Time to hang up my wetsuit after near death on NYE

[AfterDark]

AOW has nothing to do with overall dive experience and never has for most cert organizations. In PADI, all it certifies is that you did 5 dives under supervision of an instructor to experience five new aspects/gain new or increase diving skills. If OW is a 101 course, then AOW is a 102 course and nothing more, with a few organizations being exceptions. .

I'd say you've articulated the problem very well, thank you.

 

[Jcp2]

You seem to have your own definition of what an "advanced diver" is. For someone who don't have the advantage of your experience and insight, how can one identify an "advanced open water diver"? The most tempting clue would be a C-card carrying the words "Advanced Open Water", but obviously this isn't enough IYNSHO. So, please elaborate on what makes an "advanced open water diver" (as if that topic hasn't been beaten to death and then back to life several times here...)?

I think the distinction is between an experienced open water diver vs a diver with an Advanced Open Water certification.

Maybe the OP was swimming too high in the water column compared to the rest of the dive group and didn’t take advantage of bottom terrain against current? Maybe the OP was not in good trim, requiring more effort to swim forward? Maybe the OP was underweighted and couldn’t stay down once the tank was empty? Maybe the OP was overweighted and had too much air in the bladder that expanded on ascent? Lots of things to keep track of for an inexperienced Advanced Open Water credentialed diver.

 

[Storker]

Could Should have been: "Oh? uncomfortable, let's ascend and discuss."

FTFY.

At the moment you're seriously uncomfortable underwater, it's thumb time. And the thumb isn't a request, it's a command. The time to discuss the issue is when everyone has their feet on solid ground (or deck) and everyone is comfortable. Some times, you'll find out that you were excessively apprehensive and maybe should push your limits a little (a little! no more!) next time, some times you'll find out that thumbing the dive was just the right thing to do. No matter what, no harm, no foul. Anyone can thumb a dive, for any reason, at any time. And the ocean will still be there next time.

 

[Bob DBF]

So there we go, that was a traumatic ending to 2019 and in all honesty I've decided that scuba in general is too risky for me to pursue.

It could be to risky for you, or you could take it as a wake up call that you need to be more serious about your diving.

20 dives, including AOW, would mean that near half have been under instruction. Some divers mistakenly believe that a guide or DM has the same relationship to them as an instructor, and eventually there is an issue. Your issue was early in your diving, and although scary, was not serious, and can be worked through if you wish to continue diving.

You could quit, or get a local buddy reread the book and dive in a benign environment and work on your skills, or find a good instructor to help you out. Cards are a dime a dozen, good training is harder to come by. ScubaBoard is a good resource to find what you need, should you decide to continue.



Bob

 

[KenGordon]

FTFY.

At the moment you're seriously uncomfortable underwater, it's thumb time. And the thumb isn't a request, it's a command. The time to discuss the issue is when everyone has their feet on solid ground (or deck) and everyone is comfortable. Some times, you'll find out that you were excessively apprehensive and maybe should push your limits a little (a little! no more!) next time, some times you'll find out that thumbing the dive was just the right thing to do. No matter what, no harm, no foul. Anyone can thumb a dive, for any reason, at any time. And the ocean will still be there next time.

But really...

In these circumstances a new diver is not going to actually thumb the dive. They will just put up with it for as long as they can. They are unlikely to have the confidence to actually overcome the perceived authority of the DM, instructor, skipper or whoever.

 

[lowviz]

I don’t believe in blindly following the standard “buddy” system. I think it needs a lot more work to improve that concept, especially how they teach it and treat it in today’s standard training. It can become live by the buddy die by the buddy, unless it is thoroughly understood and perfected.

Way too complicated for me.

I prefer solo.

 

[divinh]

OP, I've had three(!) instances where I lost buoyancy control toward the end of the dive. The first was as a newbie diver who got disoriented from bubbles coming from divers below and not paying attention to my depth. The next two were due to playing with my weights, trying to reduce it to a minimum. All these experiences have led me to log all my weighting and what gear I was wearing.

