scoobajay
Contributor
I'm going to tell a story from a recent dive and I'd like to hear some various feedback. I'm pretty aware now of what I should have done differently, but I'd also like to know if you think the DM should have done anything differently?
I'm AOW with about 100 dives (mostly vacation). I recently went out with a dive op that I know and trust implicitly, although with a new DM I had only dove with once the day before. On the boat were myself and two other customers (one of which was very advanced and one who had been certified OW a few days earlier but picked up on diving easily-these two were buddies and had been diving together all week).
The DM told us we'd be diving Devil's Throat. This is in Cozumel and I'm sure many of you are familiar. If not, it's a series of tunnels ranging from 130 to 80 feet-some very dark and pretty tight, others bright and fairly open with an exit in view (at least in the area we'd be diving). I mentioned that I had never done this dive but that I love swimthroughs and I had no nerves about it whatsoever. This was true-I was really excited! We had done some swimthroughs the day before and I was just raving about them. As long as they are nice and open and there is a clear exit, I do just fine and my buoyancy is pretty good.
He gave a briefing and was adamant that we double checked our air, hoses, gauges, etc. because this was a very precise dive plan and everything needed to go perfectly.
We descended immediately on the reef and all was good. As we neared the entrance to the 'tunnels' the instructor checked to see if we were all ok and I gave the sign. He motioned for me to slow down and reduce my finning. All was fine, no nerves. He started into the first tunnel and I followed after. I saw one tunnel to the left which was bright and well lit, and another tunnel to the right which was completely black and just big enough for one diver to fit comfortably. The DM had a flashlight, I did not. I began to follow the DM as he turned on his light and swam in-I could only see blackness aside from glimpses of the walls where his light shown. The entrance was way tighter than I was comfortable with and I quickly realized that I could not see an exit or any light. This is the point where I started to feel uneasy. As he went further in, I made an abrupt decision to turn around. There was just enough room for me to pass the other two divers and as I did, I gave them the signal that I couldn't do that swim through and I was going out. We all made eye contact and I gave them the "okay"
Now before you judge, let me tell you where my panicked mind was at this point..."I'm swimming into a dark overhead environment at 130 feet and I feel like I'm going to panic. I could swim further in and have a full blown panic attack in a place where I can't see an exit, or I can get out now!" I'm not saying any of this is logical, but at the time, fight or flight was making my decisions and I was truly on the verge of a full blown panic attack.
I swam back to the entrance and waited. I wasn't really sure if the DM would know what happened and what he would do, but I assumed he would look back and see that I had swum out OR I thought one of the other divers who knew what had happened would signal him when he turned back.
So I waited at the entrance for about 2 - 3 minutes fighting a full blown panic attack the entire time. As more and more time passed and no one came out of the cave I became more and more panicked. I started trying to calm myself and think through my options. I had 2500 PSI at about 100 feet and I was completely alone. I nearly bolted to the surface but I didn't have a SMB and I know there is a lot of boat traffic. I surely didn't want to risk being hit by a boat or left alone on the surface. YES, I now realize that would have been the correct procedure since I didn't have a dive buddy and had become separated from the group. I also knew that the DM said they would be in the passages for about 20 minutes and my thought at the time was that I didn't want to simply disappear and risk the DM thinking I was lost in the cave.
I remembered back to when I was first certified and I didn't want to do a swim through. The DM simply had me swim around and meet the group about 15 feet away at the exit. I watched their bubbles the whole time and followed them with no issue. I thought this might be the most practical thing to do so I started to swim over/around the reef looking for bubbles. Although I stopped panicking, i was still breathing pretty heavy and my heart rate was very high. I had about 1800 PSI and had been alone about 10 minutes with no sign of the other divers.
I looked in all directions and saw no bubbles or divers. Obviously they were still in the tunnels and either didn't know I was missing or were frantically trying to find me. The current was strong and I was being pushed North at a much faster rate than they would be moving through the still tunnels.
Soon I recognized a passage where I knew there was an exit-actually it was the only spot on that part of the reef where you would have to swim out and across a sandy bottom in order to keep moving North. I ascended just above the reef and waited, watching desperately for any bubbles. At this point I had been alone for nearly 25 minutes and I had about 1400 PSI. I was terrified but even more so I was embarrassed at the responsibility the DM must be feeling for me and for the incident. I knew I had made a huge error and I felt horrible. He was dealing with a lost diver in a cave system 130 feet deep and was probably fearing the repercussions.
Remarkably, I spotted bubbles about 50 yards away. The DM had the marker buoy deployed and it seemed they were headed to the surface. Once they spotted me, we all joined up, I signaled that I was scared but okay, and we finished the rest of the dive (ABOVE the reef).
Once we surfaced, the DM asked that we not discuss what happened until we were back on the boat. I apologized profusely and got a short lecture on why it is important not to break the dive plan. The DM also reiterated that he only took us there because we were experienced divers who could handle that dive.
SO, I do know that I should have asked for more details about the dive; I should have mentioned that I don't like complete overhead environments or tight spaces; I should have tried to get the DM's attention before I exited the tunnels; I should have surfaced immediately when I realized I was separated from the group.
BUT, do you think recreational divers should be doing dives like this? Do you think there should be any kind of additional briefing/safety information? Was there a way for me to anticipate that I might panic on this dive?
Strangely, the only thing I really truly learned from this experience is that I need to let every DM know that I might potentially panic in a dark, overhead environment and if that's included in the dive, I can't do it! (oh, and surface if you lose your buddy-which I already knew, but my panicked brain overrode).
