Almost a bad situation!

[lobbolt]

Ok,
I have a question as to the appropriate way to handle a situation I was in yesterday.

We had just finished a dive at a local quarry here in Indiana and was enjoying a picnic lunch between dives when we heard something crash into the water. When we looked out into the quarry we saw that someone had fallen from a cliff ledge about 20 feet into the water. He soon yelled for help and we jumped up from lunch and began putting our gear on to help him out.

He was able to get out of the water before we got to him, and other then being very cold (the water was about 65 degrees yesterday) he was ok.

Here's my question - I have never been trained in rescue diving, and I am a new diver. I have logged 14 dives to date. Should I have taken the action I did and got in the water to help? I feel very comfortable in my skills as a diver, but I have never been in a situation like a rescue. The problem I have is - there is no way I could have sit and watch that kid struggle in the water when I could have helped. :06:

There are several other ways that you could've helped without getting in the water. I am a new diver too, and I also am a surf life guarding instructor. The worst thing you could've done in that situation was getting in the water yourself, with or without dive gear. Most attempts of rescuing a drowning person by a untrained rescuer usually end up as 2 dead, instead of one. What you should've done was to call for help from others and 911, or toss a floating object to the drowning person. Don't underestimate the strength a drowning person has, in his/her last attempt to survive.

I'm glad the guy was ok.