First open water dive: ran out of air. WTH?

[Neilwood]

I never finished a post I once started to write about "solo" diving that is consistent with this point. I think many divers are essentially diving solo even though they are diving with a buddy. If your buddy is too far away to reach them or get their attention, they can't really be of much assistance in an emergency situation unless they happen to turn and look at the right time and see the problem. In a drift dive situation, a buddy leading in a single file arrangement might not even be able to get back to a diver in trouble behind them if the current is swift and the distance great enough. I don't think enough time is spent in most OW classes regarding how to be an effective buddy once you start the dive. Executing some scenarios while in a controlled setting could sure help to drive that home.

With regards to the DI not checking the PSI of his student, I think he was exhibiting bad practice not just as an instructor, but as a dive buddy. I have hundreds of dives under my belt, my most frequent dive buddy has well over 10,000 and we both still check each others' psi at points during the dive. At first when I started diving with him I was annoyed at his practice of grabbing my SPG and checking it, but I now know it wasn't meant as a criticism of my dive skills, and this was particularly important when I first started diving as I was far less efficient than him on conserving gas during the dive and he used that information to help determine when to call the dive. Now that we are similar in gas consumption I will show him my SPG and he shows me his as we are nearing the end of the dive. I think it is just good practice to teach students this kind of practice as part of their OW training.

I don't think there is a good argument for grabbing someone else's SPG (not as a first resort anyway).

Far better to agree to ask their gas level -with two fingers together patted on the palm of the other hand twice. Response is as per prearranged signal - T(one hand vertical with the other hand forming the bat across the top of it) is common here for 100 bar with a single digit for each 10 bar over. So simple process - Diver A 2 fingered pat on palm, diver B responds T +4 fingers = 140bar. T+ 8 digits (either 5 on one hand and 3 on the other or 5 and then 3 on the same hand)=180bar and so on.

Now if the refuse to acknowledge the signal or give a response, the buddy still needs to know and would ask to see the SPG at that point.

 

[boulderjohn]

I think it is just good practice to teach students this kind of practice as part of their OW training.

It is required in current PADI training standards. Students are supposed to check each other's air during both pool sessions and OW sessions.

 

[KevinNM]

I don't think there is a good argument for grabbing someone else's SPG (not as a first resort anyway).

I had a class where the instructor would slip up and check our pressure and leave the gauge faced so we would have to turn it to see it. If was still facing her when she came back to check again she got a bit irate with us.

This was not an introductory course, but it doesn't strike me as unreasonable.

 

[CuzzA]

A couple points to make here and I'm going to play devils advocate a little bit. I was certified in an overhead environment (Probably another 50 students that weekend as well in all the classes). Blue Grotto spring in Florida. We practiced navigating and going into the diving bell along with many other skills while in this cavern enviornment. Not all skills, but some. So I don't find much wrong with swimming through an 8 foot giant culvert. What's that? 2 fin cycles? Not to mention that was the plan and you could have said, no.

Second, the fact the op didn't check his gauge one time during the dive is what really stands out to me. Scratches in glass and acrylic typically disappear under water, so I would have to give the instructor the benefit of the doubt. If the op checked his gauge and found he couldn't read it at the beginning of the dive he should have immediately made his instructor aware of that as soon as he went below the surface. It is absolutely unacceptable for anyone to run out of air. You knew what the SPG was and what its purpose is for (providing the single MOST important piece of information while diving). To me it's unfair to completely blame the instructor. It's the equivalent of having a free flowing regulator and continuing to dive without addressing it or getting an instructor/buddy's attention about the problem and then blaming him when you're OOA.

Now, if I'm going to criticize anything about the instructor I would say the dive plan was bad. Clearly he was pushing new students to the limit and not considering the likelihood that new divers are going to suck tanks quick. Furthermore there should have been a plan to practice turning the dive and ending the dive based on gas. I may have missed it in the thread, but it sounds to me like the plan was to dive for about an hour and go through a culvert. For that, I would scold the instructor. Had the plan been, "we're going to descend to 40 feet and the instructor will lead, we'll explore the environment and go through a culvert, turn the dive at X psi and end the dive at Y PSI." Then this incident likely would have been prevented. Which then brings up the next question. How much gas did the other 2 divers have after the dive considering you were OOA? And was there a plan?

