Terror on my 12th dive

[TSandM]

Nikolai, I think you had one of the most valuable experiences you could have had on this dive, and handled it very well. I've had two near-panic moments underwater, and the first was on my 2nd OW dive in class. I made it through that without bolting, and that experience was critical in managing the second one, which was getting completely disoriented with a flooded mask over an unknown depth bottom (that one was scary!) You now know what it feels like, and next time, you'll take control of the situation well before you did. And you did the right thing, which was slowing your breathing. I would be willing to be good money that the biggest issue in your situation was CO2 retention from excessive exertion and inadequate ventilation underwater.

My advice to you, and to emttim, is to work your local forums on SB for dive buddies. Both of you live in areas where there are VERY good divers -- responsible, careful people, with good team skills. Riguerin is one of those people, and I would highly recommend hooking up to dive with him. Monterey also has a group of welcoming, skilful divers. In the process of corresponding to set up a dive, you have a chance to talk about relative experience levels, goals of the dive, and any personal "things" you have. (Mine is buddy awareness -- I'm not interested in doing ANY same day/same ocean diving, ever.) This will set you up for a much better diving experience.

I've only had one less than pleasant experience diving with someone I made connections with on Scubaboard or other boards, and it wasn't scary -- it just wasn't a lot of fun.

Don't let bad buddies dissuade you from diving! But if buddy behavior is a big deal for you, you might think about gravitating toward divers who put team cohesion as a high priority underwater.

 

[Missdirected]

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'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

Double ditto on diving with Riguerin. Additionally, as others have said, in case it has been driven home to you yet, work this board. You can get to know people and what they probably dive like by just hanging out and asking questions. Personally, it raises my comfort level to get to know someone a little beforehand. Also, diving with others more experienced than you can be of great benefit to you. I'd keep that in mind when choosing your next buddy.

As for the person going on a cruise and not wanting to pay a DM - look for someone a bit more experienced than you on the boat. Ask if you can tag along.

Good luck and happy diving

 

[Nikolai]

Wow thanks a lot everyone, and thanks for the great offers you guys.

riguerin,divekim, bobyjimmie, thanks a lot for the offers. I would love to dive with you guys.

Email or PM me if any of you wish. I am usually free on weekends or late nights.

Thanks
Nick

Edit: I truly hope someone else can learn at my expense. My biggest reason for posting in the new diver forum was that I truly feel that we can learn from each others experiences and just maybe mine can help someone else avoid trouble. Thanks for all the great responses everyone.

 

[riguerin]

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.

Wow, a chance to dive with one of the San Diego Dive Goddesses here in Laguna ? Sign me up

Nikolai, as others have mention SB is a great resource for meeting potential dive buddies. You have access to a large and active member base, especially here in So Cal. I've personally met lots of very nice people and excellent divers though the board ... some local, some from out of state, even some from other countries.

Id' strongly encourage you to check out the So Cal sub forum. Look out for some of the local dive events, such as the monthly Wrinkles Dive.

In the mean time, I sure as heck am not going to pass up an opportunity to dive with Kim. She's an awesome diver and buddy herself ... certainly one of my favorite people to dive with.

So are we diving or what ?

 

[Missdirected]

Hey Rick/Nikolai, let us know when you guys go out. I'd like to hear about a happy ending/beginning, if you will Sounds like a good time with the three of you (Rig, Kim, Nik).

 

[divekim]

So, what are the conditions there Rick, I'm still completely open this Sunday, then oh lets see next Friday and Sat I don't have plans.....

Nick, how about you, you open any of those days, of course given conditions warrant a nice little dive in Laguna??

Come on boys, can't keep a dive goddess out of the water for too long.

Kim

 

[Missdirected]

So, what are the conditions there Rick, I'm still completely open this Sunday, then oh lets see next Friday and Sat I don't have plans.....

Nick, how about you, you open any of those days, of course given conditions warrant a nice little dive in Laguna??

Come on boys, can't keep a dive goddess out of the water for too long.

Kim

fftopic: but I love your av. If that was a little scuba diver, I might have to steal it. Very cute.

 

[riguerin]

So, what are the conditions there Rick, I'm still completely open this Sunday, then oh lets see next Friday and Sat I don't have plans.....

Kim,

We had pretty nice conditions at Deadman's/N.Crescent Bay this AM. Skies were clear and bright, slight offshore breeze, fading ground swell energy, minimal surf/surge, viz was in the 15-25ft range, temps still in the low 60's.

We had a very nice long and relaxed dive and saw lots of cool critters; the highlight being a big fat swell shark that we found hiding back in a little cave.

I'll have to check, but I'm fairly certain that Sunday would work for me too.

 

[Matt S.]

There is a legal responsibility to being a dive buddy. It is considered a contract between two people. It is possible to be in big trouble if something goes wrong, and you are not following safe practices.

You can sue anyone for anything, but there is no way being a dive buddy is anything like a contract.

OW class spends pages and pages on the markings of scuba cylinders, which is a matter of law. Surely if buddy technique was a matter of law there would have been some mention of that fact?

 

[Coll]

Hey Nikolai, obviously you've gotten all the tips and advisings you could ask for, as a novice diver myself I just wanted to thank you for posting your story on here, not just for the vicarious experience I gained from it but here's an "attaboy" for just having the courage to share your story. Not everyone can admit they panicked and almost lost it. Well done and thank you!