back to the site and discovered I'd forgotten my boots, too . . .

Showed up to do THE premiere shore dive in all of Puget Sound, one I've lusted after and been apprehensive about for YEARS, and had finally gotten an opportunity to dive with people I trusted. Found out I brought my doubles regs instead of my single tank reg. Did quick regulator surgery in the parking lot, hauled all my gear a hundred yards or so to the beach, and discovered I'd apparently damaged one of the o-rings in the hose transfer, and I had an unfixable leak. Got to sit on the beach and watch everybody else dive.

Showed up for another dive where I was horribly late. So late that I grabbed a tank from home without gauging it. I put my gear together at the site in a screaming rush, and forgot to check the pressure in the tank. Got into the water feeling bad about making everybody else wait, so when they did the gas check, I said (because I believed it) that I had 3500 in an HP 130. Ten minutes into the dive, checked my pressure and discovered I had a half-full tank. Luckily, it was enough for the planned dive, but how to feel stupid!

Fell off a dive boat in Florida in the middle of a GUE diver weekend. Fell off. Tore my dry suit wide open in the process, too.

Led a dive with two more novice ladies. Said to them, "Watch the entry here, because there are a lot of submerged rocks you can trip on." Shortly after saying that, slammed my shin into said rocks and fell on my nose. Thank goodness for bungied backups!

I'm sure there are more. Those lept to mind.