Most Common Mistake

I've been a cave diving for 3 years now, and I've made a few mistakes along the way, none that were critical. I was wondering what everyone thought was the most common mistake they make.

I know what my one big mistake was, I was humping it in heavy flow at JB when I missed marking the first T, never even saw it. I was even with the line and about 10' away so the T was invisible. I should have been closer. Lesson learned.

Edit:
I left out breaking rules, IMO that is done on purpose, I'm wondering about things you don't intend to do.

For me it's not enough planning. Always bites me in the butt.

Especially in new areas.

I see far too many people going to places that are way past their skill level.....

Safe diving,

Rich

Edit: Didn't realize it was a personal poll so in that case I'd have to agree with Andrew and the 7 P's...:)

I think it is changing the plan on the fly.
Too many folks decide to do something different that wasn't discussed during the planning.

I have to go with changing too much at one time- this is certainly an issue for new cave divers- but can hurt old hands as well- as it is usually in the same boat with setting unreasonable expectations/goals for the dive. Is also associate with poor planning/preparation.

I keep forgetting equipment. Usually I get lucky and can borrow equipment at the site. Once I had to turn around and go home. However, I am regimented enough that I haven't forgotten anything on a dive.

Once I was diving sidemount and forgot my backup lights (left them on my backplate/harness). Luckily I was able to borrow a pair from a friend who was just leaving Ginnie.

Another time I forgot the battery pack for my primary light. 1 hour and 50 minute drive to Little River and I had to turn around and go home. Beautiful Day, No one else was there.

Items forgotten:

Primary Light Battery
Hood
Backup lights
Catheter
Necklace
Defog
Pillow (camping at Ginnie CDF New Years Social)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by cavemark

I keep forgetting equipment. Usually I get lucky and can borrow equipment at the site. Once I had to turn around and go home. However, I am regimented enough that I haven't forgotten anything on a dive.

Once I was diving sidemount and forgot my backup lights (left them on my backplate/harness). Luckily I was able to borrow a pair from a friend who was just leaving Ginnie.

Another time I forgot the battery pack for my primary light. 1 hour and 50 minute drive to Little River and I had to turn around and go home. Beautiful Day, No one else was there.

Items forgotten:

Primary Light Battery
Hood
Backup lights
Catheter
Necklace
Defog
Pillow (camping at Ginnie CDF New Years Social)

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hehe, that is funny, I'll send you one of those padi checklists for going diving :D

I'm in the same group with Mark.

I've forgotten fins, lights, deco regs, etc...

I always covered with the, "Hey guys, I'll go pick up some ribs so we can catch up before our dive" :)

I forgot one fin. (Actually another buddy forgot one fin as well on an earlier dive, but we still got a scooter dive to the hinkle on that one. Scootering is hard with only one fin.)

On another dive, my drysuit.

Has anyone ever forgotten their condom and still pissed in their drysuit?

I haven't,, and if I did, I'd never admit it ;)

There isn't a choice that covers my most frequent mistake, which is the failure to gather all the available information, or the failure to process the available information.

For example, a common mistake I make is to pass a contrary arrow without marking it. I see the arrow and get interested in looking around to see where the jump line is, and never notice that the arrow doesn't point to MY exit. I only processed part of the information available.

I also tend not to notice things like stuff hanging out of my buddies' pockets, or backup lights turned on. Lack of bandwidth.

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Originally Posted by Neptuno

hehe, that is funny, I'll send you one of those padi checklists for going diving :D

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It is easy to forget stuff Cristan :roll:

I guess the worst case of me forgetting something was a sump dive in WV. We were 2.5 miles from the entrance. We had crawled, clambered over breakdown, and rappelled 135', to get there. I had failed to pack a mask :(

I guess for me it would be insufficient planning. I don't believe that can over-plan a dive or contigencies for a dive.

I'm kind of the opposite from the forgetting folks. My dive buddies usually chastise me for bringing too much stuff. I laugh, especially when they come to me because they forgot something or need to fix something on site! I love my save a dive kit(s)!

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Originally Posted by FW

It is easy to forget stuff Cristan :roll:

I guess the worst case of me forgetting something was a sump dive in WV. We were 2.5 miles from the entrance. We had crawled, clambered over breakdown, and rappelled 135', to get there. I had failed to pack a mask :(

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well, were is that padi list when I need it :) I spend a few hours looking for it on the internet for you guys but no luck :P

I always try to be careful with packing the stuff... but always something can stay out of the bag, sounds like that might be one of the most common mistakes then, never thought about that.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JDR

Has anyone ever forgotten their condom and still pissed in their drysuit?

I haven't,, and if I did, I'd never admit it ;)

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Well I forgot to hook up the She-P once, but I was wearing diapers as backup ...

I dawned on me after 1 hour cave diving, why the She-p "was not working" :D

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Originally Posted by FW

It is easy to forget stuff Cristan :roll:

I guess the worst case of me forgetting something was a sump dive in WV. We were 2.5 miles from the entrance. We had crawled, clambered over breakdown, and rappelled 135', to get there. I had failed to pack a mask :(

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I guess that beats my worst forgetting episode - after loading all (I thought) of my gear into a 14 foot Zodiac with Tracy and another buddy, and going several miles offshore, I found that I had forgotten my drysuit. Brought my undergarment and rock boots, but no drysuit. :(

Mike

I've gotten so use to premix that I have forgotten to check the mix. After sitting at deco hoping I really had 32% in my backgas, I did a few extra minutes on O2, and promptly went out and bought my own analyzer.

