Accident- Guam

[Hogmany]

I was OW Certified in California about a year ago and had the opportunity to go to Guam. I read up on how great of a SCUBA site Guam is and didn't want to miss diving there. I signed up for a boat dive the weekend I got there. I did not have a dive buddy but this family said I could dive with them. We did the first dive together just fine. That was my 7th one ever. I switched my regulator out of my empty tank to the next full tank and as I was putting it on, the father was trying to help but it looked to me that he was screwing it on tighter than I normally would have it. And I said it shouldn't be that tight, and he said it was good, it shouldn't be too loose. Well I tested the regulator before I went in and it seemed to work. However, as we descended I felt like air wasn't flowing in as well as it should; I was hardly breathing any air in and it was labored breathing. Additionally, the captain of the boat instructed us not to go deeper than our first dive; according to my dive computer we went to 62 ft the first dive; our limit was supposed to be 60 ft. I looked at my dive computer, it was going down to 50 ft but my buddies kept going deeper and deeper. I signalled to the mother to look at my dive computer to let her know how deep we were going, we need to stop. She nodded so I thought she understood, but her daughter kept going deeper and deeper and the mother pointed down there like she wanted me to follow her. Then it was 58 ft and I tapped my computer again to show her and she nodded but I saw her daughter swimming down there and I just didn't know what to do. I decided if they were going deeper, I will not follow. I didn't feel too comfortable so I signalled to ascend. She nodded towards me but she kept pointing down there too like she wanted me to go down there...I just wasn't sure what she was trying to say. I was beginning to feel extremely ill at that point, like I couldn't breathe at all, and nothing felt worse than not getting oxygen. Finally the daughter and mother were next to me and I signalled to them I didn't feel good and to ascend. I think they finally understood and they helped me find the anchor line. I suddenly felt exhausted and pulled myself up the line. I think they were trying to tell me to take my time up, to not ascend too fast but I felt like I couldn't breathe at all. All I wanted to do was to reach the surface. Well on the way up, my regulator abruptly let in copious amounts of water; I was shocked and kept sucking in the water with every breath; it felt like a million knives going inside of me. I remembered reading about if the regulator failed to do a CESA, to ascend and exhale slowly by making an ahh sound to ensure you are not holding your breath. I saw my buddy. I know I should have just grabbed her alternate but instead I grabbed her and I shook her to let her know I was in trouble....I feel terrible...I panicked and couldn't think at all. I probably just ended up scaring her off and I kept drinking in the water and I felt frozen and paralyzed. I was struggling for a while to ascend but it was too difficult when I kept drinking in the water so I finally just relaxed...eventually drinking in the water did not hurt at all....and the next think I knew someone grabbed me and I was on the surface in seconds.

Someone checked my computer and apparently we had gone down to 65 ft, which I was really surprised about; I hadn't realized we were down that deep since I was signalling to ascend before then. I got rushed to the ER and aside from low oxygen and water in my lungs, I was ok and recovered quickly.

I wish I could have understood my buddies better down there. We had reviewed all the hand signals we knew before that 2nd dive, but none of them got used down there. They also said they used sign language to each other, so I don't know if they had used any on me, I wouldn't have understood. I never got the chance to speak to them afterwards. I also never knew who was the one who helped me up the surface. I never got the chance to thank whoever it was.

I was also told that all sorts of officers within the Navy community came to visit me in the hospital just as I got admitted, but I was too groggy to really remember much.

For next time, a slate may be more helpful for communication. I have learned a lot from this experience and wanted to share it with another beginner. I wish I could have stayed calm enough to try my own alternate or to have done the out of air signal since I didn't know the signal for malfunctioning regulator.

I read about the deadly SCUBA accident in Guam a few days ago and I realize how close to death I escaped.

 

[Steve P]

Hogmany this must have been a terrifying experience for you and I'm glad you survived the ordeal. As I'm sure you learned in your training, the buddy system means you pair up with another diver. Personally, I'm not a fan of the "group buddy" arrangement. It's easier to keep track of one diver than several. If I'm on a boat with no buddy, I'll ask the DM if I can buddy-up with him/her soon as I get on board. If no DM I'll try to find someone with similar or more experience than me. Even doing that, I've had bad buddy experiences that ruined what would have been a good dive. There's no substitute for a "real" tried & true buddy. For me, that's my wife or my brother.

You mention your depth several times, but not your air pressure. Did you check your gauge on the boat? You're correct about not having to over tighten the yoke on the tank valve but I can't see that causing your equipment problem. Other, more qualified, divers can add to this, but most importantly as soon as you detect a problem, you should signal your buddy that your going up. If he/she doesn't follow, you go up. Can't find the anchor/mooring line, acsend. In an emergency or potential emergency situation you don't need a slate. Thumbs up to buddy and start ascent. From 60 ft you can make it to the surface in 1 minute in an emergency. Hopefully without complications. Sounds like someone saved your life and I hope you get a chance to find out who to thank them.

