an eventful diving trip...
Tuesday, May 30, 2006 @ 10:18 am
Lotsa things happened during this diving trip, and it was really a very EVENTFUL one. :)
1) I almost died-ed
Ok perhaps to others, it ain't a big matter, but to me, i was literally in SHOCK. You should ask MB how traumatic I was.
Apparently, it was my 4th dive for the day and it was a night dive. When we reached the dive site, surface currents were rather strong, but I pushed myself and thought, it won't be that bad, once i descended.
All safety checks were done and off I back-rolled into the dark waters. My left hand was strapped with a dive computer and a torch, while on my right was my camera. Neither can be lost and thus I was rather nervous, when I shone the torch into the dark waters and found myself looking at a handful of sea urchins.
What's next, just as I was beginning to descend gradually to meet MB down stairs, I heard a ver loud noise coming from behind me, or rather close to me. So my reflex was to reach behind me for the noise. And guess what? My tank was LEAKING. Just before our dive, one of the divers has a leaked tank on the surface and had to come back up on the boat to change another new one, and I remembered the Dive Master was telling us, the first thing we shud do should we encounter such incident, was to reach behind and turn off the tank.
So i thought, okay, i have a LEAKING tank, so I turn it off. But bloody hell, I can't reach it, let alone turn it off. I quickly shone my torch in a random fashion at MB below, but he didn't react to it, so I shone at the other divers too. 1 sec, 2 sec, no reaction. So i decided to ascend to the surface myself. Although I was only 5m below, I remembered I should control my ascent in case I suffer from any DCS or what.
But what caught me off guard was that I was almost going into a head-on collision with a boat!! In a panic, I quickly swam away as fast as possible, and when I re-surfaced, I tried to turn off the tank but it was fruitless. The boatmen aboard quickly gestured for me to swim to them so they can help me turn it off, but the surface currents were too strong. I finned as hard as I could and was totally shocked and tired from all of these.
MB came straight up right after me, and with some assistance, I finally managed to get myself on the boat. But the damage had been done. I was TRAUMATISED and was in a state of shock. I only remembered I kept crying and staring into blank space. We were on another dive boat so there were some mis-comm and we only managed to go back to our own boat after about 45min later. I ALMOST went into mild hypothermia and everything in my mind was just the sensation of utter coldness and constant shivering.
I slowly made my way back to our dive hut and finally collapsed at the door step and MB had to carry me into the room to rest. I had to breathe through an oxygen mask to calm myself down and my body was already in the limp state. I felt like jelly fish, with jelly arms and legs. Totally shagged out. I still feel the fear as I recount this incident.
But this will not stop me from diving at night. Perhaps, next time, I should critically assess my physical ability as well as the circumstance before deciding if I should go on. Thank God for saving me and thank MB for the care and attention. I'm thankful I came back in one piece. :P
2) Accident
Luckily we did not go back on Sunday, coz usually our dive trips to Malaysia like Aur and Dayang is over a weekend. Going on Fri evening and back on Sunday nite. But this time, the NTU dive trip was extended till Monday afternoon and so we avoided a fatal accident.
It was in the news and splashed across the headlines of Wanbao yesterday.
Apparently, the coach that was due to Singapore from Mersing was speeding on a rainy Sunday afternoon and lost control when driving through a bend and overturned down a small slope. Driver and a 6 yr old boy were killed.
When our coach was driving back yesterday, the instructors told us about it and we actually saw the scene of the accident, with the coach removed but a big hole at the side of the road still send shudders down my spine. Can't imagine if I was in that coach, I would have been frightened to death. *sheesh* Thank God once again for saving our lives. Hallelujah!
3) Diving + Pics
On the whole, I only managed 4 dives coz after the traumatic incident, I slept through the night and till the next morning before I garnered enough strenght for another one after lunch. MB accompanied me as well but I finally persuaded him to go on 2 more dives for the day. He was lucky to see a turtle and being chased by schools of giant barracudas on his last dive, but he complained there wasn't any outstanding shots taken... Till next time darling :)
Some photos to share: My photo skills underwater are still very beginner-ish, so pardon for the bluish photos. I only managed to caught a few identity shots :P
Clockwise from top left: Jellyfish, Pipe fishes, Cuttlefish and Nudibranch
MB's shots ( you can tell the STARK difference :P ): clockwise from top left - lionfish, clownfish, blenny and moray eel
Me and my darling MB :)
Nice sunrise.. it's time to go home!
