I really was nervous to share that bit, but honestly if sharing my learning experiences helps someone else avoid a $30k life flight ride, and a week of expensive hyperbaric treatments then it will have been worth it.
Absolutely!! I was really nervous to share it honestly, people expect you to be an expert on RU-vid, but I wanted to show how easy it was to get entranced by the fishes swimming around you in the rhythmic pattern - probably the scariest but biggest learning lesson for me. The Life Flight would have cost thousands of dollars, I didn't realize that Panama City Beach doesn't have a Hyperbaric Chamber the closest city for one is Fort Lauderdale. I just feel so lucky I had friends who were watching out for me despite my lack of experience.
Deco's no big deal, you just have to make a longer safety stop. If you're gonna go deep, you may end up in Deco. Don't panic. You're in Florida. Life is good.
New subscriber here! Wonderful video!! So glad that we found your channel! We just got our open water certification with divers den and did a dive charter with them last week! It was of course a more simple dive! We have a video that we uploaded a couple of days ago! We are new to youtube and learning the ropes of underwater videography. Definitely not easy sometimes! You have such wonderful shots underwater! Glad that you are okay after that safety scare. That is something that I need to learn more about when reading my dive computer because that is so easy to forget compared to checking your air.
Congrats fellow bubble blower!!!! I have a whole article on my website for first time diver tips they don't teach you in scuba school (ladies will love it) so be sure to check that one out (you can thank me later) culturetrekking.com/tips-for-first-time-scuba-divers/ I KNOW! It is so easy to check your air, and then time things based on the amount of air you have left, but as soon as you get your advanced open water, that is when those dive times become incredibly important. Divers Den is the BOMB when it comes to dive shops in the area. Already planning to go back actually. I really am so so happy you are here and get so incredibly excited every time we have a new member to our posh (I wish, lol) Culture Trekking Crew. Sincerely so glad you decided to join and will definitely jump over and check your stuff out too :) YEAH!!! Scuba Destination Party needs to happen in the near future don't you think?
Me neither! It was a happy circumstance that they have so many wrecks you can dive there, and isn't nearly as crowded or expensive as the rest of florida and you still get to see a good variety of sealife. Plus the dolphins! Come on!!! UNREAL!
Nice video and story but I think you were being overly dramatic about having to be life flighted to a recompression chamber. All you would have had to do is make a decompression stop at 40 feet and then another at 20 feet, or maybe just a longer one at 20 feet. Granted this would have been an unplanned decompression dive, but when and if you advance in your dive education you will have a deep dive that has a planned decompression stop. The other thing is you should be using a dive computer not a watch (that malfunctioned) and tables. The computer will alert you that you are getting close to your no-decompression limit and if you exceed it, it will instruct you to take a stop and will tell you the depth and time for the stop. Also it will credit you for time spent at shallower depths. Many places require a computer, and if you are not ready to buy you own, Diver's Den will rent one for $15. You can buy a nice computer for $450 or so. You should also take a Nitrox course if you have not already. With Nitrox you absorb less nitrogen because the O2 level is higher, but you cannot go as deep as you can with just air. Maybe someone was pulling your leg...I don't think a helicopter can make it from Panama City to Ft. Lauderdale, and there is a chamber in Panama City: Bay Medical Center 615 North Bonita Ave. Panama City, FL 32401 plus many others a lot closer than Ft. Lauderdale. You may want to try taking courses from SSI, SDI, or NAUI facilities. Not trying to be a PADI hater, I have an advanced open water and Nitrox from them, but interview and compare dive shops.
good to know. The people I was diving with are from Florida and were telling me this information about the hyperbaric chamber etc... I don't know if it is the dive shop that is obligated to call or not. I'm from Utah so not as familiar with the area as they were. I am saving up for a computer and hoping to do a Nitrox course in the next year or so :) NOT planning on having his happen again, but sincerely appreciate that lengthy reply and information.
