Dive 10a (a=aborted)

[Monilite]

If you are reading this hoping for a hair curling underwater “faces of death” story you are in for a bitter disappointment. If you are looking for a rookie domino of mistakes to laugh at (and be aware of so you don’t do it too), then you are in luck. As the subject indicates, this was my tenth open water dive counting my certification dives. Last week I purchased an air tank completing my scuba gear set (except for a dive computer). I was looking forward to having my first dive where I didn’t have to rent anything. Since I only got one tank I didn’t want to go on a two-tank boat dive and sit out one of the dives, so I decided to go on a beach dive. I don’t have a dive buddy yet, so I just drove to the local site that is very popular and hoped to tag-along with somebody. The first group I asked was an instructor and his open water class, so he politely refused me. The second group I asked accepted me; they were 2 guys and a 10-12 year old boy, the son of the younger guy. I am male, about 35 pounds overweight, but otherwise healthy; my three new buddies looked like pro soccer players. I had a few very poor nights of sleep and was wrestling with a small mouth sore (none of which I thought about at the time). When I bought my dive buoy I thought bigger is better, but the buoy these guys had was much smaller (the correct buoy type for this location). It is very important to dive this site at high tide to get good visibility and minimal current. All 4 of us thought high tide was 30 minutes before it actually was, therefore we were entering the water 45 minutes before slack tide and the current was a little stiff. I had wanted to try something new, so stopped at a gas station on the way to the site and got a small bag of cheese puffs to attract, feed and photograph fish (I didn’t account for the extra buoyancy when I stuffed my weight belt; I left my extra weights in the car even though my buoy has a large storage compartment). This was the first time I was diving with a weight belt instead of a rented weight-integrated BC and they feel really different; the weight on my hips instead of my shoulder straps made them feel at least twice as heavy as they were. Walking over the sand to the surf entry point was more tiring than I had expected. Since it is February I decided to wear thermal underwear under my 3mil wetsuit. I live in S. Florida near the gulf stream, so was overheated the entire time. I’ve used my buoy while snorkeling, but this was my first time using it while diving; I kept getting tangled up in the line. I was fighting to stay at depth (suit squeeze didn’t have the correcting effect I was hoping for after I first entered the water and realized my buoyancy problem). I saw some really neat wildlife and took a few pictures, but was very disappointed with myself. I felt like a wimp, but I waved bye, signaled up and aborted the dive only 10 minutes after entering the water.

So, this was my situation. I was sleep deprived, had a low grade fever was overheated, over exerted before even entering the water, hyperventilating (not Nitrox certified), positively buoyant, struggling to keep up with my more athletic buddies, on the verge of leg cramps and trying several new things on the same dive. All in all I STILL have to say a bad day diving beats a good day working. Happy bubbles everybody and be self aware and honest with yourself when planning to dive I sure will be next time!

 

[FishNut]

No better way to learn then from your mistakes. You will have better dives. And im sure you will find a dive buddy soon.

 

[Don Wray]

I had wanted to try something new, so stopped at a gas station on the way to the site and got a small bag of cheese puffs to attract, feed and photograph fish

Why does everyone think the fish need feeding? Stop screwing with the natural order and just take the freaking pictures.

 

[Monilite]

Don;

I was introduced to scuba in a resort class in Hawaii where I got a 5 minute beach lecture, was given a bag of Cheese puffs and put in the water for a beach dive with the "instructor" literally holding my hand. The fish went crazy when I opened the bag and for a few seconds I could not even see water, just fish. I have not had that experience yet in S. Florida, so wanted to experiment and see if it works here too. I completely understand what you are saying; natural behavior and diet is better for the fish and the observer. I did think of my own safety on this issue and was wearing black gloves to avoid having my white fingers mistaken for baitfish. On the other hand I do not intend to go to the same spot and feed the same fish repeatedly, so don't see the dependency and conditioned response issues coming into play here. I only brought up the bag of cheese puffs to explain the buoyancy problem I had (not pure stupidity), but I will give the whole feeding issue a clear minded reconsideration since that is the point of this forum. Thanks.

 

[Kayla]

Kudos to you for knowing enough to know that it WASNT working. Now you know what you want to change for next time, and hopefully it will work better for you. Thanks for sharing your expereince with us!

 

[Jim Kerr]

First of all leave the cheeze puffs, thermal undies and the camera at home. Ok, you can brimg the cheeze puffs but leave them in the car for later. You are a new diver with new gear and the only thing you need to do right now is go diving and get familiar with your equipment until it's second nature.. There will be plenty of time for picture taking later. You need to work on diving skills first, especially bouyancy. You need excellent bouyancy for good picture taking.

After you have your bouyancy under control, then think about bringing a camera along. You also need to make a habit of watching your depth, time and air consumption. New divers who have not developed these habits and get too involved taking pictures forget to do this, and often find themselves in trouble! ie...too deep, low on air, in deco, etc... Oh and thermal undies have absolutely no use for diving. Once wet, they have the opposite effect.

Since I only got one tank I didn’t want to go on a two-tank boat dive and sit out one of the dives

In most cases, tanks and weights are provided on dive boats so you do not have to sit out any dives.

 

[Jim Kerr]

Don;
I was introduced to scuba in a resort class in Hawaii where I got a 5 minute beach lecture, was given a bag of Cheese puffs and put in the water for a beach dive with the "instructor" literally holding my hand. The fish went crazy when I opened the bag and for a few seconds I could not even see water, just fish.

As you will learn, Hawaii sets the worst example or I should say the best example on what "not" to do. They often play to the tourists at the expense of the marine life. You will see plenty of fish without having to lure them. I often catch them following "me" as they are just as curious.

 

[Ed Hatfield]

A new diver like yourself should consider finding a local dive club. It would benefit you to do some club dives with buddies that can give you advice before, during, and after the dives. Most clubs have divers of all ages and experience levels and can be found by an internet search or a trip to one of your local dive shops. Baby steps at first - one thing at a time.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

The Blue Heron Bridge was harder than you thought Huh? Obviously you learned a lot, but probably the most important thing might be that your training must have been pretty poor. I don't mean to sound critical of you; how are you to know your training was crappy until you discover it yourself on a super easy dive site. Keep practicing, try to find some divers to go with and I would suggest advanced diver training ASAP.

Learning what your limits are is important in diving, you have just found out that your skills, physical ability, experience and capability to deal with new equipment are all at the novice level..which is what is expected with so few dives (and the current state of dive training).

Just curious, were you going to make the dive solo if you found nobody else to accept you into their group?

 

[mempilot]

The only thing I will say, and I want to say a lot, is this:

Why are new divers getting creative and making up solutions to percieved problems when they should be picking up the phone and calling their instructor for advice and guidance?

Thermal underwear under a (READ MULTIPLE TIMES UNTIL IT SINKS IN) wetsuit?????

I think common sense would win out on this one, but sometimes it is just better to understand there are no stupid questions, so ask first.

I agree with the others. Put the camera in closet, padlock the door, and mail the key to Manaus, Brazil return to sender. When you get it back, you will be ready for the camera again, assuming you dive at least once a week.