The rigger who told me to double check my bailout gas was right, almost went without it in 40 feet of murk

Last Tuesday off Port Canaveral, I was doing a hull inspection and this old rigger named Sal kept hammering on me about verifying my bailout bottle pressure before every single dive. I figured it was overkill since I checked it that morning. Got to the job, did two dives fine. Third dive, my main supply hose started pinching against a barnacle encrusted through hull fitting. Went to switch to bailout and the damn thing was at 1800 psi instead of 3000 plus. Sal had told me the night before that he lost a buddy in the 90s to exactly that. Switched over, surfaced slow, but that last 100 psi was gone before I broke the surface. Took way too many breaths on that last ascent. Now I check the gauge on the boat with my own eyes every single time. How do you guys handle bailout checks when you're doing repetitive dives in a day, you trust the tender or verify yourself every time?

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loganm5222d ago

Nah, I get the habit, but honestly I trust nobody but my own eyes, even on dive seven.