a few near misses & lessons learned from a recreational scuba diver

[NAM001]

these are the kind of thnks all new divers need to experience before they can even think of more complex dives like tech and overhead. threeare somany threads of those with ,50 dives persuing dm tech deep ect that have never had the luxury you have had to come face to face with even relativly minor problems. good going kep at it and soon the more perfect dives will out number the ones that could have gone smother.

 

[Saldiac]

Wow, many responses
I appreciate and respect all of them and I actually was expecting some people to state that they wouldn't dive with someone who hasn't been diving in a year. Let alone on a deep/wreck dive while also using a photo camera.
Personally I didn't have a problem with this diver/scenario, especially since I knew what to expect before hitting the water. Sure he was rusty but we kept communicating throughout the dive and he always responded well, with the exception of the air sharing on the anchor line.
For the record, I would dive with him again. And I did tell him afterwards to dive more often in a friendly manner.

Indeed as TSandM indicated, his air supply was rapidly decreasing within a short time span and he had only 40 bar when we reached the anchor line. Since I didn't know what caused him to rapidly burn through his air I decided that I rather "force" my functioning alternative (which I always check when setting up gear) onto him and be sure to reach the surface with enough air for both of us.
An immediate ascent from 26m (about 85 feet?) while having enough air for both of us didn't occur to me but to be honest, even had I thought of it I would stick with my current decision.

Concerning the purge button, I pressed it only briefly to avoid him getting water in his mouth/throat and possibly panicking. Given that he didn't respond fast enough (imho) in accepting my alternate I assumed he might not be thinking of pressing the purge button by himself.

Finally, as TSandM mentioned in her first response, this dive was a good reminder of how narcosis affects us. I'm sure I might have been narked on previous deep/wreck dives but this dive was the first that I noticed it so clearly. Maybe your self-awareness keeps getting better as you keep diving.

---------- Post Merged at 10:13 AM ---------- Previous Post was at 10:02 AM ----------

I realize this is quoting an old post, but think it bears mentioning. There is a third option. Rather than swim along side the rocks or try to chase the group through a maze of turns, you could go above the rocks and likely either see them from or their bubbles from the higher vantage point (assuming said rocks aren't in fact an overhead or that they aren't so shallow that you can't safely get above them).

Many people forget the third dimension (often resulting in "lost buddy" scenarios).

No problem, thanks for mentioning it.
At this specific dive location the rocks are unevenly distributed in height so I'd have had to go over the highest rock in order to avoid any of them potentially blocking the other divers. From memory I think the heighest rock would be around 14-16m so that would've been no problem. I'm not 100% sure but the visibility might not have been great on that specific day so going on top of the rocks might not have worked in poor visibility.
Once we'll dive that location again I'll pay extra attention to the rocks and their lay-out

---------- Post Merged at 10:26 AM ---------- Previous Post was at 10:02 AM ----------

Plus, if the donor did not have a very long octopus, ascending up an anchor line in a strong current may not be the easiest thing to accomplish. What if they get yanked around, the reg gets pulled out of the mouth, the recipients primary is flapping in the breeze and gets wrapped around the anchor line and the he has trouble recovering it? What if the donor or recipient get blown off the anchor line in a strong current? These are all perfectly foreseeable events.

Good point but there was no current on this specific dive. We kept communicating during our slow ascent and both of us let out some air from our BCDs a few times. The only time we were "disturbed" was when another diver bumped into us from below while we were doing our safety stop. I got a faceful of bubbles but I changed my position on the anchor line without ripping the alternate out of my buddy's mouth so no biggie.

I have a strong aversion to “messing with someone” and removing their working life support when they are stressed out and there is no need for it.

I agree with this. But on this specific dive I would rather risk having someone be mad at me for "forcing" my alternate on him/her then to risk the chance of him/her panicking when running out of air during the ascent/safety stop.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

You do realize your son was behind you with a loaded that is bands streached and ready?

Yeah, you got a problem with that?

I'm sure I was aware of that at the time. He is very good now about not pointing the loaded gun at me, after years of training... Much, much better than some adult divers I have to contend with from time to time. Pointing loaded guns at people is a HUGE issue and it takes a lot of practice for a diver to always know where the gun is pointed at all times.

---------- Post Merged at 07:54 AM ---------- Previous Post was at 07:42 AM ----------

..
I agree with this. But on this specific dive I would rather risk having someone be mad at me for "forcing" my alternate on him/her then to risk the chance of him/her panicking when running out of air during the ascent/safety stop.

I was not worried about somone being mad, I am concerned about them being induced to panic. If you had simply initiated the ascent (immediately up the anchor line), you might have been able to check his air on the ascent. If he runs low at 10 meters, chances are he would be more calm due to the shallower depth etc. and you could offer the regulator at that time. This would be the point where it might be needed.

And I don't think this is a huge issue and don't want to argue forever, but if you are confident enough that the diver can go off his own air supply and on to your's safely, then why would you feel the need to further mess with him and pres the purge button? Just doesn't make sense to me.

 

[InTheDrink]

Out of curiosity, is having the gun loaded in this kind of LOG situation considered ok? Seems strange to me but I've never spear fished so haven't got a clue.

 

[AfterDark]

Out of curiosity, is having the gun loaded in this kind of LOG situation considered ok? Seems strange to me but I've never spear fished so haven't got a clue.

IMO at that point the hunt is over and spearguns should be made safe. However the kid was holding the gun arounds its body, his finger was nowhere near the trigger so the danger is reduced.