What is happening around Mull?
Lately there has been a number diving fatalities.
Why?
What is going on there?
These people are experienced divers; many have been diving for years. So how could this have happened?
That I suspect, no one will ever really know, the only people who are able to tell us are the divers who drowned.
So, what could be the reason?
The obvious answer is lack of training, but many of these divers have dived in Scotland and the surrounding area for years, they know the currents, and are confident when under the water.
That is my first premise, it could be they are over confident in the water, and even though safety checks are conducted before a dive how can you check for over-confidence? You can’t of course. I know this from experience. I had been diving off Martin’s Haven in Wales, it’s was only a shore dive, I had no worries, easy; the deepest I’d go would be no more than 18 metres.
I’d done the same dive many times with no problem; confidently I entered the water and swam downwards following the bottom and weaving in and out of the kelp with not a care in the world. I was with my son who I was training. At around 10 metres, without warning, my demand value was pulled out of my mouth and my facemask came off my face. I had snagged on something. I still don’t know what it was to this day, but suddenly, with no mask, no demand value; I was stuck at the bottom. My son was to my left and initially he failed to notice, visibility is never that good in West Wales, and this day was no exception.
After a few seconds, he did notice, and he handed me his spare demand value. It took me several breaths before I become calm, and the experience did rattle me somewhat. Without his presence of mind, I dread to think what could have happened. When something goes wrong, you have but seconds to correct before panic sets in and then the simplest task becomes beyond you, no matter how good or experienced, or how well trained a scuba diver you happen to consider yourself. I could have gone to the surface; I was only in 10 metres of water, but for those few seconds I just didn’t think. The only thing I could think about was my demand value, I must find my demand value; precious seconds were ticking by, and I needed air.
A simple mishap will be compounded without air, and in my case, it could well have proven fatal. Any diver needs to keep in mind that learning to dive in warm tropical waters is not the same as diving in cold seawater with poor visibility and strong currents. Treat it as a completely new experience; caution, caution, and yet further caution, must always be the motto of the scuba diver, for example, get you gear regularly checked, at least yearly.
If you don’t feel right before a dive, abort, diving is as much about having the right mental attitude as about the training, but remember, the better trained you are, and the greater precautions you take, the greater you are able to meet an unforeseen circumstance head on and survive.
I learned from the experience and I did something about it.
The obvious precaution is to always scuba dive with a buddy, who carries a spare demand value, which hangs loosely in the water from his tank. Standard practice, and to make sure you both stay in close proximity to one another. But that is not always possible, poor visibility is often the order of the day, and frequently you lose each other.
It shouldn’t happen, but to pretend otherwise is silly. It does habitually happen, more so around the UK coast than when diving in warmer clearer water. You could dive with two bottles with separate regulators, as an added safety precaution, but to rely solely upon these measures, especially the latter, it’s not always practicable or even feasible, most dive with only one bottle
In my case, I purchased a small hand held self-contained bottle, and I used to fill in from my main tank every time I dived, and strapped it to the front of my buoyancy aid, and I made sure it was always within easy reach. Every tenth dive I used to practice using it, until it became instinctive and soon it gave me an added layer of confidence.
Some of you are thinking the cost. Yes, this piece of apparatus can be expensive, but against your life! Do I need say more? I never once had to use it in an emergency, but it was there should I ever have needed it.
Again, the distinction between diving in warm clear water, and diving in cold water with poor visibility should not be underestimated, the distinction is profound, more so when a diver is used to wearing a wet suit and switches to using a dry suit without adequate training.
Disorientation is another factor, a sense of foreboding another, colour becomes grey, water gets colder the deeper you descend, visibility closes around you like a blanket, and you start to wonder what is beyond the visibility.
Your mind starts to imagine things that are not there. These factors have a habit of coming upon you simultaneously, often when you cannot see your diving buddy. Suddenly, you feel alone, a sense of finality comes over you, which triggers something deep inside your psyche, and you experience a deep premonition that you are not safe: something feels wrong. It may, or it may not be the case, but that is irrespective. It is how you feel that matters and how you react to this feeling.
This has happened to me once, I was diving Scapa Flow, it was early summer. The water was cold. I was down just over 30 metres, meandering over the top of one of the wrecks. I descended a few metres further, instantaneously, visibility become non existent. A dogfish suddenly darted past me. The water felt cold, grey, and dark, I turned to look for my buddy, but I failed to see him, impossible anyway, the visibility had gone, my heart started to pound my breathing became heavier.
Instinctively, I reached for my little bottle strapped to my front and held it tight with my right hand, and turned in the water. The bleakness of where I was entered into my consciousness, and I’d become acutely aware I was in danger of acting irrationally.
You may laugh at this, but I gave myself a great big hug and placed my both arms around my body. I forced myself to smile, and slowly the feeling subsided. I kicked my fins, and I headed for the surface. It is so easy to be caught out when in an alien environment, and in that split second to make the wrong decision could have dire consequences. But I’ll tell you this, that little bottle strapped to my front was enough to give me the assurance I needed and to calm my frail nerves, in other words, it tilted the balance in my favour.
What I said in the article is basic stuff, but it is often the basics we take for granted, and that is when accidents happen. Please, let us enjoy our sport, and be safe in the doing. It grieves us all deeply when one of our own suffers a fatality, so stay safe and enjoy the sport.
Regards, to all,
Roy.
Lately there has been a number diving fatalities.
Why?
What is going on there?
These people are experienced divers; many have been diving for years. So how could this have happened?
That I suspect, no one will ever really know, the only people who are able to tell us are the divers who drowned.
So, what could be the reason?
The obvious answer is lack of training, but many of these divers have dived in Scotland and the surrounding area for years, they know the currents, and are confident when under the water.
