First dive went pretty wrong, there's a lesson here.

[mikerault]

One of my good friends met his wife that way...as soon as he saw her hurl through the reg and continue the dive, he was hooked!

 

[clifftondiver]

Sounds like everyone has a hurling story, so here's mine

Diving out here in Monterey among the kelp forests and eel grass is absolutely gorgeous, but can be very disorienting. The surge takes you one way, the kelp goes that way, and the eel grass is going the other way! On a particularly surg-y day at North Monastery I discovered another use for bull kelp...an anchor while chumming.

Thanks guys, I never heard about keeping the reg IN your mouth while hurling. Before I actually up-chucked, I new I'd want to inhale. So I focused on NOT sucking in 2 lungs full of water. Now I'll have another hand to grab the kelp with!

I agree, this should be stressed while in class. As it can expose someone to potential danger.

 

[biedmatt]

...as soon as he saw her hurl through the reg and continue the dive, he was hooked!

This is what I expected her to do. This is the same girl who ran into a tree to relocate her shoulder after it was dislocated on a horse ride. That was many years ago though, I guess she's just gone soft on me.

To those who suggest switching to the octo before you hurl: The octo is my backup, so this idea is right out. I have no desire to put that thing in my mouth after such an event.

Since this is also my first post, hello to all.

 

[Code Monkey]

Make sure to have your reg serviced regularly, every year. A few years back, I christened my reg and had it serviced _immediately_ after getting to the dock. The reg worked great for a few years but, last year, there was a substantial amount of corrosion found during the service. My wife and daughter (neither of whom have chucked through _their_ reg) have the same reg and they're fine. Now, my reg's problems may not have been caused by my, er, stomach upset but that's what I'm thinking.

Again, the reg lasted several years afterward -- just don't skip on services and you should be fine.

 

[adelman]

So, it's true. You can throw up through your reg. It's a horrible, unpleasant experience that I hope you never, ever have to go through, but it can be done. Even by a very inexperienced diver.

I can't wait to try again ~ I've got the patch just in case.

New divers sometimes miss the nuances that come with experience, but your basic OW instructor should have equipped you with the relevant hand signals. As the nausea increases, but before it overwhelms you, make a slashing motion across your throat with your hand (very similar to the out-of-air signal. In fact, the same signal). This will cause your buddy to come over to you rapidly and offer you a regulator. Switch to the nice regulator that your buddy is offering you and only then is it time to feed the fishes. Once you have everything back under control, return the regulator to your buddy and watch the fishes...

 

[maged_mmh]

Honestly, like your avatar; Easily Amused

 

[CamG]

Greetings Easily Amused, your story is not uncommon and informative. Ok maybe a little funny to, but you handled a potentially dangerous situation very well. It is very important to realize that regulators stay in as you have mentioned. This was a lesson that was drilled into us from OW on. I never questioned it or had reason to doubt this rule. My fish feeding experience came this past summer at Gilboa after eating hot dogs for lunch. Lets just say the fish loved them and everyone enjoyed the show!
It was no more unpleasant underwater than above, "at least I recycled"!
It was a brief interruption and we continued the dive. I did not have any sickness following or I would have called the dive.
I hope this has not set you back any, your enthusiasm is exactly what what the diving community needs. I am sure that it will get better and there have been some really great posts on this thread.
Your reaction and response to the situation is a testimony to your character and the training you received! We as divers are in a constant state of evolution, "ALWAYS LEARNING" I hope for all our sakes we never stop! The skills we employ, the training we do, the striving to achieve mastery of our mental / physical state all combine to make us better divers!
It sounds like you are well on your way, keep at it!
Best wishes and safe diving to you!
CamG Keep diving....keep training....keep learning!

 

[Easily Amused]

My fish feeding experience came this past summer at Gilboa after eating hot dogs for lunch. Lets just say the fish loved them and everyone enjoyed the show!

Sheesh, I hope you bought those hot dogs there, you KNOW how they dislike people bringing their own fish food

As the nausea increases, but before it overwhelms you, make a slashing motion across your throat with your hand (very similar to the out-of-air signal. In fact, the same signal). This will cause your buddy to come over to you rapidly and offer you a regulator. Switch to the nice regulator that your buddy is offering you and only then is it time to feed the fishes. Once you have everything back under control, return the regulator to your buddy and watch the fishes...

Too, too funny.
Milk snorted out the nose funny.

 

[Tortuga68]

To those who suggest switching to the octo before you hurl: The octo is my backup, so this idea is right out. I have no desire to put that thing in my mouth after such an event

I don't follow - if you wouldn't want to use your octo after chumming it, does that mean you would chum your primary and then switch to your octo? Either way you have one reg you want to breath through and one you're not comfortable with. If I had the choice of choosing one of my regs to use for the rest of the dive, it would be my primary

You can always open and clean your reg after chumming it; again, I'd prefer to be cleaning my octo with my primary in my mouth, rather than vice versa

Anyway, if my primary subsequently failed after the chumming event, and if the choice was breathing a chummed secondary or breathing water, I know what I'd choose

 

[KY_BOB]

To the original poster, great job of keeping your head.

FWIW, my instructor did talk about this being possible during my OW training. Something to the effect of "it isn't pleasant but keep the reg in your mouth". I can't say that it's a skill that I want to practice.