The bottom line is I'm glad you're ok and handled the OOA situation well, but you couldn't pay me enough to start or continue a dive not knowing how much gas is in MY tank.

 

[redacted]

The bottom line is I'm glad you're ok and handled the OOA situation well, but you couldn't pay me enough to start or continue a dive not knowing how much gas is in MY tank.

How times have changed.

There was a time when you just did not know how much gas you had left; until it was time to surface. I had a VW that was the same way. You learned to manage and safely do what you had to do. Or you didn't dive or drive.

 

[halocline]

While it does sound like some bad decisions were made by the instructor, I'm always amused on these types of threads how so many people are chomping at the bit to condemn an instructor without ever hearing another side to the story. None of us were there!

And I do suspect there is another side to this event. This is clearly not the OP's first experience with scuba gear (pool sessions?) and so he must realize that the air in the tank eventually runs out, and that it's important to check the SPG. If you can't do that, you shouldn't be diving, and I would be VERY surprised if even a lax instructor would let anyone dive knowing that they had no way of keeping track of their air supply.

I also know a bit about how OW students (well, most divers, really) usually react to suddenly not being able to breathe while 30 feet or more underwater. They head STRAIGHT for the surface, and fast! But that's not what happened here, is it? Something doesn't quite add up IMO.

OP, if the way you described it is accurate, you've learned a valuable lesson or two. Maybe you should tip the guy!

 

[CuzzA]

OP, if the way you described it is accurate, you've learned a valuable lesson or two. Maybe you should tip the guy!

+1 Apparently the OOA drill was taught well.

 

[bowlofpetunias]

Well since this is the New Diver's section "where divers of any skill level may ask questions about basic scuba topics without fear of being accosted." We are supposed to show respect and courtesy at all times. The OP is looking for answers in a "safe" learning zone.

I remember doing some pretty dumb things trusting in my instructors in the past and I am not just talking Scuba here. Yep OP you really should have been checking that gauge... and you have indicated you learned that lesson well and truly! The instructor pretty obviously wasn't fulfilling his responsibilities if he had a student go OOA. He had a duty of care to keep everyone safe. Misunderstanding or not if he was monitoring his students no one should have been able to get so low on air they ran out on his watch! Not sure if he learned that lesson or not.

It really doesn't matter how much air anyone else had at the end of the dive. The dive should be turned before any possibility that an OOA situation was possible failing gear failure free flow that couldn't be stopped.

I will not challenge the honesty of the OP. He is not posting in a way that looks like he is trying to Name and Shame or anything of the like. I will assume it did happen as he says, he was brave enough to risk ridicule to come here to learn and allow others to learn.

Regarding the culvert... clearly that is a breach of standards. No excuse can be given.

The OP did appear to handle the OOA emergency well. Not every new dive has so little control that they bolt for the surface. Some people have training from other areas of their life that enable them to work their way through problems more methodically. Some people just have different strengths and weaknesses.

What I think is the most important thing is what the OP has done for other New Divers. He has given them an opportunity to rethink their potentially blind trust in the Instructor and DM during their training. I ask those posting here.. questioning how the OP could have allowed this to happen to him to ask themselves. " When did you first "hear" the term "Trust Me Dives"?" I'd be surprised if it wasn't until AFTER you had done the TRUST ME DIVES we all do in our OW course.

 

[Storker]

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[halocline]

I will not challenge the honesty of the OP. He is not posting in a way that looks like he is trying to Name and Shame or anything of the like. I will assume it did happen as he ways, he was brave enough to risk ridicule to come here to learn and allow others to learn.

Nobody is calling the OP a liar or anything like that. However, there's a big distance between that and describing things accurately to the extent that someone else would perceive them the same way.

All I'm suggesting is that responders to threads like this consider the fact that they are usually two sides to every story.