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What dive operation was this with? I would hate to be put into the same situation!
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Although it is ultimately the responsibility of each diver to monitor his/her own air supply, check gear, plan the dive, dive the plan, and maintain individual safety.... There is also a shared responsibility between dive buddies to watch out for each other and do buddy checks, share air (if necessary) etc...
By extension, there is a responsibility for paid (professional) guides to conduct a briefing on the dive site (including conditions such as currents, etc...) to assist in dive planning, to be aware of the abilities and limitations of all divers in their group, and to conduct the dive based on a matching of diver abilities and dive site conditions.
Although the paid guide may not be required to check each individual divers gear (although I would). And while it might not be possible for the guide to monitor each divers air throughout the dive... I believe that there is a moral and ethical responsibility that a guide has (as a paid professional) to the people in his/her group, for their safety and for the quality of the dive experience.
Hence, it is a "shared experience & responsibility" (between the divers and the guide).
After readiing about your experience, it sounds like that there was a break down somewhere along the line. Perhaps a not-so-clear understanding of the duties and responsibilities of every diver in the group (including & especially the professional guide).
Were you paying for a "private" guided tour or was it supposed to be a group tour? If the tour was supposed to be private and other divers were added, this should have been the "red flag" that something was not right. If this was the case, I would have made other arrangments with a different dive operator. (That’s just my opinion).
Thankfully, it sounds like the strongest link in your chain of events was between your buddy & yourself, and that may have saved you.
This story illustrates just how important having a good buddy team who follows good safe diving practice can be.
Safe Dives
Ron sends
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Lost Reef out of Key West
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Why was the current a problem? Did you do your descent on the anchor line? How dod you do your ascent? safety stops?
I have been in much stronger current and similar depth dives...diving with AL 80 tank and have never had trouble with air consumption.
Steve
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alot of the operators use low pressure steel tanks and only fill to 2400PSI. It is a way to ensure divers don’t stay down to long on deep dives. I have heard divers complain about short air fills while I was down there. It still falls on the individual to monitor your air consumption. Thankfully nobody was hurt.
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You’re apparently strong like bull. That’s great. I’m not sure why I ran low besides never having been that deep. I’m alive and now smarter.
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Actually, a 2.5 knot current is significant. To swim against it for any length of time and to any depth is quite strenuous.
I have to ask... Did the dive boat deploy the divers up-current so that you could do the dive with the flow of current..? or... did the dive boat deploy the divers down current so that you had to swim against the current during the dive?
Did you descend along a buoy line or did you "free fall" the discent?
Just curious....
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We swam against the current on the descent and on mooring lines. They were very explicit about never releasing the line lest we get swept to the Bahamas. Apparently a woman had done this a day earlier. My only real complaint is that we paid for a 1:2 guide and due to the dive company’s screw up, we ended up 1:4. We needed the guide because we only have OW certs. The experience taught my wife and I how self-sufficient and knowledgeable divers need to be. It was cool. My local dive shop DM also suggested that my calmness at the depth and low air may have been due to a touch of the narcosis. I was proud of my composure. Now I know I was probably just too high to care.
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From jsimon050: Now I know I was probably just too high to care.
Oh, the Joys of Nitrogen Narcosis
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I live here in Florida and have done over 100 dives in the Keys. Let’s all remember that you are diving in the Gulf Stream and there is often a current. I have gone diving with almost every charter from Key Largo to Key West and can tell you that ALL of them give a briefing on conditions, current, surge, surf, etc. Please also remember that a large ship like the Spiegel Grove and the Vandy can create it’s own current and the lee side of the ship is very calm while the other side will blow you out to sea. And as already stated on another comment here, ultimately you are responsible for yourself.
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Captain’s Corner is a great outfit down there. They are flexible, laid back and less expensive than anyone else down there. Above all, they are safe. The Dive Master checks everyone prior to getting off the boat even if you do buddy checks.
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The truth is we did a dive over our ability levels. I’m glad we did and I would do it again. What was proven to me in very concrete terms is that divers have to be responsible for all aspects of their dives. Our instructors told us this months ago in the pool but there’s no teacher like experience. This is what excites me about the sport. I must admit that I was impressed that the Key West shop took all of our gear to and from the boats and changed our tanks. However, because I’m a beginner, I went back and redid all of my equipment to make sure it was right. I can’t wait for our new gear to come in so we can hit the local Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan quarries.
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I am a Divemaster and I see several problems with this. One, you said you had never been diving this deep before. Most operators will check to make sure you have had deep certification or have made deep dives, and if not especially in the conditions noted would not let you dive. Don’t take this the wrong way but remember the golden rule (ok, one of the golden rules), don’t dive beyond your limitations and experience.
Now for the operator. I would hope as someone else said they would have given a briefing and know the conditions before they threw you in the water. A 2.5 knot current is significant, especially if you have not been diving in those conditions. I have been on the Spiegel Grove, hanging on the down line like a flag in a hurricane wind. If you did not have gloves, you were in real trouble and if you did not know how to handle those conditions....pray and then surface immediately in that order.
Sorry you had that experience, and especially on a new location that is taunted as going to be one of the premire dives sites in the Southeast. I imagine you were terrified about the situation. Last golden rule (ok again one of the rules), watch your air and not your buddies. If you’re not at the line in that type of current ready to head up from 100 feet with at least 1200 PSI (diving an 80 3000 psi bottle), it’s a problem. Again part of what should have been their briefing but also a learning experience for you. Fighting that type of current and expending the energy to just stay on the line means being even more conservative. Under normal conditions I would tell you to be at the line heading up with about 1000.
Be thankful you all made it back and the operator should be keel hauled.
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I dove with LostReef to Vandenberg as well just a couple weeks ago. The dive guide specifically told us to let her know once our air get to 1500lb. But it’s ultimately up to the divers to constantly monitor their air and let your buddy and guide know if you’re running low on air.
The four of you should split the dive guide cost. That’s what happened to us.
Technically you do need advance OW to dive that deep, but because they have dive guide, they actually let non advance OW divers go down. In generally, I think US dive shops are very flexible. When I was in Malaysia, they won’t let me dive below 18meter when I only have my OW.
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The farther I get from that situation, the more I realize how fortunate we were. If we had known better, we would have objected immediately when the shop assigned 1 guide to 4 OW divers for a 100’ dive. I let my ego and the bragging potential overwhelm my common sense. It was dumb of me because of depth, conditions, using unfamiliar rental gear - including a computer for the first time with no explanation. It was even dumber of me to be so cavalier that when I saw that I was running low on air, I actually remember thinking to myself, "The guide will tell me when it’s time to ascend. This gauge is just a general suggestion." I’m not even embarrassed. That’s how dumb I was. I won’t be that dumb again. Nobody can get that lucky twice.
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Who were your guides? We had Jeremy and he was excellent, a literal life saver.
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