A question to an incident

[piikki]

Paniced diver = dive over. If I have to rescue someone, the dive is over. I never give anybody more than once chance to kill themselves on my watch.

But do you call it for everybody else too?

Also, I see no problem with returning to shore, especially if the diver was having any mental or physical issues. It's much safer to have someone weirded out on land than on water.

This actually makes sense as in it adds the post-incident mental freak-out aspect to the scenario. It also point out something that has not been brought up yet – what if the DM was so upset after all this he was not up for (another) dive, and the captain was not happy to continue the dive day without (the only) DM in the water. There are many divers who gladly dive without a DM but especially after something like this happens, a lot of captains would be particularly unsettled having a group in water without a crew member. ? Now, the captain might not have wanted to say that was the reason for calling the day because DM had already been the hero of the day (and he wanted him to be tipped).

As for the incident itself, if there was no medical suspicion or problem then monitor only seems fine to me. I really cant imagine any charter boat turning back because someone coughs and splutters a bit in the water. The diving should have continued. No need for coastguard to be informed in the above case.

If they suspected something more seriously then yes the day is over BUT coastguard should have been informed immediately so emergency services are waiting at the dock.

I still tend to agree with that though, especially from OP:s description of the victim’s behaviour after the incident. Talking about secondary drowning is blown out of a proportion nowadays because of couple of cases and all liability-BS. If it happened from just snorting a little water 2/3 of my childhood friends should be dead from all the horseplay we had in water!

Hopefully the OP is not participating because he got the issue solved. I doubt he has more details about the rescue because he was under water – his original issue was about the captain’s decision anyway.

 

[String]

It is mentioned several times in this thread that they (DM or father) should have reconnected the inflator hose. It's not possible to do that without closing the tank's valve and purging the pressure in the system before. It seems that rather long procedure was not an option in this case...

Yes it is. I assume you missed this on your basic open water training.

 

[Web Monkey]

I find it's only a little harder to connect the inflator hose when pressurized.

Dave C

That depends on the connector. The "drysuit" size connectors aren't too hard. The larger "SCUBAPro Air-2" size connectors require quite a bit more force and are extremely difficult to reattach with the air on.

Both are just about impossible with an uncooperative diver.

Terry

 

[dave4868]

That depends on the connector. The "drysuit" size connectors aren't too hard. The larger "SCUBAPro Air-2" size connectors require quite a bit more force and are extremely difficult to reattach with the air on.

Both are just about impossible with an uncooperative diver.

Terry

Great point about the difficulty of connecting the hose on an uncooperative diver!

Probably best, as you mentioned, to tow them back to the boat, or at least hold the victim at the surface until they settle down.

Dave C

 

[scubaskipper]

This all happened at the very beginning of the dive? Talk to the shop and get a rain check.

 

[ZenDiver.3D]

If this happened upon entry, she would have swallowed water at the surface. I am not real clear here, OP, did she descend or was this upon entry? If on entry and she is panicked at the surface, the DM only had to approach from the rear, cowboy her tanks, reach over and either orally inflate or connect her inflator hose. It is not a problem whether pressurized or not. I tach my students to do it above and below surface. Then push her off, let her calm down and tow her in.
Yes, she will be upset, but that is the safest way to handle her. She has no business in the water if something like this causes panic.
You, OP, deserve a rain check and another dive day from the boat. Either that, or your money back.

 

[Ayisha]

Even if she's 20 pounds overweighted, it shouldn't be an issue if you have a BC with a reasonable amount of lift.

Terry

If she has a BC made for her size, particularly a woman's BC, 20 lbs overweighted could be impossible to overcome using lift alone - (although we don't know if she was overweighted, how much or what equipment she had or if it was rented). For example, my small women's BC has 25 lbs of lift. If I were to be 20 lbs overweighted in addition to the 16 lbs I wear in very cold fresh water with a 2 piece 7mm and all the accessories, good luck not free-falling and getting off the bottom let alone being neutrally buoyant. I know from my early experience with a lot less overweighting than that. With the 9 lbs I wear with a full 3 mm in warm salt water, being 20 lbs overweighted would probably still be very difficult to deal with, and would definitely require kicking and swimming up to achieve positive buoyancy.

 

[Web Monkey]

If she has a BC made for her size, particularly a woman's BC, 20 lbs overweighted could be impossible to overcome using lift alone - (although we don't know if she was overweighted, how much or what equipment she had or if it was rented). For example, my small women's BC has 25 lbs of lift. If I were to be 20 lbs overweighted in addition to the 16 lbs I wear in very cold fresh water with a 2 piece 7mm and all the accessories, good luck not free-falling and getting off the bottom let alone being neutrally buoyant.

It doesn't really matter what the victim has for a BC or (within reason) weight. My SP Jacket BC, for example, has 75 pounds of lift. As long as I can get behind and under, the victim's head will be out of the water.

Although I don't generally advocate massively oversize wings and BCs, it is nice to be able to float yourself as well as assist someone else if necessary.

Terry

 

[Dadvocate]

Web Monkey--Terry

Assuming you got her to the surface in this fashion and she had her head above water, the next logical step is to remove her weights, right? I agree with you that there is no need to try and connect the inflator hose given the dive is essentially over anyway. This is a really good point. But I am not sure if you also implied that the weights would go as part of this process as well. Wouldn’t it be easier getting her to the boat with her head above water if she wasn't carrying that weight?

Cheers!

 

[Web Monkey]

Web Monkey--Terry

Assuming you got her to the surface in this fashion and she had her head above water, the next logical step is to remove her weights, right? I agree with you that there is no need to try and connect the inflator hose given the dive is essentially over anyway. This is a really good point. But I am not sure if you also implied that the weights would go as part of this process as well. WouldnÃÕ it be easier getting her to the boat with her head above water if she wasn't carrying that weight?

If she's really panicking, the next step is to stay away from any moving parts and wait for her to get tired and give up, then tow her in.

I'd rather play "grab the stick out of the wood chipper" than get anywhere near the business end of a panicking diver."

Terry