 

[soltari675]

Glad you made it ok. I can only imagine how scary that was. The problems involved both your buddy and some on you. You're new, but always think back to skills. Here is my assessment, and I am sure more experienced divers can add to it or correct me.

For you:
1. Always take care of your own gear. I understand the guy was trying to help, but you'll only get good at assembling your gear if you do it. If you don't like how your gear is set up, change it. It's your equipment and it's your life down there.
2. As soon as you are uncomfortable, stop. Think about it. Is it something you can fix right there? Or is it something that needs more attention on the surface? Don't let someone else decide for you. Again, it's your life and they can't feel what you're feeling. Any diver can call any dive for any reason, no questions asked.
3. Do not let another diver pressure you into something you are not comfortable with. As soon as they went below your planned depth, you should stop. If they don't come back, surface. It sucks to end a dive early, but it sucks even more to get hurt or killed for their carelessness.

You did a good job realizing there was danger, but be more proactive in preventing it. Don't let another diver pressure you into doing it their way, even if they seem more experienced.

Now, your buddies annoys me. One, he should never have assumed you needed help with your equipment and force you to let him hook it up. I don't even touch another divers' equipment ever unless it's a buddy check or if I need to in an emergency.
As soon as you motioned to your buddy you had a problem with the depth, she should have stopped. Looked at the depth and stayed with the plan. Just nodding and going on, knowing you would follow is pretty crappy. As soon as you said you wanted to ascend, you should not have had to grab her. She should have been right there and helping you ascend. Her focus should have been on you. The fact someone else had to rescue you after you were close to dead means she was not paying attention to you at all.

I am very happy you made it back alive. I hope you do continue to dive, and just learn from the bad experience. Take care of your own gear, and don't let yourself be pressured by other divers.

 

[Jax]

Holy cow! So glad you made it!!!!

Agree with what the others said.

The only thing to add and re-stress -- if it doesn't seem right, don't do it! If he was overtightening your yoke, that was wrong. YOU make the decision - to not go deeper, to not follow, to ascend if you need to. I thank God that you are okay. It could have been so much worse.

 

[buddhasummer]

As another posted in another thread, cant remember who sorry, a signal to thumb a dive is NOT a request to your dive buddy its a statement. I now explain this very clearly when diving abroad with insta buddies. If someone for what ever reason wants to thumb a dive then its over and if the "buddy" doesn't comply then words will be exchanged back on the boat/shore/surface...just because "buddy" cant see or feel a problem doesn't mean there isn't one. Glad you are ok, Im sure this incident will make you a prepared diver. Good luck.

 

[Hogmany]

When I bought my ticket for the boat dive, I did say that I did not have a buddy and they said it would be fine, there is always some other person needing one too. And when I got onto the boat, I told several people I needed a buddy, and initially I got paired with this man with Advanced Certification, but then this other man with Open Water cert said he could use a buddy, so they decided I would be best fit for him. Though it later turned out he was with his family- wife, son and daughter, so I am not sure why he said he needed a buddy and I ended up going along with his wife and daughter. Eventually another man with an Advanced Cert needed a buddy as well so those 2 got paired together. The first dive went ok, so I figured the 2nd one wouldn't be so bad either.

I know I will never ever be diving with strangers again next time. They were trying to be nice and helpful, but they have their own way of doing things and I am used to how I was taught. I don't know if it was just me and trying to do everything by the book, but when we got our gear on and everyone else had jumped off, and they told me to go ahead, I wanted to do the pre-dive checks with my buddy- BWRAF- BCD, weights, releases, air and final check; it didn't seem like anyone else had done it and they just watched me talk it out...I really felt like such a beginner...

When we got into the water, they asked me if I was ok. Then they said if I was to descend and they will meet me down there. I wanted to talk out the 5 point descent, but they had already started deflating, so I just mentally did it on my own.

I was really excited about the dive and just bought an underwater camera. It was hooked to a ring on my BCD. Well it was my first time with a camera and I was having a hard time looking for it while at the same time following my buddies; I was really afraid of getting left behind so I decided to forget about trying to take pictures. Then the mother swims towards me and grabs my camera. I give her the OK to unhook it from me so she can take pictures. Well each time she takes a picture, she gave the thumbs up side. I was a little confused, since the thumbs up is supposed to be mean ascend, but I decided it was prob her way of signaling she got a good shot and she did that quite a few times during the dive. After the dive and while relaxing on the boat, we talked about hand signals and she admitted that she had a habit of using the thumbs up for OK. We went over the proper way of signaling to ascend, to signal the ok sign and to signal when something is wrong...

so during the 2nd dive when I was feeling like I wasn't getting the right flow of air, I gave the thumbs up... she may have interpreted that things were ok

this was the beginning of the dive, we couldn't have been down there for more than 5 or maybe 10 minutes; therefore it definitely wasn't a lack of air issue. I really felt like there was something wrong with the regulator. Before the dive, the staff admitted there was a leak due to minor wear and tear but that it should not impact my diving. And I guess it didn't since the first dive went ok.

