My Incident at Vobster

[hogen-deifar]

A thread was written about a rapid ascent at Vobster yesterday, well, for those who haven’t figured it out it was me.

I just wanted to post what happened.

Firstly, though, I’d like to say hi to Garf, David, Broady, Nic, Slip179 and most importantly Fiona! It was great to meet you all yesterday and I truly wish what happened hadn’t.

I mainly went to Vobster to test my new dry suit. It’s great. Got the hang of the shoulder dump almost immediately! Anyway, my buddy, Will, and I went in and literally just pootled around, going to about 18 metres. Before going in I’d bumped into Slip179 and his buddy, just wondered who out of the others there were the people we’d planned to say hi to!

We’d decided to do the tunnel later in the afternoon. So, off went the tanks for a fill and there sitting in the entrance to the fill room was a set of twins with the name “Garf” on them. By my powers of deduction I presumed the other YDers were there too so asked to be pointed in the direction of the owner of said twinset. I went over, introduced myself and we all chit-chatted for a while. Then along came Broady and his wife Nic. So all met and counted for! (It really is great meeting you fellow YDers!)

About 4.00pm Will and I decided to jump in for a 20 minute dive down the tunnel. It was dark and murky but I was fine in it. Then we carried on along the wall. I have NO idea what caused it, but I had a panic attack. HUGE panic attack. I signed to Will I was in distress, and tried to calm myself down by deep breathing and closing my eyes but it was too late. I had to get out. We were at 18 metres. We hit the surface after 40 seconds with no 5 metre safety stop.

Will signaled for the boat to come over and I was unceremoniously stripped of my attire and thrown into the boat. When we got to shore, David, ever the true gentlemen, almost carried me into the shop (trust me, that’s no mean feat!!!!) where both Will and I were give 100% oxygen for about half an hour all in all.

Tim from Vobster (who was great, I hasten to add) called the Poole Dive chamber, ran through our profile with the Doc, who basically said we “should” be ok, because we were only slightly out of recommended safety limits and basically we were alive when we hit the surface.

And before anything is said, Will is an instructor. Normally we’d do the deeper dive first, but because I was there testing my suit we had to do the shallower dive first. During the ascent, I didn’t realise but Will had hold of my BCD and was actually slowing me down. Thanks Will, who knows what could’ve happened if you hadn’t done that.

That’s the facts, from my perspective. And now I come to the tricky part. The emotional damage that’s been done. For those who know me I really don’t like put anyone out, ever, and the thought of putting someone else in danger mortifies me. I would never hurt anyone intentionally. So to put my favourite buddy through that I feel ashamed.

As for the panic attack. It’s freaked me. Really freaked me. And I’m so, so confused right now. All my life I’ve been a water baby. Because of my dodgy knees, which started when I was about 7, I’ve always preferred swimming and diving (not scuba!). Watching Jacques Cousteau on TV as a kid I used to dream I was with him down there. But dream is all I did. Then two years ago the opportunity arose for me to learn so I took it. It literally changed my life. I’d actually found something I was good at and enjoyed. Enjoy? That’s not the right word. It’s a passion. So deep inside me that I smile just thinking about being under the water. And when I can’t dive, reading YD and chatting with you lot reminds me of how I feel when I’m down there, under the water.

Then this happens. And now I’m scared. I’m scared I won’t be able to get my confidence back. I’m scared it’s going to happen again. I’m scared I’m going to lose the one thing that makes me truly happy. It took me 38 years to find scuba and now I’m unsure if I can carry on with it. I’ve cried a lot since I got home last night. And am shaking and crying now writing this.

I know the logical thing to do would be to go to the pool and get we again in a safe environment, and start from the beginning. Also, I’ve a dive planned with PV for my birthday on 12 June. Admittedly it’s only in 6 metres at Swanage Pier, but I don’t want Vonny to be worried about me. I want my buddy to enjoy being with me as much as I enjoy being with them.

Anyway, that’s the story, and now I’ve got to figure it out and work it through. And I’m sure you lot will be able to help, either way.

On a final note, but most importantly, I want to thank Will, my buddy, Tim, at Vobster, and all the YDers there who supported me. You were all great. (And David, I don’t mind that you posted it, honest!) As well as thanks, I want to say that I’m so sorry to Will and Tim for putting you through it.

Thanks for reading this.

[Buoyant Babe]

Phew! Firstly, thank you for having the courage to share your experience with us Julie, it must have been hard reliving your feelings as you wrote that

Like you I have been a water baby all my life (with dodgy knees) and since discovering scuba my life has completely changed - I now have friends all over the country who have supported me through some recent crap times.

I hope you do get back in the water, and with the support of your buddy and your YD 'friends' I sincerely believe you will...and I'm sure you'll be a better diver for your experience too.

Take care and don't rush - the sea will always be there

Love Helenxxx

[slip179]

Julie, sorry the day didn't finish off as well as the first dive. You have already showed the courage to share your experience, that is a positive first step.

I hope you don't mind me sharing a few thoughts. First, you and Will are OK. Thats the important thing. Its not like Wales beat England at Rugby again!! We are all taught different things happen to different people on different days; there are no absolutes. But that is what is allowed for in planning and personal factors. I gave some assistance to someone Narked at 32m who was a bit freaked by it on a trip; they cut all alcohol on the trip and dived shallower to rebuild confidence and had a great trip.

