I am certified but very much a novice and only dive while on occasional vacation in the warm waters. In all of my dives I have never had an official "buddy" as my family does not dive. I have always experienced the dive with a DM along who led the group of divers. In most instances the DM regularly (every couple of minutes) checked on us to make sure we were OK, no problems, sufficient air, etc. During a recent dive the DM checked on the 3 of us at depth but then did not look back for 15 minutes or so, during which time I had some buoyancy issues. By that time I was slowly rising and could not maintain depth. Not a rapid ascent by any means but a problem.
I could see the DM below but of course could not get his attention. By the time he looked and found that I was "missing" I was at a depth of 10 feet and he was at 50. I could tell that he was really, really concerned that I was missing and he could not see me. He began to backtrack looking for me (I guess he was looking for my body) and I also turned to try and stay in sight of him although almost at the surface. He finally surfaced but with the swells he could not see me on the surface. This was a shore dive and I began to swim back to the shore from our departure point. There was another DM on the shore and he, after about my swimming to shore for 10 minutes, did spot me and I gave him the OK sign. It was a little challenging to get back to shore.
Afterwards I appologized to the DM as I know I scared the cra* out of him. What could I have done differently, presuming I could not fix my buoyancy issue? Was swimming back to shore the correct procedure or should I have stayed out a while longer trying to meet up with the DM? Never having had a buddy, how should a dive with the DM work if we are not within arms reach as I fear some type of true catastrophic emergency, such as equipment failure, where I can see the DM but can't get his attention.
Thanks for the input.
I could see the DM below but of course could not get his attention. By the time he looked and found that I was "missing" I was at a depth of 10 feet and he was at 50. I could tell that he was really, really concerned that I was missing and he could not see me. He began to backtrack looking for me (I guess he was looking for my body) and I also turned to try and stay in sight of him although almost at the surface. He finally surfaced but with the swells he could not see me on the surface. This was a shore dive and I began to swim back to the shore from our departure point. There was another DM on the shore and he, after about my swimming to shore for 10 minutes, did spot me and I gave him the OK sign. It was a little challenging to get back to shore.
Afterwards I appologized to the DM as I know I scared the cra* out of him. What could I have done differently, presuming I could not fix my buoyancy issue? Was swimming back to shore the correct procedure or should I have stayed out a while longer trying to meet up with the DM? Never having had a buddy, how should a dive with the DM work if we are not within arms reach as I fear some type of true catastrophic emergency, such as equipment failure, where I can see the DM but can't get his attention.
Thanks for the input.