uncontrolled ascent

[NEWreckDiver]

It is always nice to hear someone learn something out of a negative situation. I too had experience early on and took away a large life lesson. One I will never forget.

I have a feeling that you will have a long and successful dive career.

DSAO

 

[Angie S]

apple,

Thanks for posting about your experience. I was interested to read it and the responses. I'm a new diver, too, certified less than a year ago with 20 dives under my weight belt, so inexperienced-diver stories are interesting to me. It's easy to get frustrated because I'm eager to be a good diver, but getting experience takes time. And then you hear about folks who have been diving a long time getting into precarious situations... I guess there's always a learning curve.

I had a similar situation as yours occur once, except that I thought I was making a controlled ascent and then the last 20-25 feet just got away from me and in a blink I was popping up at the surface. It can happen really quickly, I know.

I guess I just wanted to say thanks for your story, and there are a lot of us new divers right there with you, trying to figure it all out and get better at this sport that we've got the bug for.

Cheers
Angie

 

[butchwise]

Somehow swimming out of the canyon I just remember at one second looking at the rippled bottom then the next I was ascending

Ripples on the bottom? Anyone concider that there may have been a current present? As with many of the other good responses, there could have been enough of a slight current "helping" with the ascent.

Just a thought, but I would'nt worry too much about it. You are OK and VERY aware of the fact that you could have been in deep trouble. I think that the next time it will be in the back of your mind, and you will be more aware of your bouyancy control.

Happy diving....

Butch

 

[JRScuba]

After experiencing a similar problem, one of my buddy divers suggested that I let the air out of my BC before ascending and fin up. Since then, that is the way I ascend to the safety stop ( 15-20 Feet ). This way you control your ascent while monitoring the computer.

One of the things I suggest to new divers, is go to the following WEB site and read ALL the information on TRAINING. It will cover your above concerns and more. I've read the material a multitude of times. They also have a heading called LIFE LESSONS, great stories to learn from.


www.scubadiving.com

P.S. The magazine " Dive Training " is another good source of information.

Dive Safe

 

[Doc Intrepid]

Apple,

As with many things in life, nailing neutral bouyancy and trim takes practice. It is not a skill you intuitively are immediately proficient with.

Because the distance from the surface to 33' offers the greatest amount of relative atmospheric pressure change, it is the part of the dive where neutral bouyancy can be most challenging. This is because smaller amounts of air added and subtracted have relatively greater effect.

I recommend you make it a habit to spend the last 10-15 minutes of your next 20-30 dives practicing neutral bouyancy and trim. Your tanks will be somewhat lighter then. It is also a good time to experiment with your weighting, to ensure you are not over-weighted. See how well you can hover 10' above the bottom. Watch your depth gauge and aim to hold the hover effortlessly and motionlessly for three to five minutes. No fins or hands allowed! When you can do it well, try 5' above the bottom. Then work on hovering horizontally 1-2' above the bottom.

It isn't easy of course, but working consistently towards being able to exhibit that type of control over your position in the water column will over time enhance all the different types of diving you do. By doing it at the end of every dive for only ten minutes or so in shallow water, you will learn much about both your equipment and your own capabilities.

(P.S. Also learn how to dump air from your BC in the quickest way possible! Some BCs have a second dump valve in addition to the corregated rubber hose with the inflator on it.)

Glad to hear you are alright. Situations like the one you describe are scary, but you can learn much from them.

Doc

 

[theskull]

One thing that hasn't been mentioned yet. . . On recreational no-decompression diving, after a fast ascent you should remain on the surface. Returning to depth only complicates the problem and adds to the risk--plus, a second uncontrolled ascent would be twice as dangerous. Also, if you had started to experience DCS symptoms, you would have added the danger of drowning to the other problems that could have come on.

Glad you're OK and not embarrassed to ask for suggestions. An ascent can quickly become uncontrolled. Dumping air is like applying the brakes on the car--start early--if you wait until you NEED to, you are probably too late.

Safe and happy diving,
theskull

 

[MaxAlegraD]

I would suggest that you save some time for training the ascent. Sometimes when you have no reference during the ascent it can end up on a un-controlled fashion. Remember that underwater things have their own intertia.

I have set for my diving plan at least a 10 minute ascent plan in order to make a check list:
1) Is air ok ?
2) At what depth I'm ?
3) I'm trully neutral ?
4) Did the dive happen as planned ?

If all ok lets start ascending VERY SLOWLY and remember to make the safety stop during ANY dive. This is the reason why it takes ME 10 minutes to ascend from any non-decompression dive. This time slot also allows me to re-plan if necessary.

So you have to make your own ritual to ascend. The one that is within safety procedures and that makes you feel confortable and confident.

Last words: A non-controlled ascent is better than a NO ASCENT.

 

[Pimbura]

I call situations like that "free lessons". I have been diving over 30 years and I still get the occasional 'free lesson'. These days, the lessons are much less dramatic than yours, but situations like that teach us to respect things that we would otherwise never think about. I dive Puget Sound, where we have large tides, high currents, and cold water. We frequently see folks in trouble, only to find out later that they were trained in the tropics. I've pulled a couple out of the water myself. It will shake you, but in the end, you will be a better diver for it. Had a situation with a new diver last weekend. He was unharmed, but now has a respect for the water that he would never have dreamed of. I'm not condoning bad or dangerous situations as training or suggesting that they are in anyway good, but they are valuable. If you keep diving (I hope you do), the day will come when you get to explain this to a new diver that just had his/her first uncontrolled ascent. Don't be afraid to pass it along to the new guys, so long as you can tell them what went wrong and what you did to prevent it from happening again. Your experience just might save someone's life. Bill.

 

[appleofthesea]

Wow. Thank you for all of the kind and useful responses. It is indeed a learning experience. I was reluctant to post my experience, but not only did I think that it would be good to get suggestions, I thought other new divers might find them useful too.

I think also that in the event I started rising again I would be more prepared and would handle it much better. Better than that, I am going to be on my toes to try and make sure it does not happen. I felt humbled, and I think that is a good thing for safe diving.

Best wishes for everyone. You are all great.

Appleofthesea

 

[IzzyTahil]

Glad to hear you are ok. You said you suddenly started going up and couldnt dump fast enough. Could your inflator button been stuck open somehow?