When to Scrub a Dive?

[Edward3c]

I've called them for a number of reasons:

UK: Weather forecast on increasing wind giving the possibility the exit point would be compromised. Others went in and had to be rescued by the Coast Guard.

Thailand: Poor communication between the captain and dive deck crew meant we were dropped 200yd from the site. Rope tow back to site, but captain increased the speed halfway. I bailed and sat the dive out (the owner was in the water with me and gave the captain a final warning.)

Philippines: Arrived at dive site, fully kitted then saw the wave size. I considered it not safe to get back onto the boat and called it. At this the other guests - who were relying on their guides/instructors - learned a valuable lesson. You don't have to dive a site just because the operator chose it.

Belize: I was the boat skipper with the business owner and two Government Ministers going for a pleasure dive. I refused to let them dive at the chosen site as on-shore wind and wave would have put the boat on the reef. The owner was livid, but the Government Ministers were grateful for safety being placed before business interests.

UK: multiple occasions for weather or illness.

One of the hardest lessons to teach.

 

[Searcaigh]

1. Not physically/mentally/emotionally/etc. being up to it, not feeling well or congested, etc.
2. Equipment issues, I don't go in the water if there is any equipment issue not resolved or a backup available.
3. Sea/weather conditions that are beyond my capabilities or that will get worse later. If there is any doubt in my mind about the conditions, no diving. This is the most critical factor in deciding to go in or not.
4. Any environmental conditions that may be a hazard
5. Any other condition that maybe a hazard (dynamite fishing or trawlers coming in close to shore for example. Heavy boat/jet ski traffic, too many fishing boats).

All of this

Just not mentally up to it....

This

Something just feels off

And this.

 

[rfwoodvt]

I go by 2 strikes and I am done. Whether that would be a leaky o-ring, hose failure, any issue on my breather, or just not feeling it. I called a dive last year in perfect conditions because I wanted to the Arthur Anderson go by.

There is nothing in the water that can't wait.

We have taken a similar methodology from our Tree Work job sites and the two strikes indeed can be anything.

Tripped over air? Yup that's a strike. Choke on your own spit? For sure. Get the dropsies, yep, strike there too. Spend too much time trying to force it or convincing yourself? Hell yeah, and that one gets you ejected from the game.

It is these little things that telegraph a whole host of disconnects that cascade into failure.

No matter the activity or industry, every accident/incident/near-miss follows such a cascade of events, no matter how small each faux-pas may be. The truism being that if any one of them had been eliminated or taken as a NOGO signal then the impending disaster would have been averted.

It is these GO/NOGO questions we ought be asking ourselves every step of the way. One of the biggest questions we ask on the tree site is "are we Pushing The Rope?" Once we start pushing the rope we have passed the tipping point closer to disaster and it is time to stabilize the situation, pack up and Go Home.

Reality has bitten us enough times that we know that if we are trying to make "it" happen at all costs, or talk ourselves into it, then it will cost cost us more than we can afford.

Nothing in the water is worth that cost. Ever.

 

[SlugLife]

Great topic!

And do you feel like the dive community does a good job teaching situational awareness and how to recognize and respond appropriately to sketchy conditions (weather, equipment, mental state, etc)?

I felt my SSI Open Water course (and subsequent course) did a good job repeating "dive within your limits." However, they were weak on getting into specifics, or adequate examples.

I've probably learned a LOT more hanging out in the "Accidents and Incidents" section on ScubaBoard.

What are your absolutes that would prompt you to scrub a dive?

It mostly comes down to inadequate (1) Safety/Redundancy (2) Comfort (3) Preparations.

(1) Safety and Redundancy

I have the "Snake Eyes Rule: If you roll dice all-1s, you're dead!" In other words, you want to maximize the quality and quantity of "dice." The dice are redundancies, or ways of safely coming back from a dive.

For example, you can have redundant-air (pony bottle). You can also do a CESA at some depths. Good quality regulators and maintenance can also help. Eliminating failure points on regulators. Practicing with redundancies, and practicing skills can help greatly too. Swimming at a slow steady pace is it's own "redundancy" making you less out of breath and therefore more able and more time to respond. Having regulators/octo retained in places you can find quickly and by feel.

Redundant air is probably my favorite redundancy, but I also have redundant-buoyancy (DSMB & proper weighting), cutting-devices, depth-gauge/computer, and even a couple extra zip-ties, cords, and clips in my pouch. You should avoid being a "Christmas tree diver" with lots of clutter, but if you can keep things streamlined, having a extra small lightweight knife or line-cutter that's always on you is a no-brainer.

On the inverse side, consider that some choices may leave you with less "dice." For example, solo-diving, leaving the pony-bottle on the boat, or poor regulator maintenance. I say this as someone who does solo-dive, however I also feel I have more/better dice than most buddy-divers, due to redundancies and preparations.

(2) Comfort

Comfort also relates to safety. But why dive miserable? Diving is supposed to be fun!

Some of the locations I dive, I don't know the conditions before actually seeing for myself.

I've terminated dives early to put on another wetsuit-layer. Meanwhile my solo "buddy" complains about how he was freezing the entire dive, and couldn't go below 30-feet. I've also terminated dives that were 130ft, dark, cold, etc because I thought the site was 70ft, or I didn't have adequate lighting on me. I do a lot of treasure-diving, and I'll terminate a dive if it's boring and has no loot.

(3) Preparations

I somewhat covered Preparations in 1 & 2 above. If I don't have the proper equipment for a dive, or left something important on the boat, I'll go back up to retrieve the item, and then go back down. I may also do a simpler dive if I am simply not adequately equipped for the intended dive.

