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You might want a cup of cocoa with this epic!
Mel and I are back from our diving (oh and wedding!) in Mauritius now and looking back on some great times... We took our 4 teenage kids for a try-dive with the hotel's adjoining Dive Center in the first week (they and we loved it!) and then as Open Water Divers we went on our first (ever) 'proper' dive at sea in the second week - our honeymoon. (When you read this bear in mind we are still pretty naive!)
At the centre they take your details and assemble the BCD, cylinder, regulator etc for you so, among the line up of 8 sets there were 2 sets of kit for Mel and me. We started to check the gear, Mel turned on her air and noted 255bar, and mine had 250. We both noticed the hiss at the same time and worked out that her first stage was leaking. It was the yoke style attachment on the cylinder that was leaking so we depressurised the BCD and I tried to reseat the valve. No luck, so I told one of the dive centre guys and he tried, it didn't work either and eventually he replaced the O ring and tried again. It still hissed! So we told them again, just sensing a little frustration at the same time. (the Creole was getting a bit more heated) We were talking to a couple of other divers when the guy finally told us it was fixed. I listened and heard no leakage so he loaded the kit onto the little trailer thing, with every one else's, for the 300m haul to the boat. Yippee - excitement - we were going man diving! (ok and girl too)
In the boat we were well briefed, revised signals, indicating at 100bar, starting our ascent at 60bar, we went through what to do if in doubt or in trouble it seemed like the right stuff - and as it turned out later, it worked for us!
The boat took us beyond the protective reef and into the Indian Ocean proper, in a fair swell we all got kitted up, opened our valves and checked the pressure, mine at 250 bar still and Mel's was now at 200bar with all that faffing around... Sol we made our entries with a giant stride off the boat. We descended reasonably well, I struggled to get started as I couldn't release air from my BCD very easily. Then we went down and really enjoyed the dive, enjoyed seeing bigger fish, better coral, looking back up and realising we weren't scared being so deep. We followed the dive leader and had another local divemaster bringing up the rear. There was a slight surge which was not threatening and a bit of fun, being moved gently along. Lots to see we even did a short tunnel about 3m long, we had great neutral bouyancy and felt well in control, keeping up with the other 6 divers just fine. at about 25 minutes I heard a dive computer alarm beep and checked my computer which showed we had been down for 25mins, so I checked my air, - looking good at 150bar, then gave Mel the 2 fingered signal, and she checked hers. OH boy did she do a double take! She was right in the red! I gasped at how different hers was to mine. Luckily the dive leader was just turning our way to make eye contact with us so I gave the somethings wrong signal and he came immediately back through the other startled divers and checked Mel's gauge.
I watched as her looked at her and checked she was ok, next he offered her his alternate supply. Mel did a copy book exchange with me watching, thinking Oh my God, first dive! OMG I could of lost her - gulping at the idea - my new wife! And what am i doing?? Filling my lungs with air!! OH boy I am ascending, need to dump air, and try through my BCD inflator - but its not releasing air, its kinked.... I realise whats happening and start breathing out a lot! Looking down and watching Mel with the leader, him in full control, indicating her to remain calm! I get no pain - finally start releasing air but its too late - no 5m stop - I cannot control the ascent and bob to the surface like a really embarrassed cork! Meantime I am looking down at Mel being brought calmly up on his alternate, complete with 3 minute stop at 5m while I bob around and think about the bends, how bloody lucky I am, and Mel is, and was her SCUBA gear really fit for purpose! It must have been leaking!
We all get back aboard - not much is said on the boat but when we get back on dry land the shock sinks in. We really have to challenge the Dive Leader about the equipment and he naturally defends the kit and the centre's reputation.... but why was Mel so out of air? Gradually, gradually we get a bit more reasoning in to the process.... the BIG BIG question is: Why the f*** did we leave it 25 minutes before we checked our air?? That was our responsibility! As newbie's we forgot that our Divezone team was not there to remind us - we were on holiday - we were doing the big stuff and we were distracted by beauty of the place, the visibility and forgot the basics. The instructors attitude was, we assume you have been properly trained, you are Open Water qualified. Any time you have a question you ask us - we will help you. If we ask you with the OK signal and you reply OK we assume you are OK! Well, when we got over our shock at what might have happened and realised we did do some stuff right to overcome the problems - we went diving again, the next day, this time at 10m in the lagoon..... guess who was holding their pressure gauge in their left hands all the time!! The funny thing was, since then Mel's air consumption has always been much slower, each time she has been maybe 40- 50 bar below mine at the end of the dive - not 120bar! The remaining dives, including another fantastic one at sea, did reveal bubbling pressure gauges, bcd inflators and first stages though - but we overcame that easily by frequently checking and giving each other the 2 fingers underwater signal! Lesson well learned!
Happy Diving all - Mike
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. Glad you both ok don't let it put you off i am sure you have have taken much out of the incident. We have all done something silly in our diving history but be assured you will probably never do it again. Shows also that not all hired kit abroad can be trusted invest in your aown at some point and it at least you know its history and it works properly.