Out of Air

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BMETdiver

Registered
Messages
57
Reaction score
5
Location
Fayetteville, NC
# of dives
200 - 499
This weekend I had my first out of air incident. I dive with a group that is charting wrecks in the tidal potomac. And have made several no vis dives with them. One of the first things you learn on these dives is you have to be comfortable with your own skills to dive these conditions, as all dives are solo, whether someone else is in the water or not. Anyway this weekend I started my dive it was pitch black and took me 900lbs of air to get down 73 feet. I started my search pattern for the wreck that we located on sonar and actually found it by feel. Well once I found it I felt along about 10-15 feet of it I turned to go back at this point I had 1200lbs left and it was a good dive execpt no vis. I have worked with a wreck reel a few times but still am far from proficient with one. As I was reeling the line back in to unclip it from the anchors on the line to the surface it started to birdsnest on me. I stopped dropped the 2 feet to the soft mud and worked out the birds nest got back to the line and unhooked the reel from the anchors. About this time I took a breath and got the no air feeling so I checked my gauge and had zero air pressure. At this time I started a CESA and got a few more breaths off of the tank as I came up. My ascent rate was way too fast and I had to spend the rest of the afternoon on the boat checking for DCS signs and symptoms.
The lessons that I learned from this incident, if the reel jams up and I can't get it straight quickly I should have completed my return to the upline and clipped off the reel so it is recoverable.
I also should make sure to check my gauges more often.
I also am starting to get more proficient with the reel on dry land with my eyes closed as I had no ability to see to untie the mess.
I also feel that because we were able to do the 10 minute neurological exam it was reassuring for me and gave us a way to gauge me for less visible signs and symptoms.
If anyone else has suggestions what I should have learned please let me know.
 
I believe what our friend meant to say was that in such conditions, you don't have the mindset of "my buddy's there for me".

Any instructor will also tell you that in an instructional setting, we are treating the dive as if it were a solo dive. We certainly don't expect to rely on a student. And not because of false pride; but because of a real lack of training in the student's part.
 
Considering dives to be solo due to a buddys experience or the fact that any buddy can be distracted in your tme of need is one thing. This dive was truly made as a solo dive based on the description.

IMO going to that depth in those conditions on a solo dive without a redundant air source such as a pony bottle was risky. Dito for an extra mask.

That sounds like lot of air just for the drop, were you anxious and if so were you out of your comfort zone?

It sounds like you fixated on the reel and let you perception narrow to the exclusion of monitoring your air supply. That was a close call.

Congratulations on executing the CESA from that depth. I'm glad you suffered no ill effects.

Pete
 
I'm very glad that you came out of this okay.

Personally, I can't imagine doing a zero viz, solo, line-running dive with fewer than 50 dives of experience. Even now, I'm pretty sure I'd sit that one out.

I honestly believe that redundancy in diving is critical. My redundancy is the gas on my buddy's back. It sounds as though, even had you had properly trained buddies, that option wasn't available due to conditions. So I would either have passed on the dive, or provided myself with some other resource.

What would have happened had you gotten entangled in something where you couldn't see at all, and no one was with you?
 
if it was pitch black at 73 feet, how did you see your gauges? For me zero viz means just that, forget your lights, they are worthless.

TSandM makes some solid points. Only you can judge your experiance level and make the call to do a dive if you are solo... but if you are reminding yourself to check gauges, you may want to get more experiance before pushing it. If you are diving 0 vis solo, unable to see your gauges, deep (73 feet in zero viz is deep) and without shore support (little angels called tenders) my guess is you need to step back and rethink it.
 
I'm glad you made it back with no ill affects. I too wonder about the amount of gas used on the descent. 900psi on a 73ft descent is 1/3 or your gas assuming you are using an 80cuft cylinder. That's a heck of a lot of gas.

As for the reel, I think your conclusion is a good one. Don't spend a lot of time messing with it. If you are low on gas like you were, don't mess with it at all. Just lock it and drop it, holding onto the line so you can find the up line. You or someone else can always go back and retrieve the reel later.
 
1. No redundant air supply diving solo.
2. Difficult environment.
3. Poor air management.
4. Task fixation.
5. CESA

This sounds like a textbook example of what not to do while scuba diving. Your CESA saved your life, any one of the first four could have killed you. Might want to think about that before you brave the same situation. Even if that reel was made of solid gold- I'd drop it in a heartbeat.
 
Meister481:
Even if that reel was made of solid gold- I'd drop it in a heartbeat.
Me too...I don't think my BC has enough lift for that. :wink:
 
I am getting a redundant air source over the next week before I do my next dive, as far as checking gauges on this dive I had to press them to the mask with the light at the mask at an angle. Usually Potomac river diving has been 2-3 feet of vis but this one I didn't even have that it wound up being true zero vis. As far as some peoples comment about my air management, this was the first drysuit dive of the season and I had the changing tides giving me more current than I realized as I was going down the line. Thanks for the comments
 
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