A few years back my dive club used to get calls from skippers to make up the numbers on half empty dive boats sailing out of Brighton, Eastbourne, Shoreham. This worked well but you could never tell who else you would share the boat with. On one such voyage the numbers were odd so I offered to dive with two other divers from another club, we set off to dive the wreck in around 30meters.
We were first in and the three of us dropped down to the wreck without issues. At the bottom I secured the shot on the wreck and moved off however my buddies had swam off without me:frown: so I joined the next two down.
As I had less bottom time than my new buddies at the end of my dive I signalled I was going up the shot line, they gave the Ok signal and I started the assent alone.
At 15 meters I could feel my ears needed to equalise which was very strange as I was going up? The water had also started to get dark again, a few more feet of shot line passed through my fingers and I checked my gauges again 20 meters, so I put more air in my suit and fined harder, another check 25 meters, more air more fining 27meters. Not a good feeling
Then something strange the shot buoy was with me at 27 meters still attached to the line had it taken on water and sunk.
It was then I looked down, the first divers from the other club were fining hard and pulling on the shot line but without adding any air to their jackets they had pulled the shot down.
I guess with all the silt they had kicked up they could not see the rope all over the sea bed or that they had risen only a couple of meters at most.
A little worried that they may let go of the shot and fire me to the surface I let go and drifted off using my deployed my SMB when close to the surface.
When they eventually got back on the boat my buddies could only say how much they enjoyed the dive with no mention of any problem
Needless to say I passed up the opportunity to do a deeper dive with the same group later in the year
We were first in and the three of us dropped down to the wreck without issues. At the bottom I secured the shot on the wreck and moved off however my buddies had swam off without me:frown: so I joined the next two down.
As I had less bottom time than my new buddies at the end of my dive I signalled I was going up the shot line, they gave the Ok signal and I started the assent alone.
At 15 meters I could feel my ears needed to equalise which was very strange as I was going up? The water had also started to get dark again, a few more feet of shot line passed through my fingers and I checked my gauges again 20 meters, so I put more air in my suit and fined harder, another check 25 meters, more air more fining 27meters. Not a good feeling
Then something strange the shot buoy was with me at 27 meters still attached to the line had it taken on water and sunk.
It was then I looked down, the first divers from the other club were fining hard and pulling on the shot line but without adding any air to their jackets they had pulled the shot down.
I guess with all the silt they had kicked up they could not see the rope all over the sea bed or that they had risen only a couple of meters at most.
A little worried that they may let go of the shot and fire me to the surface I let go and drifted off using my deployed my SMB when close to the surface.
When they eventually got back on the boat my buddies could only say how much they enjoyed the dive with no mention of any problem
Needless to say I passed up the opportunity to do a deeper dive with the same group later in the year