Writing this up because I've been dry a week now and miss diving.
Not exactly a near miss, but I did call the dive and was glad to be back to shore. Perhaps some learning value in it too. Not a typical OW recreational dive scenario, but it's still diving.
Maybe illustrate how failures cascade, and the need to prioritize problem solving gets challenging when a dive goes bad.... Also, the best time to call a dive is safely in ambient air.
Surf entry.
Two al80s, sidemounted.
Gavin sized scooter.
~1ft viz.
Site location I'd only dove 11 times previously. Marginally bigger waves that day.
Gear up waist deep behind a breakwater. Scooter clipped off behind, get negative and claw my way along the bottom under the breakers, working with the rhythm of the waves. Sand and sediment thick in the water. Low viz, navigating across the wave pattern. Once I reach 6ft deep I switch to my scooter to move away from the rocky bottom (no gloves). Keeping low due to surfers above me.
At 8ft deep the surge gets bad, whitewater right to the bottom. Mask flooding twice as I almost lose it, saved by my strap under my hood with the mask up on my forehead (crossed my mind at that moment I was a distressed diver with my MOF!!! ...a first). Scooter prop fouling. Off the trigger, free the prop by feel (can't see, water dark), getting washing machine churned by a bad wave, disoriented, next wave in the set was better and I start back out. Mask gets pulled off again.
One hand holding the mask to my face, other on the scooter. All good. Scooter starts to foul. Trigger jammed by sand, can't turn it off. Feel my way down the shaft, find the rotory magnet, can torque it sufficiently to rotate it to off position (avoid the prop, hurrah). Mask meanwhile has flooded but still on my face, partial handsfree clear, but still low viz, not able to see my compass to get my bearing.
Sucking in to add suction to keep my mask in place, inhale some water. Next wave rolls me (Once? Twice?). I had drifted broadside to the breakers. Caugh out the salt water and figure out which way is up.
On the bottom now, found a hollow to tuck into for shelter to reorient myself and work the trigger clean on the scooter.
Start out again. Reach 12ft deep, surge worse. Call the dive. Scooter fouls. Trigger jammed (again). This is when my reg starts freeflowing. Both hands occupied by the scooter. Loose lip breathing letting the freeflow blow past while sipping. Get the scooter shut off. Switch to my second tank. Valve shutdown, smack the freeflowing reg a few times, fixed, switch back. (Gotta love a conshelf)
Scooter held under me as a skid plate, other hand in front in case of outcroppings, heading back to shore.
Return uneventful.
Questions welcome, pull whatever learning value out of it as you would like.
My biggest takeaway was my unwillingness to call the dive. "The best way out, is through" doesn't always apply. I had expected the conditions to be slightly worse than before, but didn't realize there was a threshold I needed to respect. I also noted the number of simultaneous issues that happened within seconds.
Cameron
Not exactly a near miss, but I did call the dive and was glad to be back to shore. Perhaps some learning value in it too. Not a typical OW recreational dive scenario, but it's still diving.
Maybe illustrate how failures cascade, and the need to prioritize problem solving gets challenging when a dive goes bad.... Also, the best time to call a dive is safely in ambient air.
Surf entry.
Two al80s, sidemounted.
Gavin sized scooter.
~1ft viz.
Site location I'd only dove 11 times previously. Marginally bigger waves that day.
Gear up waist deep behind a breakwater. Scooter clipped off behind, get negative and claw my way along the bottom under the breakers, working with the rhythm of the waves. Sand and sediment thick in the water. Low viz, navigating across the wave pattern. Once I reach 6ft deep I switch to my scooter to move away from the rocky bottom (no gloves). Keeping low due to surfers above me.
At 8ft deep the surge gets bad, whitewater right to the bottom. Mask flooding twice as I almost lose it, saved by my strap under my hood with the mask up on my forehead (crossed my mind at that moment I was a distressed diver with my MOF!!! ...a first). Scooter prop fouling. Off the trigger, free the prop by feel (can't see, water dark), getting washing machine churned by a bad wave, disoriented, next wave in the set was better and I start back out. Mask gets pulled off again.
One hand holding the mask to my face, other on the scooter. All good. Scooter starts to foul. Trigger jammed by sand, can't turn it off. Feel my way down the shaft, find the rotory magnet, can torque it sufficiently to rotate it to off position (avoid the prop, hurrah). Mask meanwhile has flooded but still on my face, partial handsfree clear, but still low viz, not able to see my compass to get my bearing.
Sucking in to add suction to keep my mask in place, inhale some water. Next wave rolls me (Once? Twice?). I had drifted broadside to the breakers. Caugh out the salt water and figure out which way is up.
On the bottom now, found a hollow to tuck into for shelter to reorient myself and work the trigger clean on the scooter.
Start out again. Reach 12ft deep, surge worse. Call the dive. Scooter fouls. Trigger jammed (again). This is when my reg starts freeflowing. Both hands occupied by the scooter. Loose lip breathing letting the freeflow blow past while sipping. Get the scooter shut off. Switch to my second tank. Valve shutdown, smack the freeflowing reg a few times, fixed, switch back. (Gotta love a conshelf)
Scooter held under me as a skid plate, other hand in front in case of outcroppings, heading back to shore.
Return uneventful.
Questions welcome, pull whatever learning value out of it as you would like.
My biggest takeaway was my unwillingness to call the dive. "The best way out, is through" doesn't always apply. I had expected the conditions to be slightly worse than before, but didn't realize there was a threshold I needed to respect. I also noted the number of simultaneous issues that happened within seconds.
Cameron
Definitely some lessons learned.
