Dumb Things I've Done

[Tug]

Well, let's see... If there is a piece of gear, I've probably left it at home at least once.

Last winter I decided to do a series of shore dives to test out a new undergarment before hitting a deeper wreck that weekend. Didn't go so well. Day one I forgot my weight belt. Day two I forgot my hood. Day three I got suited up and didn't check my tank pressure before I was knee deep in the water. I figured since the tanks were full the previous day and they stayed in my car that they would be full. Nope, a valve must have cracked open and drained the tanks. After that, I decided to cancel the weekends diving.

Decided not to zip my dry suit fully before a dive in February. Wondered why I was shivering more than usual that dive. Had to call the dive early because a flooding dry suit and water temps in the mid to low 30's don't really mix. Did it again last summer. Apparently it takes a few times to get things right...

Didn't double check the fisheye lens I installed on my camera housing. Flooded the camera.

etcetera etcetera...


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[joh]

When I was still a mere noob... I was very seasick on what was probably my 12th dive, and was still using a rental BC without integrated weight. I was so anxious to get into the water and off the rocking boat, that I forgot my weight belt. I actually did manage to descend then realized the problem at 70 ft. I grabbed a large rock and managed to control my ascent :shocked2:

Another time, also involving sea sickness, (now controlled with meds!) I moved to the back of the boat before being reminded that I didn't have my fins on! I'm sure I would have realized that before jumping in, but, well that was embarrassing... :blush:

I've missed great video footage by forgetting to clear my memory card! I was on the Captain Dan wreck here in South Florida, on one of the most epic dives in recent memory (hot drop on to the wreck, to be greeted by a large loggerhead turtle who swam alongside my buddy) and was thrilled at the footage I was about to capture, only to see the dreaded "full memory card" on the GoPro display! :depressed:

 

[Griffo]

a) Jumped off the boat without fins... during a resuce scenario of course
b) Both me and my buddy jumped in without dive computers (which are also our depth guages). Didn't realise for a couple of minutes or so until I went to check depth as it was a long shallow entry in about 3m of water with a 50m horizontal swim to the drop
c) the quarter turned on tank. Did it once. Lesson learnt, will never be repeated
d) Jumped in (very warm water) with the iPhone in the shorts pocket. No, it never worked again. Yes it got very hot.

Every single one of the above was during a rushed gear up and jump in.

 

[SeaStar1]

Under water, I've taken my regulator out of my mouth to start talking or to laugh.... I get so caught up in the beauty and thrill, I sometimes forget - Keep the regulator in my mouth!

I've also jumped in the water without my mask. My dive buddy had "that look" and jumped in behind me with it.

Descend with the snorkel - guilty! lol

 

[CT-Rich]

I busted balls on my dive buddy because he forgot his fins on our start of season dive.... Really him some razzing. Then I discovered I left mine on the floor next to the couch when I was doing my night before gear check. We both ended up diving without fins....

 

[AFdivedoc]

Made it all the way to the dive site once and realized I forgot my BC. I've forgotten other items too, but either me or my buddy had a spare for those.

Most recently, I absent mindedly shoved my iPhone into my thigh pocket after giving directions to the parking area to some students I was waiting for. Didn't discover it until I was fishing the items out of the pocket after the second dive. In the match up of iPhone vs ocean, ocean won.

 

[Locus]

Decided to dive despite having forgotten my ankle weights at home. Neglected to do a weight check even though I was also diving with new equipment. Did a short, shallow dive (<30' for ~30 minutes). Got too buoyant at safety stop depth so I grabbed on to a rock. Spent three minute safety totally inverted, feet pointed at the surface. Once three minutes were up I pulled myself down to the bottom and reverse-climbed from rock to rock all the way up to the surface. Never make that mistake again.

 

[AfterDark]

I would wear my fingertips down typing much! If a stupid thing can be done in relation to diving I’ve probably done it.
I guess the two that stand out the most would be:
In the 1970’s my friends and I would ice dive thru a 3’ x 3’ hole in the ice, no redundancy, no safety diver.



Bounce diving to 200fsw with a 72 cuft @2250 psi tank just because I could.

 

[Scuba Lawrence]

Forgetting isn't really "dumb," per se. Dumb is doing something you know is dumb but hoping for intelligent results. As in...entering a mild surf on a beach dive, and getting a fin a bit crooked and tugging the strap more rather than straightening the fin: snap! Trudge to shore and spend an hour trying to lace the slightly thicker replacement strap through the latches, then trudging back to the surf, wading in, and doing the same thing to the other fin.

 

[Hatul]

Took apart the connector of the inflator hose to the BC and unbeknownst to me an O ring fell out. Went in the water without checking the BC and realized it was not holding air. Fortunately it was a shore dive so no problem getting out.

Another one happened years ago as a novice diver, I did not check the mouthpiece which had come loose. Sure enough at 30 ft it came off and I was sucking in water. After breathing off my buddy's octo I figured out the problem and was able to complete the dive on my secondary.

Another one happened recently. I did not check the locking mechanism of my camera housing. Sand got into the latch lock and it was not engaged. The door opened under water and camera flooded.