2nd-stage swivel failure in Cenote Cristalino, Mexico - 06-Nov-2010

[HeloDriver]

Good lessons to be taken away. Very glad you are ok and thank you for sharing.

[Samantha]

Steve - When I saw your post in FB I was very concerned about what could have gone wrong. Relieved you are alive and well. Thanks for posting.

Give me buzz when you're back in NJ.

[LCF]

Steve, glad you are okay.

In quite a few of my classes, one of the things that could really get one a chewing out from the instructor in the debrief was if you turned off the reg your buddy was breathing. Over and over again, they hammered and hammered that the very first thing you had to do, when you went to assist a buddy with a problem, was verify which reg he had in his mouth, and you were NEVER to shut a valve attached to a reg someone was breathing.

Reading your story, I can really see how having all of your gas turned off raised the stress level enormously. I don't know if it's harder to verify which reg someone is using when they are on sidemount, or if the poor viz was the issue. But you have given me a real-life story to cement the lessons from class -- don't turn off someone's current gas supply, no matter how urgently you feel a valve needs to be closed.

[stairman]

Glad everthing turned out ok. I read in Jills sidemount book the other night ,how its wise to stay away from hemipherical swivels and will not dive them. A 90 degree angle with captured o ring was advised where needed.

[Major Restriction]

Your point about isolating the tank from the direction of the noise is a GREAT lesson, and frankly something I have never thought about.

I use two distinct mouthpieces on my sidemount (and backmount) regulators so I can tell which regulator I have in my mouth by feel. I never have to guess in an emergency situation.

[OneBrightGator]

Thanks for posting this, it's very timely for me.

And I think I'll be going with elbows instead

[Sludge]

A 90 degree angle with captured o ring

??? I think someone is using an incorrect term - you can't have a captured o-ring if it rotates.

[benjamin]

I've had 2 failures with (omniswivel) swivels, one minor and the other serious. I don't use them anymore, I changed over to 70 degree swivels, they work great. Glad things went well for you.

[whodunit68]

once again, thank you for the well wishes and support. I sincerely appreciate it!
Lynne, I have to admit, you got me re-thinking it even further and to be honest, the replay eventually presented some additional insight into how reactions could have been different. I won't yet comment further on it as further reflection is required in order to really have my arms around it.
OneBrightGator - I did see the thread and realize the timing.
Does the screw loosening qualify as a swivel failure? I suppose it does...bottom line for me is that no matter how careful we are, there's always something that can go wrong and we have to know how to deal with the issues.

[whodunit68]

??? I think someone is using an incorrect term - you can't have a captured o-ring if it rotates.

I don't think he was talking about a rotating 90 degree - the right angles I know of don't rotate.