Chumming the water

[harleyxx]

I just got back from a cruise and did a shore dive on Cocoa Cay. There were no "accidents" or injuries, and everything ended up ok, but I learned a valuable lesson.

The dive started from the shore. We geared up and waded out into the water and checked our buoyancy. The plan was for a wave runner to tow us out to the dive site. We were to lay down on our stomach's in a basket towed behind the wave runner.
Well, it was a rough and wild ride out to the dive site and no one suggested that it might be a good idea to put my regulator in my mouth. Needless to say, I got a face full of sea water and ended up swallowing a couple mouthfuls of saltwater. Plus I was bouncing up and down on by weight belt that had somehow managed to shift so that I was laying on the weights.

I felt a little queezy once I got to the dive buoy but figured it would go away.
We descended to about 35-40 feet and I felt fine for the next 10 to 15 minutes.
Suddenly I felt a wave a nausea hit me like a ton of bricks. I knew I was on the verge of hurling, there was no stopping it. Fortunately I was behind everyone else when it hit me. MY first instinct was to pull my regulator out and let nature take it's course. Then my better judgment kicked in and I went ahead and hurled into my regulator. I did this three or four times before my stomach settled down.

I fanned the polluted water away, thankful that no one saw me chumming the water and caught up with the rest of the dive party. Then all of a sudden my regulator was breathing wet. With every breath I was getting a half a mouthful of water. I tried to purge it, and blow it out but it was still giving me a mouthful of water with every breath. I was getting a little anxious but contemplated signaling my buddy. (In hindsight, I should have done so anyway) I decided that something might be stuck in the diaphragm and switched to my octopus. I poked my finger in the vents and purged my regulator saw a few small chunks of "breakfast" come out. I then switched back to my regulator and it was back to normal.

I had once again fallen behind the rest of the dive party but caught up to them again. My buddy turned around and gave the the OK signal. I signaled back OK and we finished our dive.

Little did I know the worst part was still to come. Once we surfaced at the buoy we had a rather long surface swim back to the shore. As soon as I got to the surface the wave of nausea hit me again. I ended up chumming the water all the way back to shore. This nausea seemed to sap all my strength. Although I considered myself in better shape than the rest of the divers I was the last one to make it back to shore. I cleaned up my equipment drank some fresh water and collapsed into a beach chair for the next 5 hours. This was supposed to be a easy fun shallow reef dive, but it turned out to be the most stressful dive I have had so far.

Here is what I learned. If getting towed by a wave runner, put your regulator in and keep your mouth shut. Swallowing even a little bit of sea water can totally ruin your day! I also realize that by using my own octopus I was in rendering it unavailable for my buddy, not a good move. I should have shared air with my buddy while I cleaned out my regulator.

This was by no means an emergency situation, but I would like to know if anyone else has had a sudden onset of nausea at depth and how they handled it.

Edit: My Regulator was a Scubapro MK17/S555

 

[FritzCat66]

...I also realize that by using my own octopus I was in rendering it unavailable for my buddy, not a good move. I should have shared air with my buddy while I cleaned out my regulator.

I'm not sure that's necessarily a better idea than what you did (i.e. use octo while cleaning primary), but certainly it would have been better to acknowledge your problems with a buddy rather than just 'OK' them, and kept them closer throughout the dive.

Nevertheless, thanks for posting your experience here - I haven't done a Sea-Doo Dive yet, but they seem to be getting more popular, so lessons like this are worthwhile.

>*< Fritz

 

[harleyxx]

The only other time I got sick was on a boat in St. Maarten. My daughter had a can of coke, she drank about 2/3's of it and set it down. The waves were splashing over the sides of the boat and saltwater got into the can of coke. Right before we got to the 2nd dive site I took a huge swig and swallowed some sea water before I realized it. I became nauseated but it cleared up as soon as I got in the water. I'm glad because we went down to 80 feet and swam through a wreck.

 

[ChimChim75]

In situations like this, is it better to hurl into the regulator or pull it out of your mouth for a few moments? I would have pulled it out and just made sure to keep exhaling.

 

[bsee65]

If you're going to vomit, I'm not sure you will always have control of your ability not to gasp or inhale. By definition, if you had control, you probably wouldn't be vomitting under water in the first place. I don't know for a fact, just thinking back on the times I have been sick on land. Thanks for that opportunity, by the way...

 

[Thalassamania]

Bad problem, well handled. I once filled my regulator with a big mac, that was in the early 1970s, I've not darkened the door of a McDonalds since.

 

[trigfunctions]

In situations like this, is it better to hurl into the regulator or pull it out of your mouth for a few moments? I would have pulled it out and just made sure to keep exhaling.

You definitely want to keep your reg in your mouth because you will often gasp and caugh after each heave. The puke will flow out of the exhale valve, no problem, although you may have to clean some chunks out as described above.

Luckily, I haven't had to do it but I've seen it in action. The nearby sargeant majors loved it!

 

[Froid]

I had the same thing happen in the Keys in May. I put on my wetsuit and overheated as the DM talked about the dive. At the bottom, signialed that my stomach was iffy to my buddy and proceded to chum the water with the whooper I had eaten an hour before.

The one thing I learned was that chuncks of onions do not feel good up your nose and clearing it isn't fun either.

I talked to the DM and a instructor on the boat after the dive, they both said that it was correct to keep your reg in your mouth

 

[ChimChim75]

Interesting... Hope I never have to use this knowledge. I remember during my OW cert, one of the girls in the class chummed the water (reg out) and managed to fill her mask with snot. Yum!

 

[Coldwater_Canuck]

Here is what I learned. If getting towed by a wave runner, put your regulator in and keep your mouth shut. Swallowing even a little bit of sea water can totally ruin your day! I also realize that by using my own octopus I was in rendering it unavailable for my buddy, not a good move. I should have shared air with my buddy while I cleaned out my regulator.

I actually think you did the right thing here. Either way, whether you're breathing from his tank or your own, if his fails there is only one working second stage for both of you. It doesn't really matter whether you are using your own octo or not, in either case you are one octo short if his air fails.

Given what I just said about it not mattering where you were breathing from in the event of failure, here's why I think you did the right thing:
1.) You want to minimize the chances that he has a failure as well: having two people breathing off one tank increases the chance of human or mechanical failure (going through air faster, easier to freeze-up first stage, etc.). It sounds like based on your conditions these risks would be low, but still
2.) Being "attached" to your buddy has downsides if he loses bouyancy control or something.
3.) If his air failed, you would have had 2 people rushing to get to your tank, rather than one in which case it may be a bit smoother.