We dive with similar setups, with never any use for them until "that" dive. We were deep diving in Lake Erie on a shipwreck. Cold doesn't describe it quite well enough.

Ship was a capsized hauler with a open hold, 130' deep at the bottom, but we were at about 110'.

I was with my B-I-L as a buddy with 6 others. As I left the hold, my regulator froze open, dumping my air. Thankfully, we were trained by the same instructor, in fact I had helped train my B-I-L when he got certification (he is 20 years younger than I)

All went as trained, and no one was worse for the wear. Thankfully!

Nice work brother. Good job and glad to hear you helped or saved another person. Absolutely fantastic to read before bed.

Thats awesome I have been diving since 96 but just recently got out of it. had two scary times that I learned from. staying calm and using your head makes all the difference.

Great job!

The last time I dove was 20 years ago. I had hundreds of logged dives and found it to be one of the most calming and peaceful experiences of my lifetime. I also discovered the line between peaceful dive and disaster was a very thin one. Good on you for recognizing the signs of panic and saving that woman. She will be forever grateful.

My only phobia is not being able to breathe, due to that I have no desire to dive. It looks like fun but I’ll stay where my air supply is unlimited. Glad there are people like you to help others less experienced.

I have a variety of interests that some might consider “high risk”. They include motorcycling, rock climbing, high tree work and scuba diving.

Due to time commitment and costs the scuba has not been followed up for quite a while. The training and experience (Padi, Open Water Cert.) has been interesting and fun, but there is almost ZERO room for mistakes.

Rock climbing on a 500’ vertical face I can stop, enjoy the view, rethink a move or retrace my steps. On the other hand, Stuck or disoriented 100’ down, that water surface is a much longer way away.

My respect for those that dive is very high indeed. Having been “in the thick of it” - you have mine. Doubly so for having the hyper awareness and being cool headed so you could help as needed. In my mind there is very little doubt that you saved her life. I think she knows it too.

Thanks everyone

quote:

Originally posted by newtoSig765:

How do you carry around that 7' line so that it doesn't catch on something? Not that I'm likely to dive any more, but it would be good to know.

The hose originates on the right side of my body, runs down to my hip, is "secured" by either my light or pocket then run diagonally put to my left shoulder, then runs behind my neck, loops around and is in front of my face/mouth. Stows very tight to the body and if I deploy it, I can re-stow it myself if the problem resolves itself.

quote:

Originally posted by newtoSig765:
Also, were you on mixed gas at 110'? I don't remember the rules on that, but 110' seems shallow, unless you use it to extend bottom time.

That wreck is 110' in the sand, so I was diving 32% EAN (32% oxygen/68% Nitrogen) Anything deeper I would be on Trimix

quote:

Originally posted by Rey HRH:
I have to ask, don't you have a problem keeping quiet at the beginning of a trip when you notice those deficiencies in others? I know I would when it comes to safety issues like that even at the expense of coming across as a blowhard know it all. What you explained makes perfect sense to me.

That is the rub with GUE training vs most other agencies. Their gear is considered mainstream, 99% of the world dives that way, those of us that dive the 7' hose are a minority. So I keep my mouth shut, live and let live. But I will tell you my guess is that couple changes their gear.

The use of a 7' hose originated in cave diving in the late 70's and did not make it the ocean divers until the early 90's and then only deep wreck divers. It really wasn't until the 2000's that you saw divers in the ocean start really diving the 7' hose. I switch to it in 1997 after my trimix calls (I had started using a 7' hose a bit earlier but not rigged that way)

Good info. Thanks. At my age I don't see getting back into it, but it was fun for a while.

After reading that a second time, I'd say you most definitely saved a life that day.

That woman was showing panic in her eyes and panicky people do bad things. She may have drowned and taken someone else with her as well.

Well done!

I'm also a DIR/GUE guy and I loved your explanation.

I also do a ton of recreational OW diving. If I had a dollar for every time I explained the safety advantages of my long hose to rec divers, it would pay for all my Halcyon gear!

Seeing the results in the eyes of a panic/near-panic diver is something beautiful to behold.

Things go from Shit-storm/CF/Monkey-Humping to "Take easy... we're all good now".