Recently, I left my booties hanging out to dry and showed up for a dive at the ballroom with a few cavern buddies. I ended up putting my fins on over my street shoes. I had to ride home with wet feet, but hey, I got to make the dive.

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Originally Posted by Burke

I've gotten so use to premix that I have forgotten to check the mix. After sitting at deco hoping I really had 32% in my backgas, I did a few extra minutes on O2, and promptly went out and bought my own analyzer.

Recently, I left my booties hanging out to dry and showed up for a dive at the ballroom with a few cavern buddies. I ended up putting my fins on over my street shoes. I had to ride home with wet feet, but hey, I got to make the dive.

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gotta analyze your gas EVERY TIME
I got air by accident recently at a shop that banks 32%. could've been an issue if I hadn't analyzed

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JDR

Has anyone ever forgotten their condom and still pissed in their drysuit?

I haven't,, and if I did, I'd never admit it ;)

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Not forgot, but had one pop off this summer :( Doing a shipwreck survey and started my dive crazy hydrated. Peed more times than I could count on the dive and all of a sudden during deco I'm like "maaaan...why is my leg cold?". By then I knew I was screwed and just kept peeing anyway.

Threw everything in the water (Lake Michigan) as soon as I got back on the boat.

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Originally Posted by LiteHedded

gotta analyze your gas EVERY TIME
I got air by accident recently at a shop that banks 32%. could've been an issue if I hadn't analyzed

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I hear ya... I got a wierd fill in my O2 once, 60% O2 and 5% Helium. Now I analyze even my O2. Occasionally, I get looks like I'm stupid or something when people see me hooking up an analyzer to my O2 bottle. Some shops will even tell you that you can't hook up their analyzer to your O2 bottle because you'll burn out their sensor. Bottom line, everyone that dives a lot of Nitrox should have their own analyzer.

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Originally Posted by Burke

I hear ya... I got a wierd fill in my O2 once, 60% O2 and 5% Helium. Now I analyze even my O2. Occasionally, I get looks like I'm stupid or something when people see me hooking up an analyzer to my O2 bottle. Some shops will even tell you that you can't hook up their analyzer to your O2 bottle because you'll burn out their sensor. Bottom line, everyone that dives a lot of Nitrox should have their own analyzer.

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Yes! Not just Nitrox, whatever gas you're diving, air, 02, mix...make sure it's what you think it is. I received a "free" unexpected 10/50 top-off when I was expecting 32%....from a place using banked gas. Ooops, wrong whip, eh? It was a while ago, but the lesson stuck.

My most common mistake? Forgetting to bring my overnight bag on dive trips....gear, I got....clothes....ummm...Wal-Mart trip! Well, that, and sometimes I can't find my sunglasses...because I'm wearing them. At least I make my dive buddies feel really smart in comparison ;)

Yep, my gym bag is the last thing I throw in the truck. Except the two times it never made it. Wal-Mart!

I once was gearing up at Ginnie, and I reached for my fins and they weren't there. I remember remarking to the woman who rented me some fins, "You know, I own SEVEN pairs of fins!"

(This was in my pre-trailer days. I now carry backups of everything in there. Except clothes.)

I've forgotten my computer at home several times :P Luckily, my buddies have always bailed me out.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Burke

Some shops will even tell you that you can't hook up their analyzer to your O2 bottle because you'll burn out their sensor.

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Seriously???

Man, every thime I think that dive shop monkeys can't get dumber, a new story comes out to show me wrong...

(Fortunately almost every cave fill station doesn't fit this description. It's the coastal shops that seem largely to be clueless)

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Originally Posted by FW

It is easy to forget stuff Cristan :roll:

I guess the worst case of me forgetting something was a sump dive in WV. We were 2.5 miles from the entrance. We had crawled, clambered over breakdown, and rappelled 135', to get there. I had failed to pack a mask :(

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Now that is a sad story. What did you do?

My worst case was showing up to the dive site an hour early, BS'ing for 50 minutes and then assembling my gear only to realize that I had forgotten my backplate. Fortunately I only live 10 minutes from the beach so my buddies didn't have to wait too long. I rushed home and back to the beach, got everything assembled and noticed that I forgot my drysuit undergarments too. I sucked it up and wore jeans & a t-shirt under the dry suit. Not the most comfortable, but it worked. The kicker to the story is that I had to move the undergarments out of the way to grab the backplate. Was not thinking that morning.

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Originally Posted by Cali Knucklehead

Now that is a sad story. What did you do?

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There were three divers on that trip. We were supposed to survey beyond the sump. I just told the other two to go ahead without me, and I walked out alone.

What made matters worse, our "sherpas" had left before they knew about the mask issue. It was the middle of the winter, and they had taken all the vehicles, thinking we would be in there for hours. I had to walk a mile in a snowstorm to the place everyone was staying. My coveralls were clanking together because they were covered with ice, and my beard had icicles in it.

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Originally Posted by FW

I had to walk a mile in a snowstorm

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Uphill both ways! :D

With no wet suit boots.

At 11PM before our last day of trimix training dives, I realized the neck seal on my drysuit had dry rotted. The next day, I rented a wetsuit. On the boat (to the Oriskany), I realized I had no booties and my feet were too small for my fins. I learned then that loafers are not a bad substitute for booties.

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Originally Posted by sandy

At 11PM before our last day of trimix training dives, I realized the neck seal on my drysuit had dry rotted. The next day, I rented a wetsuit. On the boat (to the Oriskany), I realized I had no booties and my feet were too small for my fins. I learned then that loafers are not a bad substitute for booties.

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I did the hike to buford in flip flops once. followed by doing the dive barefooted with jetfins
:D
don't ask