Are you prepared?

[Kevfin]

Something to think about…

Have you ever been in a real diving rescue?

I know many have trained or been certified in Rescue.

However, training in a static/controlled environment is different from real life. There are a few agencies that make the training as real as possible. But, still in the back of your mind, you know it’s not real.

So, are you really prepared?

Do you know how your dive buddy reacts in a stress situation? Will they be level headed and calm or will they endanger your life and your own?

When someone is out of air or drowning, it can be one of the most dangerous situations you can deal with. People would literally kill their mothers to get air. They’ll do it without thinking.

Are you ready for your buddy, or someone you don't know in a dive group, to come up behind you, go to grab your regulator, knock your mask off, scratch your face, and then while you’re scrambling to figure out what’s happening, they are racing for the surface with your reg in their mouth?

What are you going to do if you see someone caught in a line or kelp and they’re panicking?

Have you figured out at what depth you will just ascend when you have equipment failure? How about your buddy? Were you trained about this in OW class?

What about when your buddy has an OOA situation, will he just calmly ascend? Personally, my equipment fails, and you’re more than 15 ft from me, and we’re about 70 ft from the surface, depending on the situation, I’m probably going to ascend. Do you and your buddy have a plan, like look up if you don’t see me around?


On a side note. This is why I admire tech divers for their redundancy and self-reliability. It’s not for everyone though and the level of training & equipment needed would probably seem insurmountable to some.

***Almost makes you want to be a solo diver… Except, I have had the displeasure of seeing dead divers, some that have been at depth for over 6 months… not a pleasant sight…that’s why I will never dive alone. I want my body brought up ASAP. ***

Just something to think about. You and your dive buddy should make sure you have some of this covered. Be prepared.

Suggestions or comments on the above?

Anyone have a good rescue they were involved in? What did you do and what did the victim do?

 

[drm]

I know what it's like to have a regulator ripped out of your mouth when a buddy runs out of air, and I know what it's like to have someone show you their pressure gauge with it reading zero. Luckily they were still breathing and I got them to the surface.

Knowing how you're going to handle these types of situations is important and make the difference between a safe return and a big messy situation. Being caught off gaurd with no idea of what to do is not a good option. Be prepaired for anything.

Dave Miner
www.divingindepth.com

 

[TheRedHead]

No offense, but I find your post rather morose. I haven't seen a rescue, but I know my buddy is not going to rip my reg out of my mouth because I always know how much air my buddy has. As of late, I gotten a lot smarter about the dive operations I use and check them out before making a reservation. No more cattle boats. I strive for small boats with experienced divers and dive operators who have received glowing reviews in publications like Undercurrents and on the net. An on-the-ball divemaster will be keeping an eye on everyone's air. And while I realize that doesn't always happen, I watch for those things in the operations I dive with.

I know how my buddy reacts to stress because I've kinown him for 24 years. I know where he is in the water at all times and he is absolutely dependable. I am grateful that I have not had to experience an insta-buddy.

Like driving, it is possible to dive defensively. It takes planning and forethought to avoid the types of situations you described.

 

[Rick Inman]

Have you ever been in a real diving rescue?

Well, a couple of scared diver aborts. One real OOA diver. Nothing much, really.

Do you know how your dive buddy reacts in a stress situation? Will they be level headed and calm or will they endanger your life and your own?

No one EVER knows until you are there. I do know a couple of buddies I dive with that we do surprise OOA all the time, and until the reg is returned with an OK, we don't know it's a drill. So, I guess I do know how that would go down on the donator's end.

Are you ready for your buddy, or someone you don't know in a dive group, to come up behind you, go to grab your regulator, knock your mask off, scratch your face, and then while you’re scrambling to figure out what’s happening, they are racing for the surface with your reg in their mouth?

Wait... wait... OK, now I'm ready!:05:

What are you going to do if you see someone caught in a line or kelp and they’re panicking?

Wait 'till they pass out or stop panicking. Or give them the Vulcan nerve pinch.

Have you figured out at what depth you will just ascend when you have equipment failure?

Yes. I have figured out not to ascend, but to solve my problems underwater.

What about when your buddy has an OOA situation, will he just calmly ascend? Personally, my equipment fails, and you’re more than 15 ft from me, and we’re about 70 ft from the surface, depending on the situation, I’m probably going to ascend. Do you and your buddy have a plan, like look up if you don’t see me around?

Please do not ascend from 70' when you have a buddy 15' away. At least, I wouldn't.

 

[spectrum]

Kevfin

Thanks for the reality check. I try to do this to myself. I'm only an OW diver with 76 dives and things have gne nicely. We need to remember that things can go wrong, nobody plans it, it just happens. We need to visiualize these situations just like we visualize the ideal dive. Training and practice are our friends.

Pete

 

[Hipshot]

Always remember that people can be very unpredictable when the SHTF, and although you think you know how your buddy would respond if a worst case scenerio should occur, br prepared for ANYTHING!!!!

 

[TheRedHead]

If you and your buddy have a plan and you are diving together and checking each other's gauges or computers, your buddy is not gong to run out of air barring a catastrophic loss of air. In that case, you should have a plan for that too. The truly unexpected thing in that scenario is having a total stranger attack you for your air supply. That could possibly happen, but you can reduce the chances of it by being careful. Check out the people on the dive boat. I do and I try to avoid diving near people I think are unsafe divers.

The deeper I dive, the pickier I become about who I'm diving with. On a 30 foot reef dive in Key Largo with no DM in the water, there is a small possibility of encountering a crazed diver after my air (I have this vision of Mike Nelson in a knife fight), but it's also likely that they would head to the surface in 30 feet of water.

I don't know. While I agree with planning for the unexpected, these scenarios are probably rare if one dives defensively. It's a fine line between alerting divers to possibilities and frightening newbies. When does preparation become paranoia?

 

[Walter]

I've had a few buddies run low on air and come up on my octo, but my rescues have been of folks who weren't my buddy. Joe dive runs out of air while trying to recover a 20 lb weightbelt and won't drop the belt. While I'm swimming with no gear, a panicked diver pops to the surface and puts me in a bear hug with my head underwater and no air supply. Those are the ones that come immediately to mind. There were many others. I'm ready. I do agree, class is not like real life, not only do you know it's not real, but the person teaching usually has no real experience either. I don't teach rescues the way I was taught, I teach what I learned while actually making rescues.

 

[Missdirected]

Dahmer didn't look like a killer.

 

[ProfessorAronnax]

Great Post. You've described some very real scenarios. Just like fire safety, dive safety needs to be practiced. As you know, when things go wrong, they go wrong fast and can go from bad to worse in moments. Maybe a seasonal safety drill with buddies should be the norm? I sometimes think the most dangerous thing you can face underwater is Complacency.