Good work! That was an admirable performance.

I’ve thought about doing GUE fundies and still haven’t ruled it out. I’ve heard some great things and some not so great things about some of the instructors for GUE. I am most likely going to be switching from a jacket style BC to a backplate and wings regardless of whether I take fundies or not and will almost certainly go with Halcyon for my backplate and wings. I’m never giving up my Scubapro regs though!

quote:

Originally posted by Lt CHEG:
Good work! That was an admirable performance.

I’ve thought about doing GUE fundies and still haven’t ruled it out. I’ve heard some great things and some not so great things about some of the instructors for GUE. I am most likely going to be switching from a jacket style BC to a backplate and wings regardless of whether I take fundies or not and will almost certainly go with Halcyon for my backplate and wings. I’m never giving up my Scubapro regs though!

I did Fundies and Cave with Apeks regs, not problem (my Cave instructor is the Scubapro sales rep). You will not regret taking Fundies, it will change the way you dive. Check out GUE instructor Meredith Tanguay. She was an intern in my Cave 1 class, good person and teaches up your way too. Also, Karim Hamza, and if you can do it in Mexico, Osama Gobara, Chris Le Maillot or Fred Devos. Although he is based out of Singapore, he comes to the US and Mexico alot, Gideon Liew. All solid instructors. Most GUE instructors, regardless of where they are based will do classes in North Florida. The one problem with GUE some of the instructors just want to fail you, they spend their time showing you how good they are. (Ive met a few)

I was early in the GUE camp, my mix instructor (and best friend/dive buddy) was teaching for IANTD but using a prototype GUE class in 1997 before GUE started. He was one of the first GUE Fundies/Tech/rb80 instructors. So through him I have had the opportunity to meet and dive with a lot of GUE people over the years.

quote:

Originally posted by Southflorida-law:

quote:

Originally posted by Lt CHEG:
Good work! That was an admirable performance.

I’ve thought about doing GUE fundies and still haven’t ruled it out. I’ve heard some great things and some not so great things about some of the instructors for GUE. I am most likely going to be switching from a jacket style BC to a backplate and wings regardless of whether I take fundies or not and will almost certainly go with Halcyon for my backplate and wings. I’m never giving up my Scubapro regs though!

I did Fundies and Cave with Apeks regs, not problem (my Cave instructor is the Scubapro sales rep). You will not regret taking Fundies, it will change the way you dive. Check out GUE instructor Meredith Tanguay. She was an intern in my Cave 1 class, good person and teaches up your way too. Also, Karim Hamza, and if you can do it in Mexico, Osama Gobara, Chris Le Maillot or Fred Devos. Although he is based out of Singapore, he comes to the US and Mexico alot, Gideon Liew. All solid instructors. Most GUE instructors, regardless of where they are based will do classes in North Florida. The one problem with GUE some of the instructors just want to fail you, they spend their time showing you how good they are. (Ive met a few)

I was early in the GUE camp, my mix instructor (and best friend/dive buddy) was teaching for IANTD but using a prototype GUE class in 1997 before GUE started. He was one of the first GUE Fundies/Tech/rb80 instructors. So through him I have had the opportunity to meet and dive with a lot of GUE people over the years.

If I do Fundies, I feel pretty sure that I would do it when I was able to learn from “Mer.” I’ve heard really good things about her and specifically that she is very helpful and supportive. I’ve heard some stories about other instructors yelling or belittling students and I can tell you that won’t fly with me. I have no intention of paying money and spending time off on a leisure activity only to be made to feel inferior so I’ve been somewhat reticent to take the plunge. But from what I can tell, and the reviews I’ve read, I wouldn’t have to worry about that with Meredith.

