I've been frustrated with my drysuit search and thus quiet on any scuba progress. This weekend however, I did go to Point Lobos. What a beautiful spot on land and in the water. However, the surface swim was killer. I seem to move much slower than everyone else, because I have broken fins (splits) and also because I'm sort of flail kicking as propulsion. Not very pretty. After the initial "normal" difficulty dropping, I descended a bit faster than I like - I'm a slow equalizer - and ended up accidentally kicking my way to the surface surprisingly quick. When I calmed down a bit, I again dropped down quickly, kicking slightly up to slow myself. However, just before I hit the cold water column I was dropping like a stone till I hit the sandy bottom. I apparently missed the memo where we were going to slide to a stop at 30 ft.
Confused, I tried to put some air into my wings, but nothing happened. I tried again, but I couldn't feel the lift. Then I just bashed the inflator button and looked skyward. Still nothing. Since, my buddy was beckoning to me, I pushed myself off the bottom and started swimming. My buddy, he had a goal, which was the beginning of the wall, and he just made for it. I had a hard time keeping up with him. At one point, I saw a couple nudibranchs and slowed to look at them beckoning my buddy to come over. But, well ahead of me, my buddy was signaling to for me to pass through a little crevice and took off so I felt like I had to follow. At that point the other two guys in our group dropped away. My buddy signaled not to worry about them. Turns out they were fine, since one was photographing. But it felt strange since they waited for us all morning so we could dive together despite my buddy telling them to go off on their own.
Finally, I think I was over weighted. When I got in the water, he said he thought my neutral buoyancy was good but I thought that was weird considering I had my BCD fully inflated and I hadn't yet let out a deep breath. I was also carrying a steel tank (LP 65 - my buddy insisted I should rent a small tank) rather than the usual AL 80, and a Zeagle BCD with back inflate and lots of fluffy back padding and random doodads but no snap to hang the console from! Swimming was just a drag underwater and on the surface as well - nothing like swimming in big Los Angeles surf but less surge than when I was in Catalina at least. I didn't stuff my weights myself, which in retrospect is like a trusting someone else to pack your parachute for you and then jumping off a cliff when you have no idea how high it is. But I know I had at least 18 lbs of lead total - two large very heavy soft weights in the pockets and 4 smaller bullets on a belt (need to check the shop for size comparison).
I was also using a computer, never having had one myself, and also thinking erroneously this one would be straight forward. I didn't have a separate depth gauge, which was disconcerting. I was also trying to figure out my compass but never got that sorted out either. I feel like my lessons up to now have been useless, not like bad instruction useless, but bad mostly because I never got to practice and drill that stuff into my head. At 1000 psi, I tried to grab my buddy to let him know that I needed to turn back and had to sprint to catch him. The trip back to the ascent point seemed much shorter than the way out.
My buddy had his eyes on his compass so he didn't notice when I made a quick exit involuntarily to the surface. What happened? As I was struggling to keep up, I thought that he was diving back deeper because the light was starting to dim and he seemed to be getting further below me. I tried to duck dive down to him but couldn't get far enough to reach him. When I stopped swimming to get my bearings, I found myself "bloop" rising quickly and then surrounded by bubbles. At the surface, I tried looking down into the water to see if he was there. And then all around to see if he had surfaced. I waited for a minute or two. Then the thought slowly crossed my mind that I would have no idea what to do if he never surfaced. Since no one else was out on the water and I was tired, I started swimming towards the shore. After doing a pit stop on my back I rolled over and saw his head pop up.
He told me later that he saw me after I surfaced and was doing his safety stop. Later on, he made it clear that he would have waited for me if I had surfaced first. In terms of buddy etiquette, I can agree about my mistake. He also said I was using my hands a lot, which was true (probably the first dive where I actually thought to myself hey, put your hands on your belt, but then I felt uncomfortable keeping them there) because I was really working hard underwater. When he got back he asked how much air I had left, and then told me he still had 1800 psi in his miniature high pressure steel tank and how the wall drop off where we stopped was where he usually starts his dives. It was sobering until I realized later that we could have shortened the surface swim back to shore with the air we had left.
This comedy of errors, as my buddy would say, made me realize, I really, really need my own gear. Seriously. I have never felt so stressed out or had so much trouble with my buoyancy before. I have never been unable to hold my safety stop. Nor, have I ever felt so rushed or had less leisure time to calm my breathing or look at the fish or study my buddy's technique. Usually, I'm in a mellow peacefully exhilarated state by the end of the dive, but definitely not this time.
