I was almost a Darwin Award candidate

[Ladydi69]

So let me set the stage. I was cetified in 1997 and bought all of my gear at that time. One thing about old BCDs is that they didn't have integrated weights so my buddies (who I conviced in later years to get certified) always laughed at me when I struggled with a weight belt on my dives. On recent trips I have noticed I was the only one with a weight belt and an old school BCD. I always found my gear easier to carry when I was wearing it so I commonly donned my weight belt on the dock and wore it until I returned. Easier to carry and it wasn't in anyone's way on the boat.

So last year I was with my buddies in Bonaire and we took a little boat over to Klein Bonaire for a few fun dives. Everything was great and only got better when on the way back to Bonaire we spotted a pod of about 30 dolphins that acted like they wanted to play. The captain stopped the boat and the dive master hopped in with a mask and snorkel and lo and behold the dolphins turned around and came right up to him and started to play all around the boat. The dive master said we should join him in the water with mask and snorkel to see the sights.

Well we didn't have to be asked twice, and the boat started to empty faster than if there had been a fire on board. So everyone is bailing over the side for a snorkle swim and I was almost over the side myself when I realized I still had on 12 lbs of lead. I was so close to going over the side I lost my balance as I tried to stop myself. Luckily I did take my weight belt off before bailing over the side to snorkel with a pod of very playful dolphins, but I've often wondered how deep I would have gotten before I realized why I couldn't surface.

Darwin was lurking around our boat, and I was almost the first victim.

The other near victim was my dive buddy with about $10,000 of camera equipment who jumped over with a mask, snorkel and a load of camera gear. If you are a photographer you will realize that a fancy housing with strobes that make you look like a ship out of Close Encounters of the Third Kind is just a little negative. So my buddy is really enjoying the great photography opportunity and if you've ever been buddied up with a photographer you will know they sometimes get focused on the subject and kind of lose sight of other things around them. So my buddy heads off after some dolphins and gets pretty far away from the boat.

I at least was smart (lucky) enough to not get in the ocean with a bunch of extra weight but my photag buddy has now swum off into the blue lugging what soon became a $10,000 weight threatening to drown him.

As everyone else was getting back onto the boat after our unscheduled dolphin snorkel we saw my photagrapher buddy well away from the boat signalling that he wanted to be picked up NOW. When we finally got to him, he was really struggling and this left me wondering how deep he would have to be before he dropped his $10,000 in extra weight.

Luckily we got everyone back on the boat and got some great pictures and stories of diving with dolphins.

Darwin was held at bay.

I don't carry my weight belt on my waist anymore on dive boats because when I told my wife the tale, she bought me a new Zeagle and took out a new life insurance policy on me.

My photag buddy tells everyone how dolphins rescued him from a near drowing event that was never his fault. Got pics to prove it.

Everyone's a winner.

 

[Diver Dennis]

Welcome to ScubaBoard.

Actually my camera set up is just a little negative. The camera should not have been a threat to him sinking.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

When I was a DM, I would constantly be reminding people to NOT wear their weight belts between dives. They would often forget and with dive boots on, I was always worried someone would fall over and forget that their belt was on.....It is not a good habit, but noone else seemed to notice it.

 

[Martha]

I'm glad you and your buddy kept Darwin at bay. BTW, you have a smart wife!

 

[digital_steve]

I had to doff my rig at the surface to get into a boat the other day
I forgot i had my weight belt on and i got into the boat and didn't even notice it after i had handed my rig up and that was 12lbs
I doubt if you were going to plummet into the depths with 12lbs on your hips

 

[hudson]

If you are properly weighted the weight belt is mostly (but not completely of course) there to compensate for your wetsuit. You would only have been a few lbs negative and you can easily stay on the surface with that.

OTOH, I know a diver who was struggling with his weight belt in the water, which he promptly handed off to a helpful and finless swimmer nearby who actually struggled not to let go of the precious cargo for a whole 5 seconds

 

[DandyDon]

I'm a little paranoid about boats. People fall off sometimes, have you heard? I wear a seat belt in the car and an inflatable snorkel vest on the boat.

I've seen divers often walking about an open moving boat that could hit a wave or swell and toss them off balance and occasionally wearing a weight belt. Wories me. Yeah, it's their life but still...

I had to doff my rig at the surface to get into a boat the other day
I forgot i had my weight belt on and i got into the boat and didn't even notice it after i had handed my rig up and that was 12lbs
I doubt if you were going to plummet into the depths with 12lbs on your hips

I don't know, wouldn't want to try. I see that happen on small boats at times; worries me. 12# and no neoprene would be more than I'd want to fight, and sinking divers do panic. Many a body has been found from a diver who panicked with surface problems, sank, found later with weights on. No guarantees against panic, ever.

If you are properly weighted the weight belt is mostly (but not completely of course) there to compensate for your wetsuit. You would only have been a few lbs negative and you can easily stay on the surface with that.

Depends. I've seen newbies who had problems sinking at first as they do at times so they overweighted a bit, then the same divers struggle on the surface as their whimpy BC didn't have much lift - with no neoprene in warm waters, worrisome. I remember one story from a dive magazine last year about a diver who surfaced, lost his reg, got overwhelmed by a wave, panicked, and actually died before the DM could get to him and he was wearing a BC. So the thought of a diver falling off of a ladder with no BC or reg, weighted, and just one more problem maybe coming into play worries me. When I have seen divers about to remove their BC at the ladder, I know they have a weght belt on, and I don't think I'll add to the problem for doing so, I will calmly remind them to pass their belt up first. Other times I'm not so sure so I watch closely, ready to chase them down if they sink and need help.

But I worry a lot. :silly:

 

[Freerolling]

I was on the trip that the OP wrote about. To say people were excited about the impromptu dolphin swim would be an understatement. It was like a feeding frenzy to get into the water. I can easily see how snap decisions like "jump in the water now" can be accompanied shortly afterwards by "oh, crap, why am I sinking" when a weightbelt has been left on.

Definitely a good post to remind people of "situational awareness".

Also, I witnessed our friend lug his "slightly negative" camera equipment back to the boat. He was more tired than I've ever seen him, and while it was not a "near miss", it was surely a situation he didn't want to be in and worthy of "important safety tip" status.

As you can tell by this post. I like using "" marks. They are fun.

 

[DandyDon]

Try this: "As you can tell by this post. I like using "" marks. They are fun." Even more fun in italics.

I think maybe the photographer needs to consider an inflatable flotation device for his camera.

 

[Freerolling]

Believe me, once we hauled his limp, pathetic torso onto the boat we started suggesting water wings like the kiddies wear. He was appropriately humiliated, but not before a seven year old girl on the boat with her parents asked him why he got in the water if he didn't know how to swim. I still laugh when I remember hearing her say that.