Apparently, it was my 4th dive for the day and it was a night dive. When we reached the dive site, surface currents were rather strong, but I pushed myself and thought, it won't be that bad, once i descended.
All safety checks were done and off I back-rolled into the dark waters. My left hand was strapped with a dive computer and a torch, while on my right was my camera. Neither can be lost and thus I was rather nervous, when I shone the torch into the dark waters and found myself looking at a handful of sea urchins.
What's next, just as I was beginning to descend gradually to meet MB down stairs, I heard a ver loud noise coming from behind me, or rather close to me. So my reflex was to reach behind me for the noise. And guess what? My tank was LEAKING. Just before our dive, one of the divers has a leaked tank on the surface and had to come back up on the boat to change another new one, and I remembered the Dive Master was telling us, the first thing we shud do should we encounter such incident, was to reach behind and turn off the tank.
So i thought, okay, i have a LEAKING tank, so I turn it off. But bloody hell, I can't reach it, let alone turn it off. I quickly shone my torch in a random fashion at MB below, but he didn't react to it, so I shone at the other divers too. 1 sec, 2 sec, no reaction. So i decided to ascend to the surface myself. Although I was only 5m below, I remembered I should control my ascent in case I suffer from any DCS or what.
But what caught me off guard was that I was almost going into a head-on collision with a boat!! In a panic, I quickly swam away as fast as possible, and when I re-surfaced, I tried to turn off the tank but it was fruitless. The boatmen aboard quickly gestured for me to swim to them so they can help me turn it off, but the surface currents were too strong. I finned as hard as I could and was totally shocked and tired from all of these.
MB came straight up right after me, and with some assistance, I finally managed to get myself on the boat. But the damage had been done. I was TRAUMATISED and was in a state of shock. I only remembered I kept crying and staring into blank space. We were on another dive boat so there were some mis-comm and we only managed to go back to our own boat after about 45min later. I ALMOST went into mild hypothermia and everything in my mind was just the sensation of utter coldness and constant shivering.
I slowly made my way back to our dive hut and finally collapsed at the door step and MB had to carry me into the room to rest. I had to breathe through an oxygen mask to calm myself down and my body was already in the limp state. I felt like jelly fish, with jelly arms and legs. Totally shagged out. I still feel the fear as I recount this incident.
But this will not stop me from diving at night. Perhaps, next time, I should critically assess my physical ability as well as the circumstance before deciding if I should go on. Thank God for saving me and thank MB for the care and attention. I'm thankful I came back in one piece. :P
2) Accident
Luckily we did not go back on Sunday, coz usually our dive trips to Malaysia like Aur and Dayang is over a weekend. Going on Fri evening and back on Sunday nite. But this time, the NTU dive trip was extended till Monday afternoon and so we avoided a fatal accident.
It was in the news and splashed across the headlines of Wanbao yesterday.
Apparently, the coach that was due to Singapore from Mersing was speeding on a rainy Sunday afternoon and lost control when driving through a bend and overturned down a small slope. Driver and a 6 yr old boy were killed.
When our coach was driving back yesterday, the instructors told us about it and we actually saw the scene of the accident, with the coach removed but a big hole at the side of the road still send shudders down my spine. Can't imagine if I was in that coach, I would have been frightened to death. *sheesh* Thank God once again for saving our lives. Hallelujah!
3) Diving + Pics
On the whole, I only managed 4 dives coz after the traumatic incident, I slept through the night and till the next morning before I garnered enough strenght for another one after lunch. MB accompanied me as well but I finally persuaded him to go on 2 more dives for the day. He was lucky to see a turtle and being chased by schools of giant barracudas on his last dive, but he complained there wasn't any outstanding shots taken... Till next time darling :)
Some photos to share: My photo skills underwater are still very beginner-ish, so pardon for the bluish photos. I only managed to caught a few identity shots :P
Clockwise from top left: Jellyfish, Pipe fishes, Cuttlefish and Nudibranch
MB's shots ( you can tell the STARK difference :P ): clockwise from top left - lionfish, clownfish, blenny and moray eel
Me and my darling MB :)
Nice sunrise.. it's time to go home!
That's all to share, ain't it very EVENTFUL?? haha :) Once again, would like to thank all those people who've helped me during that traumatic incident and for MB's company and his JC pal, Prem, whom we've met during the trip and had a wonderful time with.
Can't wait for the next dive!!!
Can't wait for the next dive!!!
