Silt out during a bridge inspection: Do you go by the book or improvise?

I was under a old bridge last week, checking for cracks. Everything was fine until my buddy's fin kicked up a huge silt cloud. I couldn't see a thing and my comms went static. Instead of panicking, I slowly felt for the bridge piling I was near before. I hugged it and used my touch to guide me up to the surface. Some divers tell me I should have stayed put and waited for help no matter what. Others say in that mess, doing something simple like I did is the only way. What's your call when the plan goes out the window down there?

4 comments

4 Comments

sage3081mo ago

Panicking and moving blindly gets people killed.

quinna891mo ago

Honestly, Caleb's line about the water not caring about the book is spot on. Tbh my reg once froze freeflowing at depth and I just had to ditch it and share air, no time to think about the manual.

evan_green5220d ago

Caleb, using tables you memorized is wild, man. That's a huge risk because memory gets fuzzy under stress. A better backup is a physical table in your pocket or a second cheap computer. Relying on recall for deco is how you get bent.

caleb_fisher441mo ago

Actually, reminds me of a time my dive computer died mid wreck dive. Totally blank screen at 90 feet. Buddy was ahead and didn't notice. Ended up just using my watch and the tables I memorized for a slow, boring ascent. Some would call that reckless, but freezing down there waiting felt like a worse bet. Book says one thing, but the water doesn't care about the book. You did what kept you moving and in control.