olddog
24-07-07, 22:10
Hi Just read a good book called "Shadow divers ".
http://www.amazon.com/Shadow-Divers-Adventure-Americans-Everything/dp/0375508589
Reading this got me thinking of the inherent risks our sport has for us all. Everyone likes to think of them selves as bullet proof and that things will never happen to them but we all must have had our fur ball moments.
Thinking back on my first fifty dives I can think of three incidents that went T up in that space of time. 50/3 is not so good but they happened.
For those interested Ill give you a few details.
Fur ball one: Novice diver, location Red Sea. First dive with the group I was slightly underweighted. The guide gave me a gentle tug to get me down and the dive went well. What happened next was me and the other novice naturally guzzled our air and got dispatched to the surface ahead or the group. So I am underweighted and combined with the now displaced empty tank! To sum it up the safety stop lasted about two seconds!
Fur ball Two: AOD diver, location Maldives HP reef. This dive is done as a drift. The HP stands for High Power and one section of the dive is nicknamed the washing machine!!!! Diving with very experience group mostly DM or instructors, the group wanted something a bit more adventurous! So how did the dive go?
The drift was as running faster than I can ride a bike (exciting) hit the washing machine and bounced up and down at least 15m depth changes. We where warned not to alter buoyancy as you are spat out the W/M zone in about twenty seconds (v. scary).
So now for the fur ball we are back in the drift sort of pleased with ourselves and we can see the end of the reef approaching. I would not be kidding to say I could see the two diverging streams of water meeting at the point all heading DOWN in one hell of a down draft. So what happened next?
Well we all desperately tucked into the reef wall and physically rock climbed up into the shallows. When I got out, the force of the water had unzipped my boots and my wet suit. Two divers were ripped from the wall face and down into the down draft. I asked them what it was like, they said they pumped there BCD,s full and were just holding depth. Just before the point of deciding to dump weights they were pushed out of the down draft. (Terrifying).
Fur Ball three: A.W.D. location the Maldives. Plain Air, Twelve litre single tank. I was in a deep water channel photographing sharks. The dive plan was to drop straight to 30 meters where the sharks gathered. I was over excited and started chasing the sharks for better shots. Getting some brill shots and noticed my eye sight going funny, sort of tunnel vision, and then check my air. Fur ball strike three, 42 meters and low on air! Felt like I must have been over ten mins at this depth. So we ascended and hung out at our safety stop as long as I could.
My mates computer went nuts come up with something he hopes we never see again. It simply said SOS. Unbelievably we said nowt to the guide (So Stupid) we missed the next days diving to gas off. Next day we were sh***ing our selves at every ach and twinge!
All of the above fur balls were preventable. At best I learned from the experiences. But the consequences that could have happened are so scary in hindsight. My next 50 dive/FB ratio is going to be 50/0. I want to live!
http://www.amazon.com/Shadow-Divers-Adventure-Americans-Everything/dp/0375508589
Reading this got me thinking of the inherent risks our sport has for us all. Everyone likes to think of them selves as bullet proof and that things will never happen to them but we all must have had our fur ball moments.
Thinking back on my first fifty dives I can think of three incidents that went T up in that space of time. 50/3 is not so good but they happened.
For those interested Ill give you a few details.
Fur ball one: Novice diver, location Red Sea. First dive with the group I was slightly underweighted. The guide gave me a gentle tug to get me down and the dive went well. What happened next was me and the other novice naturally guzzled our air and got dispatched to the surface ahead or the group. So I am underweighted and combined with the now displaced empty tank! To sum it up the safety stop lasted about two seconds!
Fur ball Two: AOD diver, location Maldives HP reef. This dive is done as a drift. The HP stands for High Power and one section of the dive is nicknamed the washing machine!!!! Diving with very experience group mostly DM or instructors, the group wanted something a bit more adventurous! So how did the dive go?
The drift was as running faster than I can ride a bike (exciting) hit the washing machine and bounced up and down at least 15m depth changes. We where warned not to alter buoyancy as you are spat out the W/M zone in about twenty seconds (v. scary).
So now for the fur ball we are back in the drift sort of pleased with ourselves and we can see the end of the reef approaching. I would not be kidding to say I could see the two diverging streams of water meeting at the point all heading DOWN in one hell of a down draft. So what happened next?
Well we all desperately tucked into the reef wall and physically rock climbed up into the shallows. When I got out, the force of the water had unzipped my boots and my wet suit. Two divers were ripped from the wall face and down into the down draft. I asked them what it was like, they said they pumped there BCD,s full and were just holding depth. Just before the point of deciding to dump weights they were pushed out of the down draft. (Terrifying).
Fur Ball three: A.W.D. location the Maldives. Plain Air, Twelve litre single tank. I was in a deep water channel photographing sharks. The dive plan was to drop straight to 30 meters where the sharks gathered. I was over excited and started chasing the sharks for better shots. Getting some brill shots and noticed my eye sight going funny, sort of tunnel vision, and then check my air. Fur ball strike three, 42 meters and low on air! Felt like I must have been over ten mins at this depth. So we ascended and hung out at our safety stop as long as I could.
My mates computer went nuts come up with something he hopes we never see again. It simply said SOS. Unbelievably we said nowt to the guide (So Stupid) we missed the next days diving to gas off. Next day we were sh***ing our selves at every ach and twinge!
All of the above fur balls were preventable. At best I learned from the experiences. But the consequences that could have happened are so scary in hindsight. My next 50 dive/FB ratio is going to be 50/0. I want to live!