A bad dive

[Zodiacdiverdave]

I probably should be posting this in the Accidents and Incidents forum but I know I would get all sorts of feedback about “Where was your buddy” so I will post it here so all can learn from one of my bad days.

Well we finally got out for a dive, the flu and the weather has kept us grounded for a month. We dove on a Saturday which is not our norm due to increased shipping traffic where we usually dive but the weather for Sunday looks like crap. Just 3 of us went out so we only took one Zodiac; it was tight but do-able. I stayed up while Steve and Dwayne did the first dive, no issues other then fending off boats from our area. Then it was my turn, Steve came up first so I quickly got dressed but Dwayne surfaced just as I was close to rolling over the side so I stepped up my pace, mistake number one. When I rolled over I didn't have my fins on, I got that sorted out and headed to the bottom. As the bottom came into view my right leg fetched up good in my buoy line and I was dangling upside down. I had to get upright to fix it and that is when my weight belt dropped around my ankles and the rest of my buoy line got tangled in my gear. I headed back to the surface with my belt around my ankles and my line wrapped all around me, but I made it with out blowing out a lung or anything. Time to call it a day.
Despite all that Steve did well with a couple of milks and two wine/rum bottles one of which is a free blown.
Oh yea, for anyone in Florida that thinks it's too cold to dive, the water temp here @ 80 ft is now 36*F.



Definitely not one of my better dives that's for sure. When I have situations like this I look back on it and think of things I could have done differently. For starters I should not have hurried my entry, then I should have synched up my weight belt when I was on the surface (I usually do this but forgot to this time). Next and I have been meaning to do this for decades but some how I never do, TRIM MY FIN STRAPS AND TAPE THEM. This will be done before I dive again. Next take some of the slack out of my line, I have 125 ft of line for a 90 ft dive, should be closer to 110.
If I would have had my fin straps trimmed and taped I wouldn't have got tangled and none of that would have happened.
I diving solo for almost all my dives and I should have addressed these gear issues much sooner. I would advise everyone to deal with there gear issues long before they become a major issue.

Happy Dives everyone

 

[Dsix36]

Thanks for sharing about this "adventure". Glad you are OK.

 

[theduckguru]

Where were you diving that the water was 36f!

 

[dumpsterDiver]

Why didn't you just fix the problem on the bottom? Why abort?

 

[Jim Lapenta]

And get some spring straps.

 

[Zodiacdiverdave]

Where were you diving that the water was 36f!

That would be Halifax Harbour.
ZDD

---------- Post added February 17th, 2013 at 02:53 PM ----------

Why didn't you just fix the problem on the bottom? Why abort?

I could only see the bottom about 7 ft down. My float is one of those large red buoys and the line had my leg wrapped up and it tied itself up into a knot and it became tight so I couldn't get to the bottom. It is when I became virtical and I was trying to untie the rope that my wieght belt fell down to my ankles then I had to hold my belt up with my feet to keep from loosing it all together. I made the decision then to head back up because I had a tender in the Zodiac that could help me out. If I didn't then I might have had to drop the belt once I was on the surface and mybe cut my line away.
I managed to save my belt and my tool bag that was at the other end of my line.
ZDD

---------- Post added February 17th, 2013 at 02:56 PM ----------

And get some spring straps.

I like the rubber straps and Turtle fins, I just have to streamline them, something that I have been meaning to do for a long time but now I will do it prior to diving again.
ZDD

 

[dumpsterDiver]

Here are two ideas....

1:Use a reel and keep the line tight, so this is unlikely
2: if you are using a fixed length floatline, slip about 8 feet of pneumatic hose over the terminal end of the floatline. Tie knots in each end of line so as to fix the hose and prevent it sliding one way or the other. This hose will make the line stiff and nearly impossible to hang up on fins, regulators etc. It is much easier to feel and work with AND it protects the internal line from abrasion, so you can hook off over sharp wreckage and not worry too much about it.

 

[Zodiacdiverdave]

Here are two ideas....

1:Use a reel and keep the line tight, so this is unlikely
2: if you are using a fixed length floatline, slip about 8 feet of pneumatic hose over the terminal end of the floatline. Tie knots in each end of line so as to fix the hose and prevent it sliding one way or the other. This hose will make the line stiff and nearly impossible to hang up on fins, regulators etc. It is much easier to feel and work with AND it protects the internal line from abrasion, so you can hook off over sharp wreckage and not worry too much about it.

Great ideas DD, I really like the hose idea I don't know why we haven't come with that one ourselves. We dive in a strong current right in the middle of a shipping channel so not to get blown off the spot we want to dive, we drop our tool bags/goodiebags down where we want to dive and follow our lines to the bag, and normally this works out well. Because of the strong currents we have a tender in the boat that follows the floats. If the Harbour Traffic radios us to advise us of a passing ship we have to signal the divers to come up using the float line. A reel might work here but this system usually doesn't provide an issue. Again streamlining our gear is so important to prevent entanglements and snags.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

We drift dive and pull a float a lot where I dive. I dive solo a lot and have gotten the floatline wrapped around the first stage of my regulator dozens of times. The idea for a hose over the line, came to me one day after looking at the way freedivers rig their lines...Simple, cheap rugged and it works.

 

[chillyinCanada]

Glad it all worked out well for you. Aftere getting you safely backboard was there any laughter involved?