Before the AGM in November I looked back over 74 incidents that had been reported through the club’s divelog system during the 2022-23 diving season, to see if there were any themes that we could learn from.
74 sounds a lot, but I deliberately set the bar low and asked people to report anything that didn’t go according to plan. Most of these were minor problems where our training kicked in and the situation was managed well and without injury or loss. Many of them also result from the same incident being recorded for both buddies. Only two incidents were sufficiently serious that I reported them upwards to BSAC.
Here are themes that came out of my analysis.
Plan for a good reserve
The majority of the incidents reported have been about finishing with low gas after an unexpected event of some sort. What this really emphasises is the importance of planning to finish with a good reserve. If you plan to surface with 50 bar and something happens that causes you to use another 30, you get to tell the tale over a beer. If you planned to finish on 20 bar, it might be a different story.
A really clear theme is that whether it’s a strong current or getting horribly lost (that one was me!), things causing us to use more gas than we expected are far from uncommon, so always plan to have a reserve to deal with them
The wildlife is lovely, but don’t lose your focus
Some of the low gas incidents were not so much the result of unforeseen events as getting distracted and not checking gas often enough. It’s so easy to do when there are dolphins / turtles / whale sharks / tiny little shrimps that might just win you next year’s photo competition. They’re exciting and they’re what we do this for. But do try to get into the habit of never leaving more than five minutes between glances at your gauge, perhaps even more frequently in the latter part of a dive.
Do your buddy check, and check on your buddy
A thorough buddy check can pick up all sorts of things. Fully inflating your BCD, rather than just a quick squirt, can highlight that a dump is leaking, for example. Showing your gauge to your buddy might spot a poor fill early. Inflating your suit can identify that the hose isn’t properly connected. Go through it all and make full use of your buddy to confirm it’s all working.
And as important as the buddy check is to keep checking on your buddy. If something is going wrong for them, you want to know sooner rather than later. If you’re ahead of them on the descent, look back and make sure they’re still behind you 🙂 From ear trouble to getting tangled in lines, all sorts of things could be holding them back.
Check your kit and get it serviced
There’s been a bit of equipment failure in the reports. The obvious lesson here is don’t forget to get it serviced; and give everything a thorough check over from time to time. At the beginning of the season certainly, but at regular intervals throughout. And include checking that hoses are firmly attached—at least two incidents involved hoses working loose.
Practice DSMB deployment regularly
It’s one of the most difficult skills we do underwater, with lots of potential to go wrong. Make sure you keep up practice. If you’re unsure or not feeling confident about DSMB deployment, ask one of the instructors to go through it with you.
Be honest with yourself about your fitness to dive
It’s difficult I know. You’ve been looking forward to this trip for months, you’ve been practising skills, maybe even getting extra training in preparation for it. And the big day arrives and you’re feeling under the weather. Call the dive. The dive site will still be there another day. Push yourself and there’s no guarantee that you will.
Two things can happen if you dive when you’re not well. Firstly, diving could make you worse, or you’ll lose concentration and make a mistake, messing things up for you and your buddy.
Secondly, if you deteriorate after a dive you may not be able to tell whether it’s the pre-existing illness, or a dive problem. And that means you, or your doctor, will have to assume that diving had something to do with it and put you in the chamber to be on the safe side. So don’t take the risk. If you’re feeling under par, stay on the surface.
and don’t ignore it if you’re buddy seems out of sorts
One of the great things about diving in a club is that we get to know one and other and how we each behave. If someone else in the group isn’t behaving the way they usually do, ask why. Are they feeling OK? Is something wrong? Don’t ignore it. It might be a sign that they aren’t feeling well and aren’t fit to dive.
Know the site, and what to expect
The better you know the dive site, the less chance there is of an incident. And the more you’ll get out of the dive. Do your research, listen to the briefing, talk to people with local knowledge. Build up the best picture of the site that you can before you jump in.
Do all you can to ensure excellent surface cover
Part of what keeps us safe when we are diving is having great cover on the surface. No matter how well we plan, sometimes things don’t go right and we rely on our surface cover to help us out. Whether it’s getting between you and the fishing boat to keep the lines away from you, tracking you as you drift off the dive site, or noticing if you’re late returning, that surface cover is a vital part of what keeps us safe.
If you’re on a charter, check out what the skipper and crew are doing, and make sure that you’re happy with it. If you’re not, persuade them to up the cover, or call the dive.
Always carry a whistle
Never go diving without a whistle. If the surface cover doesn’t spot you it will help attract attention. Other things you might like to carry include a flag, a mirror or old CD to reflect sunlight, or even a waterproof personal locator beacon. Don’t risk getting left behind!
When something goes wrong, learn from it
This is probably the most important thing here. Learning makes us better, safer divers. If something goes wrong, reflect on it, learn from it, and share your learning with others. It’s OK to get things wrong sometimes. It’s not OK not to learn from it.