So, anybody who reads my posts knows I'm a stickler for a dive plan and a gear check before diving. And I've recently been on a crusade about complacency, because Wes Skiles' death hit me really hard, and I'm worried that complacency may have played a role in it.
So today, Peter and I were going diving. The meet time was 4 o'clock, and the site is about a half hour away. We got home at 2:30, which would have given us plenty of time, but we dawdled (I got on the computer, and Peter took a nap) and we didn't begin to pack until after 3. So we were rushing.
I grabbed a 130 out of our stable. We put the analysis stickers on our tanks horizontal when they are full, and move them to vertical when we have used the tank. This one was horizontal, so it was a full tank. I put the backplate and wing on it, and the reg, and pressurized the reg to make sure there were no leaks. I usually check the gauge at this point, but I was in a hurry, and I forgot. (You'll hear that again.)
We put Peter's gear together and in the car, ran a quick checklist to make sure we weren't forgetting anything, and got in the car. We arrived at the site at 4:15, and several divers were already suited up, although several were not yet dressed. We announced our presence and asked if it was too late to join the group, and were told that they would wait for us.
I put the last touches on gear, got into my drysuit (why does the Fusion always seem most difficult to get on when you are short on time?) and shrugged into my gear. I did the quick breathe of a reg and check of the wing inflator that I do when it is hot (which it was) and I'm going to finish the gear check in the water. I always watch my SPG when I breathe a reg, to make sure the valve is fully open, but I was in a hurry, and I forgot.
I was pulling on my dry gloves as I trotted down to the water, and marched out to meet the group. There, we had introductions, and sorted out teams, and made a dive plan. We ran through a cursory gear check, and when we got to "gas" on the checklist, Jake asked each of us what tank we were diving. Peter and I both said we were on 130's, and given the 60 foot contemplated max depth, we had tons of gas. I usually check my SPG during the gear check and announce the cubic feet of gas that I have . . . but we were in a hurry, and I forgot.
We began the dive, and were having a great time. We found a juvenile wolf eel who came out to greet us (sadly, this means he's being regularly fed, but it was still fun to see him). We saw a large GPO in a pipe. We found several lovely nudibranchs. And 20 minutes into the dive, which is my normal time for doing it on an uncomplicated, shallow dive on big tanks, I checked my gas . . . and to my surprise, and a bit of horror, I had 1500 psi. The minute I saw the gauge, I realized what had happened -- I had grabbed a partially empty tank at home, and gotten through THREE points where I check my gas without having done so, and without having realized I had omitted an important check.
As it turned out, I had picked up two 130s from a friend who is not currently diving, and added them to our stable, but I had not gauged them or asked my friend if they were full. The analysis tapes on them were horizontal because they weren't ours -- and although I looked at the analysis, I didn't twig to that.
This was a non-event. I had plenty of gas to finish the dive. But the tank could just as easily have had 500 psi in it, and my first notice that I had screwed up could have been pulling those last breaths out of the tank. Of course, I had at least two buddies close by for whom donation would have been nothing more than an annoyance . . . but as I told my buddy for last weekend's dives, being good at emergency procedures does not mean one should take more chances of needing to use one.
I'm appalled and shaken that I, who am routinely the PITA in the group about procedures and checks, and who is currently upset for several reasons about getting sloppy and careless, could have missed THREE points in my normal routine where things get checked. And my buddies, who are supposed to be equally meticulous, didn't ask the right questions.
Lessons learned: Complacency sneaks up on ALL of us, and hurrying when you are diving is not only a bad idea, but could be lethal.
So today, Peter and I were going diving. The meet time was 4 o'clock, and the site is about a half hour away. We got home at 2:30, which would have given us plenty of time, but we dawdled (I got on the computer, and Peter took a nap) and we didn't begin to pack until after 3. So we were rushing.
I grabbed a 130 out of our stable. We put the analysis stickers on our tanks horizontal when they are full, and move them to vertical when we have used the tank. This one was horizontal, so it was a full tank. I put the backplate and wing on it, and the reg, and pressurized the reg to make sure there were no leaks. I usually check the gauge at this point, but I was in a hurry, and I forgot. (You'll hear that again.)
We put Peter's gear together and in the car, ran a quick checklist to make sure we weren't forgetting anything, and got in the car. We arrived at the site at 4:15, and several divers were already suited up, although several were not yet dressed. We announced our presence and asked if it was too late to join the group, and were told that they would wait for us.
I put the last touches on gear, got into my drysuit (why does the Fusion always seem most difficult to get on when you are short on time?) and shrugged into my gear. I did the quick breathe of a reg and check of the wing inflator that I do when it is hot (which it was) and I'm going to finish the gear check in the water. I always watch my SPG when I breathe a reg, to make sure the valve is fully open, but I was in a hurry, and I forgot.
I was pulling on my dry gloves as I trotted down to the water, and marched out to meet the group. There, we had introductions, and sorted out teams, and made a dive plan. We ran through a cursory gear check, and when we got to "gas" on the checklist, Jake asked each of us what tank we were diving. Peter and I both said we were on 130's, and given the 60 foot contemplated max depth, we had tons of gas. I usually check my SPG during the gear check and announce the cubic feet of gas that I have . . . but we were in a hurry, and I forgot.
We began the dive, and were having a great time. We found a juvenile wolf eel who came out to greet us (sadly, this means he's being regularly fed, but it was still fun to see him). We saw a large GPO in a pipe. We found several lovely nudibranchs. And 20 minutes into the dive, which is my normal time for doing it on an uncomplicated, shallow dive on big tanks, I checked my gas . . . and to my surprise, and a bit of horror, I had 1500 psi. The minute I saw the gauge, I realized what had happened -- I had grabbed a partially empty tank at home, and gotten through THREE points where I check my gas without having done so, and without having realized I had omitted an important check.
As it turned out, I had picked up two 130s from a friend who is not currently diving, and added them to our stable, but I had not gauged them or asked my friend if they were full. The analysis tapes on them were horizontal because they weren't ours -- and although I looked at the analysis, I didn't twig to that.
This was a non-event. I had plenty of gas to finish the dive. But the tank could just as easily have had 500 psi in it, and my first notice that I had screwed up could have been pulling those last breaths out of the tank. Of course, I had at least two buddies close by for whom donation would have been nothing more than an annoyance . . . but as I told my buddy for last weekend's dives, being good at emergency procedures does not mean one should take more chances of needing to use one.
I'm appalled and shaken that I, who am routinely the PITA in the group about procedures and checks, and who is currently upset for several reasons about getting sloppy and careless, could have missed THREE points in my normal routine where things get checked. And my buddies, who are supposed to be equally meticulous, didn't ask the right questions.
Lessons learned: Complacency sneaks up on ALL of us, and hurrying when you are diving is not only a bad idea, but could be lethal.