Ok, let me have it....
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I'm AOW with about 100 dives (mostly vacation). I recently went out with a dive op that I know and trust implicitly, although with a new DM I had only dove with once the day before. On the boat were myself and two other customers (one of which was very advanced and one who had been certified OW a few days earlier but picked up on diving easily-these two were buddies and had been diving together all week).
The DM told us we'd be diving Devil's Throat. This is in Cozumel and I'm sure many of you are familiar. If not, it's a series of tunnels ranging from 130 to 80 feet-some very dark and pretty tight, others bright and fairly open with an exit in view (at least in the area we'd be diving). I mentioned that I had never done this dive but that I love swimthroughs and I had no nerves about it whatsoever. This was true-I was really excited! We had done some swimthroughs the day before and I was just raving about them. As long as they are nice and open and there is a clear exit, I do just fine and my buoyancy is pretty good.
He gave a briefing and was adamant that we double checked our air, hoses, gauges, etc. because this was a very precise dive plan and everything needed to go perfectly.
We descended immediately on the reef and all was good. As we neared the entrance to the 'tunnels' the instructor checked to see if we were all ok and I gave the sign. He motioned for me to slow down and reduce my finning. All was fine, no nerves. He started into the first tunnel and I followed after. I saw one tunnel to the left which was bright and well lit, and another tunnel to the right which was completely black and just big enough for one diver to fit comfortably. The DM had a flashlight, I did not. I began to follow the DM as he turned on his light and swam in-I could only see blackness aside from glimpses of the walls where his light shown. The entrance was way tighter than I was comfortable with and I quickly realized that I could not see an exit or any light. This is the point where I started to feel uneasy. As he went further in, I made an abrupt decision to turn around. There was just enough room for me to pass the other two divers and as I did, I gave them the signal that I couldn't do that swim through and I was going out. We all made eye contact and I gave them the "okay"
Now before you judge, let me tell you where my panicked mind was at this point..."I'm swimming into a dark overhead environment at 130 feet and I feel like I'm going to panic. I could swim further in and have a full blown panic attack in a place where I can't see an exit, or I can get out now!" I'm not saying any of this is logical, but at the time, fight or flight was making my decisions and I was truly on the verge of a full blown panic attack.
I swam back to the entrance and waited. I wasn't really sure if the DM would know what happened and what he would do, but I assumed he would look back and see that I had swum out OR I thought one of the other divers who knew what had happened would signal him when he turned back.
So I waited at the entrance for about 2 - 3 minutes fighting a full blown panic attack the entire time. As more and more time passed and no one came out of the cave I became more and more panicked. I started trying to calm myself and think through my options. I had 2500 PSI at about 100 feet and I was completely alone. I nearly bolted to the surface but I didn't have a SMB and I know there is a lot of boat traffic. I surely didn't want to risk being hit by a boat or left alone on the surface. YES, I now realize that would have been the correct procedure since I didn't have a dive buddy and had become separated from the group. I also knew that the DM said they would be in the passages for about 20 minutes and my thought at the time was that I didn't want to simply disappear and risk the DM thinking I was lost in the cave.
I remembered back to when I was first certified and I didn't want to do a swim through. The DM simply had me swim around and meet the group about 15 feet away at the exit. I watched their bubbles the whole time and followed them with no issue. I thought this might be the most practical thing to do so I started to swim over/around the reef looking for bubbles. Although I stopped panicking, i was still breathing pretty heavy and my heart rate was very high. I had about 1800 PSI and had been alone about 10 minutes with no sign of the other divers.
I looked in all directions and saw no bubbles or divers. Obviously they were still in the tunnels and either didn't know I was missing or were frantically trying to find me. The current was strong and I was being pushed North at a much faster rate than they would be moving through the still tunnels.
Soon I recognized a passage where I knew there was an exit-actually it was the only spot on that part of the reef where you would have to swim out and across a sandy bottom in order to keep moving North. I ascended just above the reef and waited, watching desperately for any bubbles. At this point I had been alone for nearly 25 minutes and I had about 1400 PSI. I was terrified but even more so I was embarrassed at the responsibility the DM must be feeling for me and for the incident. I knew I had made a huge error and I felt horrible. He was dealing with a lost diver in a cave system 130 feet deep and was probably fearing the repercussions.
Remarkably, I spotted bubbles about 50 yards away. The DM had the marker buoy deployed and it seemed they were headed to the surface. Once they spotted me, we all joined up, I signaled that I was scared but okay, and we finished the rest of the dive (ABOVE the reef).
Once we surfaced, the DM asked that we not discuss what happened until we were back on the boat. I apologized profusely and got a short lecture on why it is important not to break the dive plan. The DM also reiterated that he only took us there because we were experienced divers who could handle that dive.
SO, I do know that I should have asked for more details about the dive; I should have mentioned that I don't like complete overhead environments or tight spaces; I should have tried to get the DM's attention before I exited the tunnels; I should have surfaced immediately when I realized I was separated from the group.
BUT, do you think recreational divers should be doing dives like this? Do you think there should be any kind of additional briefing/safety information? Was there a way for me to anticipate that I might panic on this dive?
Strangely, the only thing I really truly learned from this experience is that I need to let every DM know that I might potentially panic in a dark, overhead environment and if that's included in the dive, I can't do it! (oh, and surface if you lose your buddy-which I already knew, but my panicked brain overrode).
Ok, let me have it....
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