You with your mates/buddies will work out a plan to build back your confidence. A pool session and bimble under Swanage Pier with mates sounds good.

Talk to Will, he will have made a decision on his actions considering his own situation. That is what buddies do and I believe that he just wants to help you get over it. We share this passion for the sport and understand the basis we take part in it. The only time a buddy will be unhappy to dive with you is if you aren't taking the necessary precautions.

I am sure everyone wants and will support you to get back into the water and enjoy your passion. Just build it back up slowly.

And if you need a buddy, just call.

Richie.

The "Ladybrid"!

[B]

Julie, I echo you are incredibly brave in sharing your story and in such an emotive way as well...

You are stronger than you think, you are better than you think. So many divers every day have issues underwater but being "big and brave" they carry on and talk to noone always coming across confident and in the know but I tell you what, they are not, they too have incidents which they just do not share with anyone.

I had a similar experience at Stoney Cove though through vertigo which just got the better of me. I was not big and brave but I felt so embarrassed afterwards, turns out I need not had been, all around me was people who were genuinely concerned and did not measure me by one bout of panic as they wont you either....

Thank you again for sharing, you are very strong... any time you need a buddy just give us a shout...

B x

[Lou]

Sorry to here you got shook up, but think about all the good dives you have had, and then get back slowly if that is what you want to do. As slip said, Will made his choice, and an experienced choice by the sounds of it. The PADI ascent is 18 m/min max remember, so I am sure he has dealt with that sort of thing before.

Whatever you end up doing, and you know you have support from your friends and from us on here, good luck.

Lou

[Gav]

PM sent

[Mark Chase]

Hi Julie,

It happens, most of us would admit that. My best tip is to visualize it happening again before every dive. Plan in you mind what you would do next time. Analise what it is that frightens you the most and pre program your response. Then rehearse it in your mind. Catch the event early and stick to your plan of action. By this i mean if you start to feel uneasy at all act immediately do not wait for the next level.

Some action as simple as checking your gages can be enough to regain a level of comfort. When i feel ill at ease on my CCR I check my bailout regs are to hand or that i can switch to OC on the valve in my mouth.

This method has helped me overcome my personnel daemons many times during my diving and in other aspects of life.

However remember diving is supposed to be fun. A personal challenge can be fun and rewarding and this is a personal challenge but never ever get in the water unless you want to be there.

Good luck in what ever you chose to do.

ATB

Mark Chase

[pauldiving]

glad your ok,

hope you get back in the water!

all the best

paul...


bath uk

[ardhill]

Originally Posted by Mark Chase

Hi Julie,

It happens, most of us would admit that.

Julie, Mark is correct.

You are not the only one, and you have nothing to be ashamed of.

Panic is a big issue for divers and as Mark says, can be addressed before it happens again. Sure, you maybe don't know what caused it, sure you are maybe not even aware of what you were panicking about, but how you deal with it matters.

You did good trying to control it in the water. I would say that if you really didn't know what was at the base of the problem, then do what you did (stop, breath, think, calm yourself hold onto something or someone so you don't need to think about buoyancy as well), but do it a while longer and you will probably find that the panic subsides. When that happens you have the choice of ending your dive in a controlled manner or going on - your choice.

If you have have niggles about anything, or even niggles about nothing before diving - don't dive. Don't worry about anyone else or letting down your buddy - they have bad days took. I am very much a believer that anyone can stop a dive at any point without giving a reason. I have done it, so have others I have been with - there is no shame. Remember we dive for fun, not to push ourselves beyond what we can deal with.

If you had descended too quickly, then narcosis could have taken it's toll. You said you were in a dark tunnel, that adds to narcosis as well. If having problems with narcosis, I ascend a bit till I fell better. Don't think that you were too shallow for narcosis, it can happen at very shallow depths if other factors play a part such as speed of descent, darkness, unease about new kit, unease about an overhead environment etc...

Also medication and alcohol can play a part. If you had been drinking the night before, then this could affect you. If you had taken any tablets, then this could affect you. If you were tired, this could affect you.

Panic happens for various reasons, you are not the first - many, many people suffer from it. You just need to learn how to read the signs better and take action, or if it hits, try and deal with it in-water as it should calm down to an acceptable point where you are able to decide to end the dive and do so in a controlled proper manner.

Oh yes - it's time to get back in the water. A shallow bimble with a competent friend and no overhead sounds like just the ticket for getting your confidence back. You can still dive, you don't need to go back to basics, just a few easy, shallow dives with no 'triggers'.

I hope this helps a bit.
.

[Wet & Broke]

Julie well done on posting the report, and I will echo everyones support. Hopefully you will carry on diving and getting back in to do some beach dives such as Swanage Pier is the right way to go. Don't punnish your-self the tunnel at Vobster is not an easy undertaking and should be dived with causion being in an enclosed environment is very different from diving in open water. Although you need to plan your dives well, try to avoid spending too much time thinking about what went wrong this time, hopefully you will gradually build up your confidence and be back to enjoying every dive.
Best wishes
Doug