Superstitions, Rituals and Talismans

[WEPIV]

May be a stupid question, but what happens to a reg when you take a first stage off under water to replace a leaking din o-ring then start using it underwater? I would think the amount of water would be detrimental long term

I did this once at Little River during the start of a solo dive down where the cave line starts as some bubbles were coming from one of my first stages. I took my tanks off and unscrewed and screwed back on the leaking reg and all was fine. No issues later either.

[BabyDuck]

my main ritual is how i put my stuff on in the water. it's just a sensible order to me, but really does need to happen the way i do it or i don't feel comfortable. plus the three slow deep breaths with face in the water from every reg before descending, which is combo gear check and quick meditative moment.

and rolling over upside down with my light tucked into my chest every time i pass pothole. not for luck, just because i like to see the light from the darkness.

[kensuf]

Didn't know if the water shot through the hoses ruined the hoses or the spg and therefore all needed to be replaced post dive.

Yeah, you'll lose an SPG. But how much is that, $40?

[JerseyJersey]

Cow butts.... my worst day diving was mid cave
Training. On the way to Ginny
You pass a lot of cows and usually they face away from you
And you see a bunch of cow
Butts. On this day they were all facing me and I thought
It was strange. Worst day ever!

Following day cows were arranged as they should be... butts to the road and all was right with the world again

I dont dive if the cows are looking at me. Cow butts are good luck charms

[FW]

...I dont dive if the cows are looking at me. Cow butts are good luck charms

[MORGAN]

Cow butts are good luck charms

In my childhood and teen years, my first activity of the day was going out to the barn with my father and grandfather and looking down a row of 85 cow butts. No wonder I've been so lucky all my life!

[renee]

I want a pet rock, too!

Ahhh the "chattering monkeys" I call them. Sometimes they are chattering for a reason. I'll stop and do a "pause for the cause". In this time I'll do another head to to gear check with the buddy and review the dive plan again and access the environment once more. This may take 5 min or a lot longer and that's ok. I'd much rather find issues on the surface. If we decide to dive, it may be more conservative. This "pause", to me, heightens senses and awareness and adds another internal dynamic. I tend to be very "on point" on these dives. If the monkeys start to chatter again on something I know I verified on the surface, I can tell them to "shut up" because I'm confident. If they are chattering that it's time to turn the dive then it gets turned. (Jill H teaches a really effective head to toe gear check btw)

Someone above mentioned it isn't always about gear and I agree. Maybe in a dive team someone is really not wanting to dive and is afraid to speak up out of fear or incrimination from the buddy. To me, we should create an environment where people feel safe to speak up. There could be a reason that the diver or team will never know. Maybe having voices in our heads is a good thing and we should listen when they tell us not to go in the cave. I applaud those who are brave enough to speak up!

And.... I don't have an issue number. If it doesn't feel right then that's enough. I also do a reg check at the surface (regs in water) with 3 breaths off each one. Slows my brain down and feels meditative. Once I'm gear checked I like to close my eyes and just breathe for a short time before descending. Has worked for me!

[FW]

Not that this had anything to do with superstition

I was gearing up Saturday, and while setting up my rebreather I kept getting "FAIL" flashing on my computer. I had a bad cell, so I decided to dive open circuit. Then during pre-dive, I discovered a dead backup light. I had 3 backups, so I just pulled it off my harness. Then we got in the water, put on our sidemount tanks, stage tanks, O2, and hooked up our scooters. I started down the run, and my scooter was vibrating badly. I stopped, and looked at the prop. One blade wasn't lined up with the others. I pulled the prop apart, and the gizmo (drive hub yoke) that adjusts the prop had a broken pin. I aborted the dive.

[JerseyJersey]

Ahhh the "chattering monkeys" I call them...!

In wreck diving we called it the "monster at the end of the line".

[cmalinowski]

On very rare occasion a little water will get in the spg and you'll have to retire it.

Do you just assume this since it would be inside the bourdon tube? Not a bad assumption at all, just wondering. And a rice bath should take care of that as OFF-1 states. As far as the rest goes, assuming you use the reg during the dive, it will blow enough dry gas through the regs to dry out anything where the small bit of water got in. Just my opinion, I have not scientifically proven this... although I have anecdotally