Another issue for me was that that was the first time I used the 80 cf tank. I normally use the smaller 60 something size. It felt uncomfortable and I felt really slow like something was pulling me back all the time.

I would like to continue diving, at least a few more dives and know to be extra cautious! I will report back how future ones go.

 

[AfterDark]

Hogmany, glad you made it back! I’ve been there, done that, a little different scenario but I did that long and lonely blow and go from 70fsw. Panic is usually the last thing we do underwater you got lucky, learn from it. You need to be responsible for yourself and your gear. If that means sitting in your living room watching TV while you attach and reattach your regulator over and over until you can do it in the dark again and again without fail then do it. Practice telling people thank you for your offer of help but keep your mitts off my gear. I’ll be the 1^stto ask when I need help. You should go over and over that dive picking out what you could have done differently. Prioritizing equipment failures, examples, if my mask begins to leak during a dive I may be inclined to dive with it andclear it as required. I may even let a faulty inflator slide and orally inflate. Regulator/valve/tank issues especially the kind that doesn’t allow me to breathe freely are dive enders, see ya topside. I’ll be back later. See telling people thank you….but. IMO every diver should be as self-reliant as possible, and dive within those limits. You can’t help others if you can’t help yourself. I’m not flaming you. I hope this doesn’t come off that way. You seem very excited about diving and it is something to get excited about, I haven’t found anything I enjoy more, unless of course I’m naked, different kind of diving though.
These are the kind of learning experiences that can make you a better diver or a former diver it’s up to you. Do a lot of local diving, once you get comfortable with your local diving and gain the confidence and experience you need diving most other places will be just a matter of adjusting your weights and listening to the pre-dive briefing. Good luck and safe diving

 

[tstormdiver]

Not trying to be condesending, but I see a few things that happened here.
1. As others have stated, you should be responsible for your own equipment. You should know how to assemble it correctly & the way you want it to work best for you. If you feel unsure about this, you need to get 1 on 1 with an instructor who can step by step show you & have you repeat it until you are comfortable with the task. When I teach my students to tighten a regulator to the valve I tell them to use 2 fingers & 1 thumb to do it with. As long as it is seated properly & there is a decent O-ring, it will seal when the air is turned on.
2. As for the problems with your regulator, by your description, a couple things come to mind. By your description of breathing hard & then easier as you got shallower 1. Sounds like the cylinder valve may not have been turned on all the way. This can be checked by looking at your guage, if the needle swings back & forth as you inhale, the valve needs to be opened up all the way. If you are flexible enough, you can do it yourself,.. or have your buddy do it. 2. The other possibility is, there may have been debris within the cylinder that may have partially plugged the orifice or debris that may have partially plugged your regulator filter. That is why pre- dive equipment inspection is important,... especially if/when using rental gear that you are unfamiliar with. You don't know how it has been used &/or maintained.
3. There should have been a clear buddy system within the family group,.. not just you can join us. If it was a family of 3 (mother, father & child) one of the adults should have buddied up with you & the other with the child. Those buddy teams stick together, but in a group. That, or you should have requested to dive with a Dive Master or guide (even if it cost you a little more $)
4. With your buddy there should have been pre- dive planning. In that planning you both should have gone over experience levels, hand signals (so there is no confusing hand signals), emergency situations (not everyone shares air exactly the same). Communication is oh so important, but the most missed thing in a dive. Remember; Any diver may call any dive, at any time, for any reason, with no fear of accusations. That should be respected between both buddies,... or else find another buddy. If you become uncomfortable during a dive, or are in doubt,... call the dive. Your buddy should be accompaning you on the way up.

Glad things worked out in the end. Remember, equipment inspections before the dive & clear communication before, during & after the dive will contribute to the success of the dive.

 

[Mike2Fst]

The insta-buddy system is one that I've found to create certainty that there is adventure in diving. I'm not happy about that. When paired with a stranger, I've no qualms about assessing his or her level of certification, request log book review, etc. I have no problem reducing the experience level of a dive to keep another diver within his or her level of achievement. I welcome divers who are honest about thier skill levels. Many divers who have had no incidents while diving will become lax with procedures, be wary here as these are the folks who will only go back to procedure once they've experienced a problem under the water. No one should touch your gear unless A, you've asked them to or B, they've voiced concern about something with your gear and you've solicited assistance or advice from that point. Be wary of the trust me dive which is what you had ultimately experienced there. Their lack of following basic protocol in the dive community was the first link in the chain of events that placed you in a very unfortunate situation. You are ultimately responsible for your own life. Welocme to the dive community, hopefully you will continue to advance your dive knowlege and skills. Don't be afraid to conduct a mini interview with an insta-buddy, if it doesn't feel right, don't dive with that person.

 

[Garth]

My advice is to find a mentor that is experienced and dive local as much as you can with similar gear that you will be using on your travels.
... The people who don't have issues like this all the time. If you never "figure it out" it will be like riding a bike the first time every time.