On an unrelated note, how big a deal is the canister light in the GUE universe? I don’t see myself dropping the coin for such a setup when I don’t believe that I would have a need for that level of setup for my diving endeavors. I realize that the canister is used for helping keep the long hose routed properly, but does the system still work well without a canister light? Lastly, what about pony bottles? I truly have no desire to dive doubles any time soon and if I did then I would probably go the sidemount route. However I do want to add a slung pony bottle to my setup when I make some changes. Would I be able to sling a pony bottle and still keep within the good graces of GUE? Thanks for your insight.

quote:

Originally posted by Lt CHEG:
On an unrelated note, how big a deal is the canister light in the GUE universe? I don’t see myself dropping the coin for such a setup when I don’t believe that I would have a need for that level of setup for my diving endeavors. I realize that the canister is used for helping keep the long hose routed properly, but does the system still work well without a canister light? Lastly, what about pony bottles? I truly have no desire to dive doubles any time soon and if I did then I would probably go the sidemount route. However I do want to add a slung pony bottle to my setup when I make some changes. Would I be able to sling a pony bottle and still keep within the good graces of GUE? Thanks for your insight.

Mer is a good choice, from personal experience.

Now, last time a checked a can light is not required for a Rec pass in Fundies. If you want a tech pass then you have to use one. I believe once you take a fundies class you may change your mind on the use of a pony bottle. GUE wont teach a pony/stage in rec or tech fundies. Bottle switching starts in Tec 1 (maybe Rec 3?) What Fundies will teach you is to ask "Why?" would you even need a pony.

If you really "drink the Kool Aid", dive with a buddy and manage your gas as taught by GUE, a pony is just unnecessary. Even when I dive solo (shhhh, dont tell anyone at GUE....) I dont use one, but, all of my tanks are DIN and I manage my gas. Plus, one of the corner stones of GUE is fitness (or at least it used to be) which greatly improves you SAC. For recreational diving proper training and technique will remove the need for a pony bottle.

Hope that helps

What a great post. I read this back when it was originally posted back in July, but didn't really give it much thought. I got open water certified about 10 years ago, but I really only dive once per year while on vacation, usually the Playa Del Carmen/Cozumel area. We just got back from our annual 9 day vacation, and I was able to get in 3 days of 2 tank dives. I dove EAN32 and got SSI certified in it while we were there.

I am getting tired of renting a BC so I was thinking of buying one. I remembered this post had some information, so I searched and read through it all again. I spent a while on the GUE website and watched several of their videos. They have a great Equipment Configuration article. That article has tons of great information and I am going to follow their guidance when selecting more gear. They specifically recommend the Halcyon, so I'll definitely give that a hard look. The only Halcyon dealer is about 45 minutes away from me, and not my "go to" dive shop.

My boys are almost 8 (Feb) & 9 (Dec 9). Before we left I bought them a decent mask/fin/snorkel kit from our local dive shop here in Denver. We spent a bunch of time on vacation using everything in both the pool and open water. They are super anxious to learn how to SCUBA. The dive shop owner let me borrow a XS BCD and each boy was able to blow bubbles in the 5 foot pool. The older boy will be 10 next Dec and our local SCUBA shop has a kids only class for 10 - 14 year olds so they can get open water certified.

Once my boys are old enough, and if they have an interest, I'll hopefully have dive partners and we can go more often. My wife got certified with me, but she has problems with her ears and doesn't really care to go diving.

Great article and post, thanks for sharing your experience!

I vote for Southflorida-law to get an early Christmas CUT for saving that woman's life.

Maybe "SCUBA Whisperer"?

What do you think Para?

What do I think? I think he's puffed himself up enough all on his own, and I also think it's interesting that this thread just happened to get bumped right after yet another thread in which SFL was justifying his "sport" and in which he was bragging about being the member of some club or other. What a coincidence.

That's what I think

quote:

Originally posted by 1967Goat:

I spent a while on the GUE website and watched several of their videos. They have a great Equipment Configuration article. That article has tons of great information and I am going to follow their guidance when selecting more gear. They specifically recommend the Halcyon, so I'll definitely give that a hard look. The only Halcyon dealer is about 45 minutes away from me, and not my "go to" dive shop.

GUE has some good info online. It's been years since I read their stuff or watch the videos but they were helpful when I was getting into Tec Diving. Although not a replacement for good instructions.

GUE is tied with Halcyon. Halcyon CEO is the founder of GUE so take their recommendations with that in mind. Not saying Halcyon is bad. It's not but there is other gear that is just as good.

Great, now I'm being accused of some conspiracy of bumping my own threads?

....what next, Jimmy Hoffa is buried in my back yard? I was the guy on the grassy knoll?