Had a reg freeflow at 90 feet and my buddy froze up on me

I was working a bridge inspection job in Charleston last fall, swapping out bolts on a support piling. My first stage started freeflowing out of nowhere, dumping air fast, and my buddy just stared at me through his mask like a statue. I had to grab his hose and signal him to shut my valve while I switched to my backup regulator. We made it up fine, but that 30 seconds reminded me why you never assume your partner will react right in a pinch. Any of you had a dive partner go blank on you when things went sideways?

2 comments

2 Comments

terryallen1mo ago

That freeze up thing happens more than people want to admit. Not just underwater either. I've seen it in traffic jams, in crowded stores, even at the hardware store when someone drops a box of nails. Most folks just don't have that switch that flips on when pressure hits. They go blank instead of into action. Your story is a good reminder that having a plan on paper doesn't mean much if the other person can't execute when it counts.

derek_ramirez1mo ago

Spit my coffee out reading "hardware store when someone drops a box of nails." That's such a specific, weirdly perfect example of a low stakes situation where people totally shut down. I've seen it happen at the grocery store when someone's cart tips over and cans go rolling everywhere. People just stand there staring while the person is trying to pick stuff up. It's like their brain has to decide if this is a real emergency or not and gets stuck in between. Makes you wonder how much of that freeze is just not wanting to look dumb by overreacting.