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#377
What causes you anxiety?
Scuba-Stu - 6/02/2014 3:15 PM
Category: General
Replies: 6

While diving has anything happened that really put fear into your bones? What was it and how did you recover?
#8590
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dalehall - 6/03/2014 5:03 AM
No real fear, but I learned a lot about myself. I was doing a "blackwater" dive at a local campground for the Police to search for suspected murder weapons. I had never been in those conditions before and it was a bit unnerving. After 6 feet, it was totally black. Even lights didn’t penetrate more than 2 inches. There was no difference between diving with eyes open or shut, literally. During the dive, I ended up getting entangled about 20 feet down in the anchoring system of a fountain that was in the middle of the pond. The only reason I know what it was is because I could hear the fountain above me as it had an electric pump to spray the water. I tried just about everything I could to back out of the entanglement, but couldn’t get free. (Since it was blackwater, there were no buddies on these dives, just surface support, so I coudlnd’t even signal for help) I tried for close to 5 minutes, is my guess. Finally, I reached for my knife to cut whatever I could to get free. I had no idea if it was going to be a power cord or just an anchoring line, but at that moment in time, I didn’t care. Somehow, someway, as I twisted to pull my knife, whatever had entangled me, let go and I floated backwards. I surfaced, moved away from the fountain and kept on with my search. Although I didn’t ever get scared, it taught me a lot about myself as a diver in certain circumstances. I’m just glad I had the training I did and made sure to keep a calm head.
#20384
LatitudeAdjustment - 6/03/2014 5:58 AM
Once on the Spree in the Gulf of Mexico we had been diving 5-6 times a day and I think the dry nitrox got to my sinuses. I had trouble clearing going down and at about 60’ my sinuses dumped a load of flem and I couldn’t breathe but I was finally able to move it and surface.

Dive related but not me underwater, I had just read a story about a commercial diver buried in mud under a boat in San Francisco Bay and can imagine being trapped and unable to move for the better part of a day thinking about when was the last time he had serviced his compressor that was feeding him air. For weeks after that I couldn’t sleep in a dark room!
#1600
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lerpy - 6/03/2014 1:23 PM
Having to resort to my back up second stage and realizing it was not providing air either. I went a little beyond anxiety at that point to a touch of panic. I don’t think I gave my buddy the proper out of air signal. I think the bulging eyes and me grabbing his octo and virtualy ripping it off his body gave him a hint though. Turns out it was a faulty tank valve, or at least that is the best I could figure out.
#377
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Scuba-Stu - 6/03/2014 1:43 PM
Mine came on my second dive after being certified, we were on the U-352 my wife and I got separated. I saw she got into a current and I chased her down but in doing so I over exerted myself and found my reg not being able to keep up with my air needs. Kinda taught me a new respect for being in shape.