Fitness, Flag, and Snorkel, check!

[TerryH]

All I was saying Terry is I have never been asked if all is OK by the CG

I can only remember it happening once on the RIB, but more times on
a hardboat that use to call it in. No idea if that was cause the boat had
a greater history of incidents or just cause it was a different CG station.

[A. Berk]

Dive Site: Stennis Ledges, approximately 1/2 mile west of the army bridging camp at Wyke Regis, Weymouth. Just off the western shore of Chesil Beach.
Conditions: Cloudy, the wind was a stiff easterly but in the lee of the island and the beach we had no more than waves of 1.5m max.

We had three regular divers and a skipper on the boat, a 7.5m dive rhib. Two divers on twinsets and the third on a single 15L. We dove as a threesome.

The plan was for a maximum dive time of 45 minutes, and we surfaced after 42min. On surfacing we gave each other the OK signals and proceeded to chat briefly about the dive, we saw Pipefish, Cuttlefish etc. and await the surface cover to approach for the de-kit and exit. So we waited.....

Surface +Five minutes:
We all looked at the boat which was approx 500 yards away and didn't seem to be going anywhere in a hurry, then back at each other and decided the skipper couldn't see us. Que the further inflation of the SMB to fully bulging and its vigorous waving at the boat. - nothing.

Surface + 15 minutes:
The boat has started moving, parallel to our position and upcurrent/wind que the inflation of a second DSMB and some discussion on the combination of visual accuity, age and lineage of the skipper (Bl*nd o*d B*stard!).

Surface+25 minutes:
The boat continues to motor slowly up and down getting further away, we discuss that the shore is now closer than the boat and isn't moving, democracy decides that a swim to shore is the best bet.

Surface +40 minutes:
The first (and oldest!) member of the team reaches the shore and manages to drag his ass and his kit up the beach.

Surface +45 minutes:
The second team member reaches the beach and requires some assistance to get a twinset and himself out of the surf and up the beach.

Surface +50 minutes:
The boat finally spots the two members on the beach waving their SMB and begins an approach, the two beached members point in the direction of me still in the water approx 50yrds off the shore and I stop and await a pickup.

Surface +55 minutes:
The boat finally arrives and it takes a while longer than usual to unkit and exit due to a combination of leg cramps and being quite exhausted by the swim across the current. Once back in the boat the two remaining members float their kit infront of them and swim out from the beach and are recovered by myself and skipper.

Surface + 65minutes:
All members of the team are back aboard, and we hear that ‘the SMB went down, and never came up again’, and the skipper was reaching for the radio when he spotted the divers on the beach.

So what have I learnt?
1. I need to improve my fitness. After swimming, at a relatively slow pace, towards the shore across the current for approximately 20 minutes I was bushed when it came to haul my ass and my kit into the boat.
2. My flag used to live strapped to my cylinder by bungee but when the bungee broke I thought I wouldn't replace it in any hurry. It needs to be reinstated in my kitlist. While it might not be that much taller than an inflated DSMB, it’s easier to hold aloft and wave for a period of time in the wind.
3. While I had loads of gas left in my twins, I burnt through 50bar in almost an hour on the surface by keeping my reg in my mouth. A snorkel (even one of those fold away ones) might have been better, our 15l buddy had one and said it was fine in the waves. The original plan was to have two dives, but with little gas and suffering the aftermath of leg cramp I binned the second one. (but I dont think I would have done it even if I had the gas).
4. I felt that the call to the coastguard should have already been made by the time we were spotted. Most people seem to agree but the exact timing varies, I would have called just to make them aware of the initial situation, not an emergency, after the expected surface time plus 15 at least. But others suggest leaving it for longer 20-30 mins or even 45 mins. In this case we were OK, just drifting on the surface but, had we some issues then we could have required assistance much quicker.
5. No-one dropped their weights, although knowing we had swum to approx 10m depths two of us considered dropping them attached to a marker buoy so they could be retrieved, even though we felt we had more than enough buoyancy with wings and drysuits to remain afloat with them.
6. What looks like a short way in the water can be one hell of a swim when you’re in full kit, wind, and current.
7. The boat was already looking in the wrong place for us (too far offshore). Would staying together but out in the deeper water have been better, I don't think so in this instance, heading for the shore while taking us further from the boats search area meant that once someone had got ashore they were much more visible to the boat due to being higher than the waves and attracted its attention much easier.

What do the YD massive think?

So, its true... sh!t really does happen

Berko