InTheDrink
Contributor
So here’s a little ditty from last year. It’s not reall meant for critique altho feel free to do so. It’s more about ego and complacency.
So I was out in Egypt with an operator I won’t mention that I hadn’t dived with before. We were out at Daedalus, a fair way out from the coast (6 hours min). Was day 2 I think.
1. I was with an instructor friend and we had scooters. I’d never dived one before. I also don’t need any weight as I’m just heavy boned and with negative camera, alloy back plate etc I’m overweighted without weight even in a 5mm. So down we went for the hammers. Around 43m or so when my scooter flooded. Was a bit of a swim up on the aborted dive. Thankfully I read the manual afterwards. This scooter when flooded is 18kg negative. Manual suggests ditching it in this event. I didn’t and it was stupid. I didn’t read the manual beforehand and didn’t have training for the scooter (didn’t check whether necessary). Swimming that extra 18kg was tough and I wouldn’t have been able deal with any other problem.
2. After lunch second day one of the crew went free diving. Guide was watching unkittedup on dive deck. I went down as thought probably not great idea having no in water support. Short tale told. After dive 3 to 36m he gets shallow water apnea in a current. Takes 6 of us to get him up the ladder. Heart was stopped. 3 amazing nurses worked him and his heart restarted after a small number of compressions. We were a bit shook after that. So was he.
3. Another dive site with tigers, longimanus and silkies around. I was diving independently with my buddy looking for the tigers at around 55m (silly PPO2). Got back and the other group were separated and one group were screaming as they tried to get on the zodiac. Was fully expecting a missing limb but no, only a bcd and computer were lost while they panicked getting out of the water while the silkies were very aggressively bumping them. These divers had dived with many large sharks but never had come across that behavior before and shat themselves. And lost their kit in their keenness to get on the zodiac.
4. Guide suggested me and my buddy and him try to find the kit that was abandoned when the sharks were getting a little too frisky. I agree but wanted to know the plan, depth etc. Was agreed that 45m would be max depth that part of reef. I had a 12L and a 6L slung. Others were on single tanks. Found kit after a few minutes, at 69 meters. I stopped at 61 as was on nitrox and PPO2 was 2.0+. Recovered kit, did deco for 45 mins with the silkies and hang tanks as some were low on air and got on board to a heros welcome from the guests.
Goes to show that such abject stupidity can be admired. Was a great trip but so much stupid risk taking just wouldn’t dream of doing it again. Ego. Complacency. Stupidity.
So that’s it. We got lucky in all instances. Anyone one or them could have had serious consequences.
Dont get complacent and don’t be a hero for $2,000. Oh yeah, and RTFM
Thanks,
John
So I was out in Egypt with an operator I won’t mention that I hadn’t dived with before. We were out at Daedalus, a fair way out from the coast (6 hours min). Was day 2 I think.
1. I was with an instructor friend and we had scooters. I’d never dived one before. I also don’t need any weight as I’m just heavy boned and with negative camera, alloy back plate etc I’m overweighted without weight even in a 5mm. So down we went for the hammers. Around 43m or so when my scooter flooded. Was a bit of a swim up on the aborted dive. Thankfully I read the manual afterwards. This scooter when flooded is 18kg negative. Manual suggests ditching it in this event. I didn’t and it was stupid. I didn’t read the manual beforehand and didn’t have training for the scooter (didn’t check whether necessary). Swimming that extra 18kg was tough and I wouldn’t have been able deal with any other problem.
2. After lunch second day one of the crew went free diving. Guide was watching unkittedup on dive deck. I went down as thought probably not great idea having no in water support. Short tale told. After dive 3 to 36m he gets shallow water apnea in a current. Takes 6 of us to get him up the ladder. Heart was stopped. 3 amazing nurses worked him and his heart restarted after a small number of compressions. We were a bit shook after that. So was he.
3. Another dive site with tigers, longimanus and silkies around. I was diving independently with my buddy looking for the tigers at around 55m (silly PPO2). Got back and the other group were separated and one group were screaming as they tried to get on the zodiac. Was fully expecting a missing limb but no, only a bcd and computer were lost while they panicked getting out of the water while the silkies were very aggressively bumping them. These divers had dived with many large sharks but never had come across that behavior before and shat themselves. And lost their kit in their keenness to get on the zodiac.
4. Guide suggested me and my buddy and him try to find the kit that was abandoned when the sharks were getting a little too frisky. I agree but wanted to know the plan, depth etc. Was agreed that 45m would be max depth that part of reef. I had a 12L and a 6L slung. Others were on single tanks. Found kit after a few minutes, at 69 meters. I stopped at 61 as was on nitrox and PPO2 was 2.0+. Recovered kit, did deco for 45 mins with the silkies and hang tanks as some were low on air and got on board to a heros welcome from the guests.
Goes to show that such abject stupidity can be admired. Was a great trip but so much stupid risk taking just wouldn’t dream of doing it again. Ego. Complacency. Stupidity.
So that’s it. We got lucky in all instances. Anyone one or them could have had serious consequences.
Dont get complacent and don’t be a hero for $2,000. Oh yeah, and RTFM
Thanks,
John
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