Down deep...things to remember

[stu_in_fl]

ok, well, I post this and open myself to whatever comes.....(and before the usual critisizms, usually I am a very safe and conservative diver - more conservative than most I dive with - regularly diving at depth etc. with no problems )....but, you live an learn (and I would call this for me a definate learning experience)

I wouldn't necessarily list this as an indicent (as it would have been possible to surface with a stop...just not a pleasant experience without a buddy...)..could have been a lot worse though without a good buddy close by.....although, a couple of good lessons learned in the process........hopefully some one reading this may benefit....

Situation: diving as a group, rather than with specific buddies; deep dive on a wreck with our boat on a permenant mooring line - with a bottle hanging on the line just in case someone is low on air.

One member of team is very low on air a while before we get back to our line (although he can go up another line and see how close to boat on surface)

.....as I had lots of air lefft ~2000PSI, swim toward diver with intention of sharing air and taking us to the mooring line we want, so as he is so low on air he could make use of the air on the line....[potential mistake: good intentions, but not abosultely necessary]

.......I took out primary (on a long hose) and started to unwrap while also trying to get to my secondary [MISTAKE: I let go of my primary while doing all this, before making sure I could breath proiperly though my 2ndry]
....I then (after purging) my 2ndry was breathing very wet, however my hoses were then entangled between each other and with the pull on the hoses I then had trouble with getting back to breath with my primary[MISTAKE: The hoses were not free and clear - my 1mary and 2ndary seemed to be intertwined which I think caused me some of the problems]...luckily one of the buddy team was very close so I indicated to her that I was having problems with my reg and I switched to her octo (although by that time trying to breath slowly while coughing was tricky) so it took us a short time (and it turned out in the process about 20ft in depth) to get back to normal

....at the time I though the octo was a problem, but on the next dive I tried it out at the safety stop and it was ok...so maybe the hoses being entagled forced them away from my face and hence I was breathing some water with air (I only re-checked the octo at 20ft..maybe next time I'll also do the check at 100 ft on the line)
I would say, none of the team paniced (although not a pleasant exepirence)

from my analysis, there were 2 major mistakes I made:
(1) Never let go of you primary before you know your secondary is fine [yes, I know, a very basic mistake]
(2) While you're settig up and securing your hoses, check nothing is intertwined [using a 7 ft hose probabaly this needs to be more of a consious effort...never thought of it before]
....wont go into other comments about buddy team etc..... as that was the way it ended up on the boat (rather than planned in advance)

open for other comments and possible other causes....I (now) don't think the equipment failed (although at the time I did - but after checking on a safety stop -all seemed well)....I think maybe with the entangled hoses the hoses were at an angle that were pulling the regs away from my mouth (hence letting in some water) rather than an eqipment failure where they breathed (although for a few minutes at depth before we got sorted out, I though I was having a minor equipment failure - i.e able to breath, but wet)....

-- S

 

[OneBrightGator]

Just a small suggestion, your long hose should be the LAST thing you "situate", get all your other hoses in the right positions and connected, then wrap your long hose, and the last thing you should do before descending is an gas share drill, completely donate your primary and breathe your secondary, double checks that your long hose is clear and your backup works. I do it this way and my buddy and I found his long hose was wrapped around his backup this weekend... not a good thing if you have to donate gas in a cave.

Good job otherwise!

 

[Uncle Pug]

I agree with (2) but not with (1).

When diving as a group we still assign primary buddy pairs.

I don't allow a hang bottle.

 

[theskull]

You don't need criticisms, since you handled the situation calmly at depth without complicatioins and are now using the mistakes as a learning experience. So some suggestions:
1. Always have specific buddy teams of no more than 3 so you KNOW who you are responsible for/to during the dive.
2. Always test both your primary and secondary regs, breathing from both and ensuring that they are properly routed.
3. Be prepared to donate your primary BEFORE you switch to secondary, since the recipient may have a very urgent need for breathing! Since you have tested your secondary and practiced switching to it, this will be a smooth maneuver for you. (You may, of course, switch off before donating if the need is not urgent--such as low on gas.)
4. When switching to another reg at depth, exhale gently and inhale carefully. It is possible to overbreathe a reg and get "hydrox".

Thanks for posting your experience for others to learn from as well.

Dive safe and have fun,

theskull

 

[idratherbediving]

4. When switching to another reg at depth, exhale gently and inhale carefully. It is possible to overbreathe a reg and get "hydrox".

i know this is off topic but i have been having a few occurances with my atomic b2 giving me a little water when i breathe deep at a depth usually over 70 feet. i just serviced it myself and everything looked good except a suspect diaphram on the second stage that i am going to replace and check it out again next week. my question is what is "hydrox"?
thank you and sorry to butt in to another topic.

 

[Snowbear]

from my analysis, there were 2 major mistakes I made:
(1) Never let go of you primary before you know your secondary is fine [yes, I know, a very basic mistake]
(2) While you're settig up and securing your hoses, check nothing is intertwined [using a 7 ft hose probabaly this needs to be more of a consious effort...never thought of it before]
....wont go into other comments about buddy team etc..... as that was the way it ended up on the boat (rather than planned in advance)-- S

1 - actually, I make sure whoever I'm donating the primary to has control of it before I get my backup. This usually doesn't take even close to the time it takes for me to start feeling the urgent need to take a breath. By making sure the primary is deployed before the backup is breathed frolm ensures that the long hose is not going to be trapped by the bungee.

2 - Yup. I check this either just prior to or sometimes just after entering the water. I just do a "mock donation" and make sure the long hose is clear. More than once I have trapped it either under the waist strap or under had it wrapped around the light cord Much better to find this out before my buddy asks for it... especially since some buddies will notice these sorts of things and pull an OOG drill :11:

Boat buddies - what Pug said.... Good to have primary buddies assigned even when diving with groups. I've found that even when diving with a boat (or shore) buddy I've never met before, a brief discussion of the dive plan establishes at minimum an acknowledgement of buddy status. There are, of course, unfortunate exceptions to this....

 

[Robert Phillips]

If you are diving a 7' hose, how is your backup routed? It seems odd that you would get the hoses tangled if you had a backup on a short hose and a bungee. If you put the long hose on before putting the bungee for your backup around your neck, a modified s-drill before entering the water, as others have suggested, would allow you to fix the problem before the dive. From your description, I tend to picture you diving with a long hose and a standard rigged 'octo' clipped off to your BC. Is this correct?
If you are diving an Hog configuration, you should watch someone demonstrate a proper s-drill or air share. It involves certain steps that should be performed in proper order and practiced until it is muscle memory.
Dive safe,
Robb

 

[ShakaZulu]

So that 7ft hose got into a tangle hey............hmmm??? Luckily everything worked out, live and learn.

 

[pennypue]

I agree with (2) but not with (1).

When diving as a group we still assign primary buddy pairs.

I don't allow a hang bottle.

PUG, why no hang bottle?
Do you know why this captain thinks it's a good idea?

 

[Uncle Pug]

PUG, why no hang bottle?
Do you know why this captain thinks it's a good idea?

1. You should take all of the gas you need for the dive with you. Don't stage or hang any of it. If you hang a bottle you might be tempted to think of it as a safety back up... in fact those are the words I usually hear. If you think of it as a safety backup then it could affect your decision making during the dive. But you don't know that you will be able to get back to it.

2. I don't know what he was thinking but I would guess it was something along the lines of, "This is a safety backup and they will be able to get back to it if they need it."