 

[SlugLife]

Specific Examples:

(because I didn't get into many above).

• Feeling Light-Headed, Sleepy, Difficulty-focusing, inadequate sleep, or any Loss-of-consciousness risk.
• Important equipment failure. - i.e. regulator leak
• Inadequate equipment - need a flashlight, thicker wetsuit, left computer on boat, etc
• Too Many "Strikes" - Most fatal incidents require several things going wrong at the same time (i.e. 3 Strikes you're dead). What those strikes are may vary, but often at least one includes some deliberate action ignoring a safety rule by the diver. Not every annoyance is a "strike" and some things can be fixed mid-dive. However, if you're "limping along" on a dive, you'll be less capable of handing an incident.
• Little Strikes - Strikes can be little things too, like left gloves on the boat, your mask won't stop leaking, o-ring issue, equipment fit, narced, etc .... and the little things can add up to a strike. If a lot of little things go wrong, just abort and try again later. In practical terms, these little things cause task-loading, and may interfere in the case of a real accident. These little things may also be a sign of a bigger problem, such as lack of alertness or improper pre-dive checks.
• Buddy Hazard - I mostly solo-dive, however the idea of a "buddy hazard" is a very, very real thing. Most times I see a thread where 2 (or more) divers die, my first thought is the "buddy hazard" where one diver wanted to do something dangerous, which not only killed that diver, but got another diver killed.
• Weather/Environment - Waves, currents, lighting, visibility. Basically anything you're not prepared for.
• (Im)Proper Weighting - Being over-or-under weighted is a frequent contributing factor to many fatalities. Proper weighting is it's own kind of redundancy. (more reading here)
• Slow Down - It's often worth slowing down or even stopping. Maybe you're narced, out of breath, entangled, getting task-loaded, bad-visibility, etc. Once you've cleared your head, or handled one-issue at a time, you can also consider whether it may be worth aborting the dive and trying again later. (more reading here)
• Inadequate Training, Practice, or Personal-comfort - Maybe you're beyond a depth you're trained for, an overhead environment, too cold, etc. (For me, it's night-dives. I'll dive in zero-vis muck, or deep where it's dark. But something about night-diving throws me off, and I just need more practice)

 

[Billg68bg]

If you are in a relation ship and either of you use the other as an excuse
it shows a complete lack of respect for the group you obviously have no relationship with, and are lying to
and as neither of you seem to have enough stones, complete lack of respect for yourselves and each other
and, who wants to visit a couple whose spouse is like that, unless you enjoy sitting in a shed, drinking beer
with the same sex, how great, and stop all conversation everytime one of the opposite sex enter the room

Like the dog ate my homework, and the term roommates you should have left these funny ideas at school


So just as you contemplate calling a dive, recite the oft repeated mantra and after it also add
within reason

So that's any reason within reason



When you cry wolf too many times some doors may close

If those doors close, maybe they never should have been opened in the first place.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

A friend of mine who used to be the lead climbing ranger on Mt. Rainier was climbing Grand Teton in Wyoming with two friends when they were struck by lightning.

They continued their climb. I would have turned around. I'd think God was telling me not today.

 

[Joneill]

I think when people are that controlling, it isn't healthy, but it also isn't my business. I just would never put up with that and neither would my wife. When I joined a ski patrol, one of the other patrollers told his wife on their first date "I was skiing when I met you, I'll be skiing when I forget you." Replace "skiing" with "diving", and I told my wife that early in the relationship. She loves to ski, and I encourage her to pursue that as well as other activities (my wife is quite active and hates to sit still for long). I like diving. I used to really enjoy skiing, but I lost interest after I started diving. I do like photography once in a while and will disappear to do that on rare occasion. Not my circus, but I'd prefer people not to use that excuse with me, as I'd respect them and their partner less.

I was going to reply to you but my wife won’t let me…

 

[johndiver999]

I will just tough it out and do the dive, even when cold, tired, feeling sick, rough seas, crappy vis, adverse current, minor equipment issues, but probably not all of those at once. Problems underwater tend to evolve into a string of challenges that come together to make the sum of the parts greater than the constituents.

I bailed on a dive a few weeks ago. Super strong current, the scooter stopped working and I got tangled in the float line around my tank and legs and my regulator was leaking and my mask was fogging- edit: oh yeah I think my power inflator was not working that day either.

I was solo and PROBABLY could have taken my tank off, got the reel line off my legs and also untangled the line on my tank, and I even considered it, but then you consider that you are probably a little narced (at over 100) and it is just stupid. I go up, get on the boat fix everything and try again, in 10 minutes - not that big of a deal. Bailing was the right decision.

Some people can and will dive when things are off, but if you are a new diver and things don't feel right - PAY ATTENTION to your gut!. You don't know what you can and can not handle and it is much better if it takes years of diving before you get yourself in situations that are truly challenging. You will eventually get is a situation that will scare you and make you vow to: "not do that stupid thing again", but it is far safer to stay within your comfort envelope for as long as is practical.

If you don't feel reasonably confident about the dive, your performance will quite likely be bellow your actual capabilities. Chances are everything will be fine, but if one little (extra) thing pops up, things can really spiral quickly. Listen to your gut, if your buddy gives you crap just ignore it.

 

[Litefoot]

Whether you're diving or climbing I think it's good to self-reflect afterwards and review what you did well and what you could have done better. Just because you didn't get hurt doesn't mean you did everything right. It could mean you just got lucky.