2 incidents in Mexico

[highveelocity]

Just to start off, I need to say that I am apprehensive in very poor visibility water, and have never felt panicked in good viz. Went on a cruise last week to Mexico. First dive was in Puerto Vallarta, and the instructor sent me and the wife down the anchor line first to wait for him, about 5 foot viz. As we made our way down the line, I started feeling very apprehensive and felt like I wanted to just abort and hang out on the surface. I fought through it, and once we got to the bottom and the instructor and the rest of our dive group got there, I calmed down and we did a 50 minute dive and it was very enjoyable. Throughout this dive viz varied from 8 to 25 feet.
The next dives were to happen in Manzanillo. We got to our first dive spot and our group got in the water and we all descended together, in about 8-10 foot viz. We all got to the bottom, about 45 feet and started making our way towards the back of a lagoon. about 5 minutes into the dive I my heart started pounding in my chest and I was breathing as fast as I could draw it in as I fought the current. I was feeling panicked and put up with this for about a minute then decided to abort. The instructor was 10-15 feet in front of me(viz had improved by then), so I had to kick even harder to catch up with him to let him know I was going up. As I made my way up, my heart calmed down a bit and by the time I got to the surface, my breathing had returned to normal, total dive time of 7 minutes. I sat out the rest of their dive and through the surface time and got ready for the next dive. Viz was worse going down for the second, but to make a long story shorter, there were no incidents and it was a good dive.
I don't know how to train myself to calm down for the low viz dives, so I was wondering if any of you take anything prior to your dives to calm your nerves. Just fyi, I am 46 yo, 6'4 and 230 pounds. Please advise

 

[fisheater]

Sounds like you built up too much CO2 while fighting the current. That causes you to feel like you're not getting enough air, even though you reg is working just fine. NOT a great feeling.

Congrats on NOT panicking and on dealing with it in a safe, rational manner.

Prevention tips:

Recognize the signs earlier next time. Then stop and breath slowly and - most importantly - fully. Your goal isn't to take in more oxygen. It's to get rid of more CO2. So, concentrate on fully exhaling. Soon, your heart rate will drop, your feeling of breathlessness will go away and you'll be far more comfortable.




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[Davemohio]

I agree with Fisheater.

You did the right thing by aborting the dive. Those dives do not sound like fun.

I am curious as to what caused the viz to be so bad? The viz sounds like a BAD day at an Ohio quarry with the added probem of currents.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Viz sounds like a good day around here! What you can do to help adjust is to dive. Dive locally to you as much as you can. And work on planning these dives yourself. Do not let a DM, Instructor, or Guide do them. Some of your anxiety may come from a common and normal fear of the unknown. Much of that ios the feeling that you are not in control and when you allow someone else to plan the dive you are not in control. This is known as a "trust me" dive. This is IMO one of the most dangerous things a diver can do. It fosters complacency and takes the responsibility for your safety and puts it in the hands of someone else. Not where it should be.

Planning your own dives, even when there is a guide, and setting your own goals and limits will go a long way towards reducing the feelings of anxiety. Or should anyway. If it does not you may have to set new limits for your diving and miss dives in environments you are not comfortable in. I have done dives to depths of 160 feet, in zero vis, blackwater, under the ice, and inside wrecks. Fine with all of them.

But the first time I did a traverse with a cave instructor and at a couple points realized I was about 200 feet farther than I could swim on one breath if I ran out of air it made me evaluate where I was and what I was doing in relation to my comfort level. As a result of that experience and my feelings about it (there was no panic or freaking at all, just a strong feeling of unease) I have decided that cave diving is not for me and will not persue training for it. No big deal. Plenty of wrecks to muck about in.

In addition planning the dives and setting your own limits may result in you doing one of the dives we often learn the most from. That dive is the one we decide to call and not do at all. I'd suggest you take a look at my who is responsible thread in the new divers forum.

 

[openmindOW]

But the first time I did a traverse with a cave instructor and at a couple points realized I was about 200 feet farther than I could swim on one breath if I ran out of air it made me evaluate where I was and what I was doing in relation to my comfort level. As a result of that experience and my feelings about it (there was no panic or freaking at all, just a strong feeling of unease) I have decided that cave diving is not for me and will not persue training for it. No big deal.

That is mature and wise reasoning. Wisdom is also a part of dive planning.

 

[t-mac]

Sounds like you handled yourself well and did the right thing. Good avice above in terms of putting more of the control in your own hands. Obviously the viz was an issue and you were fighting the current, but I think the situation was compounded by the fact that your guide was ahead of you and you couldn't catch up. Two things here. First, you are exerting yourself more and, second, you didn't want to be left in alone in the murky water. If you weren't afraid of being left (and had a buddy with you -- hope you did), it would have been no problem for you just to back off, catch your breath and either catch up with the group after you relax or do your own tour when you felt better. You are a certified diver and in principle this shouldn't be a problem, but you need to be comfortable. You know how to handle yourself (you proved this) and if you need to you could just conduct your own tour. Maybe that's not ideal and you aren't getting what you signed up for, but a 7 minute dive kinda sucks too. So, go out to the quarry in the murk, get out your compass and get comfortable with the fact that you can find your way around and that you can have a perfectly good dive in low viz with just you and your buddy. Next time you'll just take this in stride. If not, then do exactly what you did this time.