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  1. #1
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    crocman's Avatar
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    Crocs can't breathe underwater

    This morning my dive buddy and I were descending nicely towards Fog reef when passing through 12 metres my buddy motioned that he was having problems with his ears and that he wanted to go up. I thought it was just a matter of ascending a little way so he could equalise.Wrong. When I looked again I could see he was struggling with his balance. I placed his hand on the shot line and as he was finning ok and he was upright I moved to keep pace and guide him. It was then that I realised I was in trouble too. My respirator mouthpiece had blown out and every breath was a mix of air and water.My thoughts have never moved so fast. I couldn't let him go,I was looking up thinking I could make it and I was starting to panic. I was arguing with myself about switching respirators when thankfully my training kicked in and I did switch. I can't believe how fast this all happened. My buddy and I surfaced alright but I was shitting bricks. I am a novice diver and I was quite embarrassed that I had started to panic but I realised that the situation was not of my making and my training did work.2 hours later my next dive was much more relaxed.

  2. #2
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    I have seen this post for a few days now and was hoping someone else would resp'ond.

    To the OP. Hopefully you realize that your instructors are Thai (want to make some baht or 'farang' experts).

  3. #3
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    Diving is dangerous, anything can, and will eventually, happen...

    I once took my diving equipment over to Spain, it was expensive kit in decent condition and my respirators were in my hand luggage (I used to carry 2 sets in those days in case I wanted to do some deep or mixed gas diving). I went diving with an instructor from a local dive shop and all seemed well until my air seemed to be running out, I had 120 bar on my gauge, but the Poisiden's that usually gave loads of air were only offering up a trickle; we were about 20 metres down in low visibility... I went to my buddy and told her my air was out, but she checked my gauge and didn't believe me, wouldn't let me have her spare! I also signalled to her to go up to 10 metres, but she checked my gauge again and ignored me, she actually started going deeper! I thought I had maybe 20 bar or a bit left so I told her I was gonna surface cause my air was gone and I started to go up whilst I still could; I literally made it on my last breath, a controlled accent, not hurried, just watching the smallest bubble and following it up... When I got back to the beach, I checked the kit and found out that my gauge was fuked, must've blown on the plane, nothing obvious, only read 100 bar more than was there! I wasn't really happy with the buddy, didn't dive with her again, but it was my fault for being too confident in my equipment and not properly checking it at all stages...

    So, Croc, I would say: take it easy with some shallow dives and keep close to your buddy. If you're close to an alternative air source and close to the surface then you'll probably be okay. Also, get in the habbit of thoroughly checking all your equipment and don't take other people's word for it...
    Last edited by Bettyboo; 11-06-2012 at 07:13 PM.
    Cycling should be banned!!!

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bettyboo
    I wasn't really happy with the buddy, didn't dive with her again, but it was my fault for being too confident in my equipment and not properly checking it at all stages...
    What part of I dont have any fucking air you bitch and stay with your dive buddy at all times did she not understand ?

    You were slightly sloppy, not the one at fault, she was at fault.

  5. #5
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    ^ gotta rely on yourself or your gonna be dead! I did some deep dive and mixed gas courses in Egypt (TDI courses), and they taught me to be self sufficient and look after myself rather than to rely on a buddy. She was crap, that's true, but it was okay because I didn't rely on her too much; didn't have time to!

  6. #6
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    From 12 m a few minutes into the dive an emergency ascent should be perfectly safe, go onto a rich oxygen mix on the boat for an hour to be sure.

    I now restrict my diving to short, shallow 15 m dives in the uk off a fast boat. It's too bloody cold to stay down for long, but I much prefer the sealife and colour in uk waters to all those pretty pretty fish in warmer climes.

    I had a DCI a few years back after surfacing from Hms Vestal at 72m off Phuket, despite a really conservative dive profile. Scary at shit to be stuck on a crappy Thai boat chugging along at seven knots, knowing I wad at least two hours from a chamber. That said the chamber in Patong is brilliantly staffed.

    It was the end of my tec diving in Thailand though. There's no fast rescue boat or helicopter even if you can pay and I reached a stage where the risks outweighed the fun of it.

    Having said that, we did find a 130m freighter about 10 miles off Phukey at 92 meters. I brought a up some mailbags from the hold, hoping for riches. They were full of technical manuals all handwritten in Chinese. The wreck is also giving off a very dense gas that is visible at the surface at slack tide in calm weather.

    There was still a packed sailors bag in the bridge on my last dive there, but it would have meant penetrating a tiny space with only 15 mins bottom time and no back up, I imagine it's still there. Maybe it's full of gold lol or most probably dirty sailor laundry. Ill leave it for someone alot braver than me to find out!

  7. #7
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    ^ you is a crazy man! My 'deep diving' was all of 40-50 metres, and not in and out of wrecks and tight spaces...

  8. #8
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    ^ In hindsight, just reckless, not exactly brave!

    I was running a small business at the time and hating every moment, technical diving is so mentally absorbing, it was the only time I could really forget about work as there was already enough information to be processed to stay "safe" and get back to the surface OK. I could also afford it in those days - not so sure about now. A day's diving with the boat charter, professional TDI instructor/buddy, support diver, gas etc. starts to add up.

    Have some nice souvenirs, including a huge brass porthole weighing circa 60kgs +. That was fun at check in on TG!

    I prefer to dive solo these days in the UK in shallow water. The English Channel is very underrated for near shore diving. Just descend to 12 -15m, dump all the air from the BCD and watch the world drift by. The deep greens with a grey hue create an "other worldly" experience infinitely more mysterious than anywhere else I've dived. Look at first and you see nothing on the sea bed, take the time to observe and there's beautifully camouflaged flat fish, huge wrasse frifing by and even the odd lobster. Take a net down and you even have your own supper.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by hillbilly View Post
    I have seen this post for a few days now and was hoping someone else would resp'ond.

    To the OP. Hopefully you realize that your instructors are Thai (want to make some baht or 'farang' experts).
    Sorry but I wasn't with an instructor. When I said I am a novice diver I meant recently qualified. I had thoroughly checked my gear but seemingly the rubber on my respirator had degraded in a way that was not obvious.
    I forgot to mention in the original post that the guy I was diving with actually burst an ear drum, I didn't find out until we surfaced. After talking to divers with a lot more experience than me,they all assured me that I did alright under the circumstances.It was an experience that will never leave me, but only serves to make me more conscious of the dangers associated with diving.
    Anyway I'm off to Koh Samui shortly where I plan to do my advanced open water.I have been in touch with some dive schools already and certainly don't intend to employ someone shonky to instruct me,whether they are Thai or otherwise.
    Happy diving.

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by Lostandfound View Post
    I had a DCI a few years back after surfacing from Hms Vestal at 72m off Phuket, despite a really conservative dive profile. Scary at shit to be stuck on a crappy Thai boat chugging along at seven knots, knowing I wad at least two hours from a chamber. That said the chamber in Patong is brilliantly staffed.
    Let me guess - diving with jamie right?

  11. #11
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    I hope that you have a good dive down Koh Samui

  12. #12
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    ^Thank you, looking forward to it.

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