Saw a stat that 60% of dive accidents happen in less than 30 feet of water

Found that in the latest ADCI report. Always thought deep dives were the real danger. Made me rethink how careful I am on shallow inspections. Anyone else focus more on the easy stuff now?

2 comments

2 Comments

derekgibson26d agoMost Upvoted

Yeah that "less than 30 feet" stat hits different once you've been doing this a while. I had a close call on a 25 foot sewer outfall inspection last year, just got complacent because it felt like a boring shallow job. The thing is shallow water gives you less time to react if something goes wrong, and the current or surge can slam you into stuff just as hard as deep. I always double check my bailout bottle now before I even step off the boat, no matter how shallow it looks.

elliotw3726d ago

Yeah I had a similar wake up call about two years ago on a piling inspection in 25 feet of murky water. I got tangled in some old rope or netting that was unseen, and it took me a good thirty seconds to work it off my tank valve. That thirty seconds felt like an hour because I knew I had no deep water margin for error. What worked for me after that was just slowing everything down before the dive. I now spend an extra five minutes on the surface going over my gear and checking for anything loose or snaggy on my kit. Also started carrying a small shear in a pocket I can reach with either hand, which has paid off twice since then. The whole mindset shift to treat shallow water with the same respect as a 100 foot wreck made a big difference for me.