I think I feel more comfortable with a more attentive and anal retentive buddy. One who does things by the book or goes into more detail. However, I don't blame this weekend's buddy at all because I was the one who made the final call to continue with the dive after trepidation about my abilities, the long swim, the weights... And I who trusted that my new buddy would steer me right despite my lack of knowledge. I didn't ask when I should have. Well, now I've learned my lesson again. And I hope to retain that knowledge this time. My consolation is that conditions at Lobos weren't absolutely spectacular on Sunday, Oh, And I saw my first Lemon Nudibranch. I love me the nudibranchs.
Things I now know that 1) I didn't know before or 2) didn't understand why I needed to know them.
1) Find the appropriate tank for your both you and your buddy's gas consumption. When I dive with my friend Mike, I consistently have half a tank still available to me. Under such conditions, I would expect a smaller tank to be sufficient. And for which weights need be adjusted.
| Height | Tanks |
| 17 Inches | HP65 ~ 3500 psi |
| 20-21 Inches | AL63, LP66 - 2500 psi, HP80 ~ 3600 psi, 30.9 lbs dry, buoyancy -10/-5 lbs |
| 24 Inches | LP80, LP95, HP100, HP119 |
| 26 Inches | AL80, AL100, LP85, LP104 |
| 28-30 Inches | LP120, HP120, HP130 |
| Diameter | Tanks |
| 7-¼ Inches | AL63, AL80, LP80, LP85, HP80, HP100, HP120 |
| 8 Inches | LP95, AL100, LP104, HP119, LP120, HP130 |
2) Now I know why I want a flashlight. Multiple times with this question, "Does GUE require a light for training." Answer. No. Me, in my head, "Hurrah! Now I don't have to buy a $1500 light!" Cautious Pause. But, says GUE diver... We use them to see in bad vis. We use them to see at depth. We use them to get our buddy's attention. We use them to signal if they are further from us. Geebus, I'm such a newb... Thanks GUE divers for being patient. I'm so set on doing this Intro to Tech thing that it's not even funny.
3) If you buy a wetsuit. Buy one with a zipper in the back or front! Not one with an internal 7mm layer attached to the legs that only has a neck/collar opening and has shitty stretch capabilities. Buy a john/jane with a zipper. Buy a two piece with a vest underneath. Whatever. Just get a zipper.
I hate my wetsuit.
4) Check your neutral buoyancy at the beginning of every dive. Check your gauges. Familiarize with equipment. I thought I did, but then I realized I didn't do enough.
5) Always have a Backup dive plan. A GUE/UTI or other denomination, well trained, and familiarized buddy is the way to go. Best to start in a pool, do a shallow dive at a well known easy dive site, then move on to the open water/more challenging stuff. I originally planned to hit Lobos with this under my belt but things got pushed back until suddenly it was Lobos day. Silly thinking.
6) Get the gear already! Geez. Get a setup with a proper brass SPG. Get the correct snaps to put your trailing junk on.
7) Remember how to use the BC to control buoyancy. Without watching a depth gauge diligently, I really didn't know how I was diving except that I was moving up. As a just certed somebody, perhaps following the leader this way is maybe understandable if not completely kosher. But now, I'm not comfortable with this state of affairs at all. Also, unsure about the gas in the wing, I wasn't venting properly. Just an accident waiting to happen.
The more I read and know, the more I find don't know, and thus the more anxiety inducing this stuff is. I've also gotten a little worse since my certification classes were ages ago and I've never practiced. Practice being everything.
Dive Summary:
Date: Sunday June 6, 2010
Dive No: 25
Total Dives:
Total Bottom Time:
Location: Carmel, Point Lobos, Cannery Point
Conditions: Slight swell
Vis: 10-25 variable
Temp: Cold but not unbearable
Depth: 58 feet with a gradually ascending profile
Bottom Time: 24 min
Gear: My own - 7x7 wetsuit with hood, Tusa x-treme split fins, gloves, booties
Borrowed - Zeagle backinflate BCD, regs-small but really noisy
Tank LP 65
Starting PSI: 2500
Ending PSI: 750
Notes : Long Surface swim - at least 1 hour total
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