Lost my air supply 60 feet down off Port Fourchon last month

I was doing a routine hull inspection on a supply vessel about 60 feet down when my primary hose got pinched by a shifting mooring line. Felt that sudden restriction in my breathing and my heart started pounding. I had maybe 30 seconds before I would have been in real trouble so I switched to my backup regulator and signaled my tender. My tender cut the line and I made a controlled ascent, no deco issues thank god. After that I started running my hose differently through a carabiner clipped to my harness to keep it away from lines. Anyone else had a close call with a pinched line and changed how you rig your gear?

2 comments

2 Comments

gavinh269d ago

Man I used to think carabiners were just extra clutter on a harness. This totally changed my mind about that.

max_jones9d ago

That locking carabiner on my Petzl setup completely changed how I feel about gear redundancy. I used to think having three of them was overkill, but after watching a buddy take a fall on a worn out gate last summer, I never skip the backup. The weight penalty is like half an ounce, not even noticeable on a full alpine rack. What is the point of saving grams if you're risking your neck over a hinge pin? Better to have extra points of security than to wish you had them when something goes loose.