Limit Ascents and Descents

Mary and John were excited about the prospect of completing their open-water training dives. They’d had a great time in the pool and were eagerly looking forward to their planned vacation in the Bahamas. Mary had a little trepidation about ear clearing; however, she knew that if she took things slowly and did not force the issue, she’d be fine.

Her first dive went okay (although it was a bit of a letdown, as all she did for a half hour was kneel on an ice-cold platform and do skills). Nevertheless, she made it down the descent line without too much difficulty — and she and John even arrived there ahead of some of the other teams.

It was on Mary’s second dive that things started to go straight to Hell. Her initial descent did not go as easily as it had on the first dive, but she did make it to the platform. Unfortunately, on this dive, her instructor decided it would be a good time to knock off a number of ascent/descent exercises.

The first of these was an alternate-air-source ascent. The instructor decided he wanted everyone to do this once as both donor and receiver.

Mary had no difficulty completing the first air-sharing ascent with John. It’s when she attempted to return to the platform that the trouble really started. At ten feet, her ears just plain locked up. Despite repeated attempts, Mary simply could not equalize. Finally, she and John gave up and returned to shore.

Mary spent the night in considerable pain. The next morning she returned to the dive site, scared that she would not be able to get down. This fear was compounded by the knowledge that she and John were already behind the rest of the class.

After a lengthy swim to the descent line, the instructor signalled everyone to go down. Mary struggled to make it the first ten feet. No luck. Finally she gave John the “go up” signal and returned to the surface, now in excruciating pain.

When the instructor returned to check on them, Mary announced she was done for the day. The instructor offered to allow John to continue; however, in a gesture any SEAL or Special Forces operator would understand, John announced, “I’m not leaving my buddy behind.” (Wouldn’t it be great if all our students lived by that ethic?)

When the class returned to shore, they found Mary in tears. In her mind, she’d let down her dive buddy, ruined their upcoming vacation and embarrassed herself in front of her classmates. More than that, however, her ears just plain hurt.

“Don’t worry,” her instructor said, “we can always complete this next month.” (He’d forgotten that Mary was supposed to be on a plane to Nassau in two weeks.) Mary nodded in assent — but you could tell that, in reality, she would never dive again.

Okay, those of us who teach scuba know that some students will simply have a harder time equalizing than others. Mary was among the unlucky ones. Was it her fault she was unable to complete her open-water training dives and become certified in time for her vacation? No, it was her instructor’s.

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