That is my first premise, it could be they are over confident in the water, and even though safety checks are conducted before a dive how can you check for over-confidence? You can’t of course. I know this from experience. I had been diving off Martin’s Haven in Wales, it’s was only a shore dive, I had no worries, easy; the deepest I’d go would be no more than 18 metres.
I’d done the same dive many times with no problem; confidently I entered the water and swam downwards following the bottom and weaving in and out of the kelp with not a care in the world. I was with my son who I was training. At around 10 metres, without warning, my demand value was pulled out of my mouth and my facemask came off my face. I had snagged on something. I still don’t know what it was to this day, but suddenly, with no mask, no demand value; I was stuck at the bottom. My son was to my left and initially he failed to notice, visibility is never that good in West Wales, and this day was no exception.
After a few seconds, he did notice, and he handed me his spare demand value. It took me several breaths before I become calm, and the experience did rattle me somewhat. Without his presence of mind, I dread to think what could have happened. When something goes wrong, you have but seconds to correct before panic sets in and then the simplest task becomes beyond you, no matter how good or experienced, or how well trained a scuba diver you happen to consider yourself. I could have gone to the surface; I was only in 10 metres of water, but for those few seconds I just didn’t think. The only thing I could think about was my demand value, I must find my demand value; precious seconds were ticking by, and I needed air.
A simple mishap will be compounded without air, and in my case, it could well have proven fatal. Any diver needs to keep in mind that learning to dive in warm tropical waters is not the same as diving in cold seawater with poor visibility and strong currents. Treat it as a completely new experience; caution, caution, and yet further caution, must always be the motto of the scuba diver, for example, get you gear regularly checked, at least yearly.
If you don’t feel right before a dive, abort, diving is as much about having the right mental attitude as about the training, but remember, the better trained you are, and the greater precautions you take, the greater you are able to meet an unforeseen circumstance head on and survive.
I learned from the experience and I did something about it.
The obvious precaution is to always scuba dive with a buddy, who carries a spare demand value, which hangs loosely in the water from his tank. Standard practice, and to make sure you both stay in close proximity to one another. But that is not always possible, poor visibility is often the order of the day, and frequently you lose each other.
It shouldn’t happen, but to pretend otherwise is silly. It does habitually happen, more so around the UK coast than when diving in warmer clearer water. You could dive with two bottles with separate regulators, as an added safety precaution, but to rely solely upon these measures, especially the latter, it’s not always practicable or even feasible, most dive with only one bottle
In my case, I purchased a small hand held self-contained bottle, and I used to fill in from my main tank every time I dived, and strapped it to the front of my buoyancy aid, and I made sure it was always within easy reach. Every tenth dive I used to practice using it, until it became instinctive and soon it gave me an added layer of confidence.
Some of you are thinking the cost. Yes, this piece of apparatus can be expensive, but against your life! Do I need say more? I never once had to use it in an emergency, but it was there should I ever have needed it.
Again, the distinction between diving in warm clear water, and diving in cold water with poor visibility should not be underestimated, the distinction is profound, more so when a diver is used to wearing a wet suit and switches to using a dry suit without adequate training.
Disorientation is another factor, a sense of foreboding another, colour becomes grey, water gets colder the deeper you descend, visibility closes around you like a blanket, and you start to wonder what is beyond the visibility.
Your mind starts to imagine things that are not there. These factors have a habit of coming upon you simultaneously, often when you cannot see your diving buddy. Suddenly, you feel alone, a sense of finality comes over you, which triggers something deep inside your psyche, and you experience a deep premonition that you are not safe: something feels wrong. It may, or it may not be the case, but that is irrespective. It is how you feel that matters and how you react to this feeling.
This has happened to me once, I was diving Scapa Flow, it was early summer. The water was cold. I was down just over 30 metres, meandering over the top of one of the wrecks. I descended a few metres further, instantaneously, visibility become non existent. A dogfish suddenly darted past me. The water felt cold, grey, and dark, I turned to look for my buddy, but I failed to see him, impossible anyway, the visibility had gone, my heart started to pound my breathing became heavier.
Instinctively, I reached for my little bottle strapped to my front and held it tight with my right hand, and turned in the water. The bleakness of where I was entered into my consciousness, and I’d become acutely aware I was in danger of acting irrationally.
You may laugh at this, but I gave myself a great big hug and placed my both arms around my body. I forced myself to smile, and slowly the feeling subsided. I kicked my fins, and I headed for the surface. It is so easy to be caught out when in an alien environment, and in that split second to make the wrong decision could have dire consequences. But I’ll tell you this, that little bottle strapped to my front was enough to give me the assurance I needed and to calm my frail nerves, in other words, it tilted the balance in my favour.
What I said in the article is basic stuff, but it is often the basics we take for granted, and that is when accidents happen. Please, let us enjoy our sport, and be safe in the doing. It grieves us all deeply when one of our own suffers a fatality, so stay safe and enjoy the sport.
Regards, to all,
Roy.
See web sites linked you myself:
1. “The Tour” ISBN: 978-1-60693-682-5 www.strategicbookpublishing.com/TheTour.html
2. My blog page: http://roytomkinson.blogspot.com/
3. Web page: “Of Boys, Men and Mountains” BN: 0862438683
ttp://books.google.co.uk/books?id=2lFm86R3YRQC&dq=roy+tomkinson&printsec=frontcover&source=
bl&ots=JqWUXfVvA2&sig=5BuFZcHGwpVBp0j8_QL03yOyWQw&hl=en&ei=5FMISsTjGKDUjAe91uDQBA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2#PPP1,M1
4.“Anger Child”: 978095597360-4 http://www.gwales.com/rating/?isbn=9780955973604&tsid=3
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