diving mishaps

[DanL]

Shortly after getting certified, I took a drysuit course. Went down to 65ft and in less than 10 min on one of the qualification dives had a freeflow on the used reg I purchased. I learned a number of things:
1. My buddy was just a few feet ahead, but he had no idea what happened. No eyes in the back of his head.
2. I took the reg out of my mouth and slapped it on my hand, hoping to stop the freeflow. Just a reflex reaction, but totally pointless and useless.
3. Viz went to absolute zero. I was in a sea of air bubbles - no way to see gauges. Depth and tank pressure were a total unknown.
4. I surfaced quickly and without injury to find that I had well over 1000psi remaining - a freeflow doesn't empty your tank immediately.
5. BUY THE BEST COLD WATER REG AVAILABLE, WHETHER YOU THINK YOU CAN AFFORD IT OR NOT.