I used to have a complete trust of all DM's, but have since realized there's a huge variation in experience and skills. One DM had us swim against current toward the end of the dive and I surfaced with 5 bar! Other DM's have put us 10-15 min surface swims from the boat; obviously underwater navigation wasn't quite there. I would say to observe the DM's and see how they are and not implicitly assume they all have the highest skill set.

I think of diving as a progression of getting more experience. Practice, practice, practice... Having AOW cert only means you got exposed to some new skills, not mastery of them. Low-on-air and buoyancy issues are things to learn from and do better next time.

 

[eleniel]

My buddy has had an out of air experience - we were diving in Hawaii and his air consumption rate was better than normal, but not so good as to be outside the realm of possibility.
He was around 600 psi (plan was to head up at 500) and we were around 45 or so feet - he was getting ready to head up when the DM pointed out some sharks.
Being 100 higher than the minimum to head up, he hung around for a few minutes to watch the sharks.
He had just barely started his safety stop when no more air - gauge said 500 but nothing was there. He got the attention of the nearest diver (also doing a safety stop) and they shared air for an abbreviated stop before surfacing.
He didn’t try to get my attention, despite being my buddy, because he didn’t want me to panic (as I have a lot less experience) and as I was still checking out the sharks.
I wasn’t worrying about him because the two of us, while buddies, dive more or less as solo the majority of the dive - before he started his stop he had let me know what he was doing and that I should continue with the sharks and that he was fine on his own.

Lessons learned - even if you watch your gauge, things sometimes malfunction. We had been using rental gear and after this we won’t rent regs and gauges anymore and our own gear is regularly checked and serviced.
I also reminded him that I consume air far more slowly than he does (SAC is between 0.2 and 0.3 in warm water) - he runs out of air long before the NDL limit, I often have to surface due to NDL or because the DM wants to go.
We spent extra time reviewing each other’s gear so we both can find the alternate air source without assistance of the owner.
I have started providing a “buffer” in my own air reporting - for example I’d report 2,000 PSI when I have 2,500 so if an emergency happens I know I have enough to get us both safely to the surface (and I modify that buffer as necessary based on the dive conditions).
I check in with him more often because this has caused anxiety issues for him that he is working through.
If I don’t surface with him, I watch him while he heads up and keep visual contact as much as possible until he’s on the surface and boarding the dive boat. If visual contact isn’t possible, I surface with him regardless of how much air remains in my tank.
If he can’t get the attention of the DM, I burn a bit of air and establish physical contact with the DM and explain what is going on - if the DM ignores the info, I hear back to my buddy, who is on his safety stop, and send up my own DSMB. If it’s more urgent I send my DSMB immediately and let it beat us to the surface.

We’ve also established ways of communicating to each other what we need in regards to going up - for example, 1 thumb means “I am going up but you don’t have to come” - at which point I ask if he’s okay. If so, he heads up and I keep an eye on him until he’s safe.
If it’s a two thumbs up, we both go up and I know we may blow the safety stop.
If it’s a one thumb and not okay (even “so so”) we both go up and communicate about the issue so we can surface as safely as possible.

so far we haven’t had to do a two thumb dive but it helps him knowing we are prepared in case of emergencies.

The decision to keep diving or quit is entirely personal but I would suggest trying to logically think through the scenario and factors that led to your situation and how you could address such things in the future. At that point I’d make my decision as to how to proceed (quit, continue under more benign conditions, continue but take more training or find a diver to be a mentor, etc).

But **** happens, even to the best divers - all you can do is decide how much risk is too much risk for you.

 

[uncfnp]

@Edwon1 Its some time and 57 posts later. I think at this point another contribution on your part would be good. Maybe give us your thoughts after reading the responses. Has anything impacted your thoughts on the dive and your response, both at the time or now?

 

[Storker]

They are unlikely to have the confidence to actually overcome the perceived authority

That's what they should learn to do. Because every diver is responsible for their own safety. No matter whether or not their instructor told them so.