Terror on my 12th dive

[D_B]

Sorry that your dive was so stressful Nikolai, but it sounds like your working on getting a handle on things, the previous advice given here and the checking predive of ... goals for this dive, dive signals, etc. are good ones ... so are the ones about taking a Rescue class, discribed it as one of hardest, funnest, interesting, most rewarding things I've done

... I see you're in Riverside. I dive Laguna Beach a few times per week. I'm pretty busy with work these days, but if you ever want to hook up for a fun dive, feel free to shoot me a PM.

I'll vouch for Rig's care and mentoring skill in diving with someone new, he has helped me with my diving, giving positive feedback and is fun to boot ... and not to mention that Laguna Beach is a cool area to dive

I heartedly recommend that you take up the offer to dive with him

 

[College Diver]

Just as a quick weigh - in (for what it is worth)
it sounds like you have learned the hard way that Insta buddy diving is not the way to go - unless you take the mindset that you are making a solo dive with another individual. I know I will probably catch flak for that statement by some, but IMHO that is the responsibility you take on when you dive with anyone you do not know. There are all types of people out there, and some of them dive. It is not always the case that you find someone that pulls the kind of crap you unfortunately dealt with -at the same time, while it scared you, you came out of the situation alive...

Think about that for a moment.

Diving with a buddy involves a level of trust. You are literally putting your life in their hands. How well do you know the person? How long have they been diving? Do they know CPR?

Having had one of those "need to change my undies" dives, I can tell you I spent a considerable amount of time afterward reviewing over and over what I should have done differently - determined never to make the same series of mistakes again.

All in all I would say chalk it up to a learning experience - some of the most important lessons we learn are those that knock us on our @$$es... I'm glad to hear that your training held throughout your panic and that you did not follow the temptation to bolt to the surface - that could have the potential to ruin your whole week...

I notice an earlier post which gave the name of a local club and an offer to dive with you. Seems like a reasonable offer.

Take my opinion for what it is, nothing more than input from someone who barely has any more experience than you do.

Be safe. Don't bolt to the surface.
Don't let one jerk ruin your appreciation of diving or the aquatic realm.

 

[StevenN]

A buddy should never outrun his or her partner. I've dove with people that were a lot more experienced than me and we've always stayed in constant contact. Someone that blows through all their air and has a long surface swim back really isn't planning the dive very well unless it's something that you discussed beforehand. There are a lot of good sensible dive buddy's out there, Don't let this one person scare you off.

 

[almitywife]

....I didn't mean this as a bash my buddy thread ....

and i didnt take it that way so dont worry - its good to sounds stuff out!

......What I would like to know is what can one do to mentally prepare oneself so when things do go to heck you manage to keep your cool? ....

ive had a near panic attack before (as i mentioned in my 1st post)... where i knew if i didnt hold on to the little bit of restraint i had i would freak completely and most prob drown. to be honest, the thing that kept going thru my head was "stop and breath... just stop and breath... why am i competeting". dont kill yourself in trying to keep up with your buddy, at some point you may have to kiss them off to preserve yourself and hope he follows the standard surface and search and if not then hope he gets back to shore without you ok.

but in saying that.... and you got some great offers for dive buddies here... i would catch a dive with Rigeurin anyday... his teenage boy is his usual buddy so you know right there he isnt a diver that takes risks or doenst pay attention (his mrs would kill him )

cheers

 

[jeckyll]

Some good tips in this thread.

The 'newer' someone is to you as a buddy, the more important the pre-dive discussion becomes. After a while, you'll probably find a small number of people whom you just happen to be comfortable with in the water. But every now and then you'll end up with someone new to you (insta-buddy or not).

Like 1TSubmariner, I've also "let people go" if I found they wanted to race. Buddy contact is a two way street after all If it comes down to it, I'd rather meet back up at the surface (i.e. lost buddy drill) than chase someone to the point where I couldn't get my breathing back under control and panicking.

Sounds like you learned some good lessons

 

[FoxTrot]

Man, I never figured this sort of thing was so common.

On one of my AOW dives my buddy was absolutely hauling, think it was s&r. I stayed relaxed and kept up fine. Later I found out he was basically almost out of air and trying to finish up. I had a lot of air left and went back down and finished with my instructor.

Then, my first ocean dive (was certed in AZ in a lake) I went out with a guy I met. After pushing out past some horrible surf/surge we went down. We started off and I could barely keep up with him. Eventually I basically said screw it (since he had all but edged out of my viz), slowed down, waited for him for a min, then surfaced. We found eachother and worked things out and went back down and had a good time after that, aside from a very long surface swim back.

Anyways, I personally like to go down and just cruise and take everything in and look at it all. I'm hoping to find some good buddies or maybe get involved with a local club or shop here soon.

 

[HowardE]

I see you're in Riverside. I dive Laguna Beach a few times per week. I'm pretty busy with work these days, but if you ever want to hook up for a fun dive, feel free to shoot me a PM.

Wow what a great offer! Nikolai I would take him up on this. Riguerin is a great guy and diver.

 

[divekim]

I guess I just don't know what to do because honestly I'm scared of diving with other people right now. Hoping someone can help with advice on how to deal with these situations when you're right in the middle of them and not panic.

-Nick

I see you're in Riverside. I dive Laguna Beach a few times per week. I'm pretty busy with work these days, but if you ever want to hook up for a fun dive, feel free to shoot me a PM.

Nick, for what its worth, the answer to your problem has already been answered. I know that it is risky in your mind right now, but, Rick is one of the most solid buddies I have ever gone diving with. There is no agenda other than taking it in. He is always right there even when I've stopped for an extended period to take pics of something. He knows the Laguna diving like no one else I've met so far, and I would dive with Rick every day of the week if only we lived closer to each other.

I think at this point you need to find a really good solid buddy that can put you back in the state of mind you had previous to this experience and in my honest opinion I think Rick can do that for you. But, you have to be willing to take the chance.

If it makes it more palatable for you, do either of you have plans on Sunday or maybe the following weekend. I'd love to come up and dive with Rick again, maybe you'd feel better with 2 buddies.

Kim

 

[RonFrank]

Nikolai,

You kept your head in a difficult situation, so that's very good especially based on your experience. You also have a taste of how quickly things can go badly UW.

I think you are discovering that SB IS the place to hook up with buddies. Most divers on SB that I have buddied with are very safety oriented, and experienced divers.

One thing that will help prevent this type of thing from happening in the future is to really review your plan, and discuss dive goals, and buddy expectations prior to setting foot into the water. One thing that should be established is separation procedures. Most look for X minutes (generally 1), and then you surface, hook back up, and proceed. Obviously this becomes much more important when going deep as surfacing from 80 feet is basically calling the dive.

I'd take Riguerin and others up on their offer to dive with them. What you need now are buddy's with experience not just diving, but diving the area and conditions you are in. There is nothing that will improve diving more than diving with solid divers. You also may want to go over your pre-dive check list and skills. While many of us don't make a huge deal about going over every detail before a dive, maybe we should!

Establish good practices now, and if those diving with you are not discussing the plan, or doing pre-dive gear checks, step in and ask them to do so.

 

[Pamdiv]

My buddy ( who I happen to live with) used to swim away from me a lot, complaining that I go too slow. He had difficulty with my 'moseying' along. I put a camera in his hand and haven't had the problem since. :0)