A guy on a barge in Mobile Bay told me to check my bailout bottle every single dive
We were doing some hull cleaning on a supply boat, just a normal Tuesday. This old diver, must have been in his 60s, was sitting on the deck watching us gear up. He didn't say much until I was about to go over. He just pointed at my bailout bottle and said, 'You open that valve today?' I mean, I had checked it that morning, but I did it again just to be sure. It was maybe a quarter turn from being fully open. He saw my face and said, 'Almost got me once. Thought I was fine until I needed it and got a mouthful of nothing.' That was six months ago and I still hear his voice in my head. Now I physically open and close the valve at the start of every job, no matter what. Has anyone else had a simple check like that save their skin?