How does one train for the unexpected?

[Piscean]

I had a sobering experience the other day. I consider myself to be a reasonably good diver with 140 logged dives, 80 in the last year and I am training to be a Divemaster but every so often something happens which makes me think - whoah not so fast, you need to learn to dive properly before you start trying to look after other people.
This is what happened. I was doing my internship in a rescue class. After the instructor had explained everything, we had to do down to see how to bring an unresponsive diver to the surface. I went down with my snorkel in my mouth. No problem, I have done that before. However, this time I failed to recover my primary 2nd stage because it was tangled behind me and I didn't manage to get hold of the hose from the 1st stage. In the end I swam back to the surface from six feet down. No big deal. However, afterwards, it occurred to me that I hadn't even considered using my alternate which is integrated into my BCD hose and which I had in my hand. I was very suprised at myself since I am normally a calm relaxed diver, but in that instant that I couldn't find my primary I had focussed solely on the surface and not considered my alternate. A classic case of perceptual narrowing.

So this is my question, how do I train myself to deal with unexpected situations, like not being able to recover my primary 2nd stage or a runaway inflator for example. How do I train myself to avoid perceptual narrowing?

Some ideas from you whizzes would be much appreciated. I mean I know I could take classes, but they seem to be so fake, it is almost impossible to recreate a real panic situation in a class. What else can one do?

Piscean.

 

[WreckWriter]

In this particular situation I'd say you simply blew it. Why on earth would you start your descent with your snorkle then do a regulator recovery on the way down?

Training is one thing, good habits are what will save you. Do things the same way every time and they become more or less automatic. Automatic response will save you in a panic situation.

Tom

 

[martinjc]

I read a post of his not too long ago where he talked about how he and his buddy (Shawn) are constantly doing planned and unplanned tests of their buddy skills, ooa scenarios etc. After reading this - I talked to my buddy about planning this type of practice on our dives. It just sounded like an excellent way to 'practice for the unplanned'.

 

[MikeFerrara]

No easy answer. You are never imune to perceptual narrowing. For starters you want to overlearn emergency procedures like reg recovery so that it doesn't require much thought. Also review every dive. You will be suprised at the number of options that were overlooked. A review can help it stick. Once while my wife was earning her IANTD tech diver cert and I was working on my IANTD Advanced Nitrox instructor cert we went for a dive in a local quarry to practice skills. Many of the skills she needed to practice were skills I had to denonstrate to demonstration quality. She was doing valve shutdowns and I thought I would save time by doing some myself at the same time. Oh did I mention that this is not a flatering story. When she went to switch back to her primary she found that she had all her valves off. I doesn't help to be able to turn your valves if you don't turn them the right way. She came to me for air even though she was wearing a stage she could have used not to mention that she could have just turned hers back on. She wanted air before she did anymore work. My primary was turned off and I was breathing off my alternate. I also was wearing a stage. The stages contained deco gas but we were at 20 ft so it was usable. Once I realized she wanted air (her hand signals were not easy to understand). I gave her the reg in my mouth (out of habit I guess) which left me with nothing turned on. Also, that reg was bungied around my neck on a short hose so in giving it to her I knocked off my mask. No big deal, I switched back to my primary and turned it on. She handed me my mask which I replaced and all was OK. However, when we examined the number of options that we ignored we were very surprised (and glad that nobody was watching). Lets say that learning did take place.

 

[O-ring]

And when you get sick of drills, do more drills. Most of my dives are just practice runs around the local quarries working on skills and drills so it will be second nature if the unexpected happens on a "real" dive...

Since I don't dive with a snorkel, I avoid the problem you had

 

[tombiowami]

Why was your primary reg behind you?


There is a concept know as muscle memory in which you do something so much that it becomes second nature.

Tommy

 

[Piscean]

The more I learn, the more I realise I don't know everything. On some good advice from Uncle Pug I bought the GUE DIR fundamentals manual. However, I haven't yet gone out and spent a whole load of money on new equipment (which it seems I will have to do if I want to DIR) or even spent a couple of pence on a necklace to hold my primary round my head (for which I have no excuse at all). So my primary ended up behind me because I turned, I guess, before I went down and the water swept it there while it was just idly hanging by my side.

 

[Iguana Don]

do the same as UP & Shane, we constantly practice for the unexpected. That is we are always doing "drills" except we never tell each other when we are going to do them. He will swim over or behind me and knock my mask off or come up and grab my reg as if he is outta air or try and pull my fin off. We do this constantly at least once each dive. Unless we are doing something serious.

Your buddy should have caught the snorkle thing.

Prectice makes for being able to cope with the unexpected.

ID

 

[Welshman]

I agree with the points made. When you get into a problem you need a next to automatic response which you've drilled into yourself. The idea of practising potential problems with your buddy is spot on. When I was learning to fly my instructor would train me on, for example, the drill to deal with a tank running dry. then he would do it unannounced the next lesson. This certainly drilled the drill home.

Regards

 

[exnewwavedivers]

It would be impossible to realistically consider all possible emergencies or problems and practice on it. A lot of these can be easily addressed by simply talking about the subject with your fellow divers.

Also, you learn from the experience of other people. You don't just follow established or recommended procedures or steps, you actually think about alternate ways of doing things.

Example, we were looking at the new MARES HUB BCD, back when it was first introduced, all of us here found ourselves looking at the brochure/photo (and we haven't seen the real product yet) talking about advantages and disadvantages of using this BCD... etc... etc...

Now, in your case, it is also the confidence level that you have as a diver. About going down with the snorkel and failing to switch, I've encountered that but without a snorkel. It was a dive requiring us to do a negative entry and do a quick descent... anyway, I inhaled once I was already in the water and I couldn't breathe, Initially, I thought I didn't turn on my tank so I had to turn it on and then to realize that I didn't have the regulator in my mouth! When that incident happened, I've logged close to 1000 dives.

Sometimes things just happen. Be thankful it didn't lead to injuries because things like this builds your confidence and prepares you to handle potential problems in the future better.