Bolting to the surface...

[dytis-sm]

This was your first dive with him- I wouldn't go with him again. I certainly would not ascend with him either- I think it is fortunate you did not have a hold of his BC before he went up. Panic is the killer- you are obligated to help but not to compromise your health and life. It isn't unusual to see the people with the fanciest gear and all the bells and whistles screwing up.

Actually I am trying to make this a learning experience because I am sure it will happen again. I usually know the people I dive with and this was one exception which can easily occur again. I should have checked his air more often because obviously he is not and that may get him in trouble. Or he learned an invaluable lesson too. I did screw up on several occasions when I was starting out (never had an OOA situation however) and although I screwed up my buddies' dive, they were kind and supportive. There are some very kind and passionate divers out there that promote the sport by being supportive of newbies. I cannot say that for other sports.

I actually did go diving with that same buddy on the second dive for the day. I was checking air often, stayed shallow, had a long nice safety stop, and made it to the boat with 1200 psi of air for his 100 cf tank. I felt that this was the best way to move on. But I had to share with the board as I did want the input of the professionals and more experienced divers. As I already mentioned this was a learning experience with no injuries and it taught me how to dive with strangers...

 

[jwalko]

We had an instance like this a couple of weeks ago. I'm diving with a friend of mine. Another diver asks to join us. We're both a little reluctant, because 3 isn't really a buddy team. We agreed to turn when 1/3 of the first person's gas was used (who ever used 1/3 first). So we turn the dive and are coming back up. We get to about 30' and all of a sudden this guy disappears. My buddy and I both stop...check around 360 degrees and don't see him. My buddy signals he is going to the surface to check on him...and I continue to scan the bottom (we're in about 50' at this time and I can see the bottom). My buddy comes back (I'm at about 25' at this point). We stay at 25' and swim back to the dock where we complete a safety stop and then surface. My buddy is pissed that he had to surface to check on this guy without initially doing his safety stop (probably not the best thing to do...but at the time we didn't know where he went and were worried he descended instead of ascending). I have some words with him...telling him how it isn't right what he did (ok...my words were a bit stronger). His answer was that he couldn't get his dry suit to vent...and that it was OK because he was breathing nitrox (Ok...Really???...so I guess this means you can't embolize...or get DCS if you are breathing Nitrox...OK...rant over). I didn't go on the second dive with this guy...but guess what...he did it again. Fortunately, the second dive was much shallower with a max depth of about 30'. We did have a discussion before the first dive...and after the first dive. Didn't make any difference. I'm not sure...but I think his reasoning on the second dive again was that he couldn't vent his dry suit.

 

[TSandM]

This was your first dive with him- I wouldn't go with him again. I certainly would not ascend with him either-

I think this is a very unfortunate reaction to the story the OP told. What you do after this dive is debrief it . . . you talk about how the diver came to run out of gas, what happened when you began to air-share, and how the buoyancy was lost or why the diver bolted. Then you assess the discussion. If the person is contrite and chagrined, and wants to fix the problems, then by all means, dive with him again! He wants to improve. Anybody here who has never made a serious mistake on a dive has my salute . . . I can't number myself among you.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I think this is a very unfortunate reaction to the story the OP told. What you do after this dive is debrief it . . . you talk about how the diver came to run out of gas, what happened when you began to air-share, and how the buoyancy was lost or why the diver bolted. Then you assess the discussion. If the person is contrite and chagrined, and wants to fix the problems, then by all means, dive with him again! He wants to improve. Anybody here who has never made a serious mistake on a dive has my salute . . . I can't number myself among you.

... a good mutual friend of ours refers to them as "I'll never do that again" moments ... and they can be as valuable as a class when it comes to self-improvement. Everyone makes mistakes ... those who decide to learn from them generally go on to become better divers ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[tdtaylor]

Terry, what was this task loading that distracted you from rescue?

We had started measuring an underwater object and had lights, slates, etc. hanging on us. He had calmed (or so it appeared), and we had plenty of air in 2 separate tanks. Our slates had gotten tangled up. It was just 4 to 5 seconds to untangle and clip off.

Since everything was under control, no reason to take 5-10 seconds, relax and get situated before we started our accent.

Terry

 

[DevonDiver]

We had started measuring an underwater object and had lights, slates, etc. hanging on us. He had calmed (or so it appeared), and we had plenty of air in 2 separate tanks. Our slates had gotten tangled up. It was just 4 to 5 seconds to untangle and clip off.

As you may now appreciate - this is the underlying principle behind why many experienced/technical/cave/wreck divers adopt a minimalist/K.I.S.S. approach to equipment selection, configuration and stowage.

I learnt a similar lesson myself many years ago. My experience was a dramatic free-flow in cold (4 celcius), deep (36m/120ft), dark water. The large amount of kit that I was carrying at the time, along with ill-considered stowage, caused significant stress and distraction when I really needed to concentrate upon handling the emergency.

Since everything was under control, no reason to take 5-10 seconds, relax and get situated before we started our accent.

Absolutely. But.... those 5-10 seconds should be spent focusing / problem-solving / stress-managing to help resolve the incident. Any distractions that are detrimental to the swift, calm and successful resolution of the incident should be dissected, understood and avoided in the future.

For instance, (as is common with most technical/overhead divers);

1) I don't use retractors or cords on my equipment. Everything is tied directly to a bolt-snap and stowed in pockets. - End of 'tangled slates problem.
2) I don't use 'pistol grip' torches. I use a flash-light style LED torch (or umbilical) that is mounted in a Goodman (or soft Goodman) mount. - My hand/s are free to use throughout the dive.
3) I don't use big slates. I use either 'wetnotes' (waterproof notebook) or a wrist slate. - Easily stowed and/or not requiring a hand occupied and not requiring lanyard/retractors etc.

 

[Centrals]

Both my primary and secondary 2nd stages are the same. And I do test my redundancy from time to time.
Too many divers are ignoring this life saving device eg. let it dangling freely, drag along the bottom.

 

[Mike.D]

I did a dive without my secondary clipped to its usual place in my harness and it dragged in the sand without me knowing. Had i been in an emergency i think i may have had a problem. Ended up being a expensive lesson. Never again...

 

[kaerius]

Talking a good game, and having expensive gear does not equate to experience! That is something else that is good to learn too! lol! I remember seeing a guy pull a body bag full of gear onto a boat, telling stories about diving for 40 years, and start pulling out well used, high end gear. But when he mounted the BC backwards on the tank.. we all just rolled our eyes, and offered some help. It happens...

I've met an instructor who assembled a customer's gear with the reg upside down and had no idea what went where on the customer's wing, I(as another customer) had to step in and correct it(the gear was brand new, and the diver inexperienced and hadn't used it before), I also had to teach the customer how to put on their wing.

 

[windapp]

I know these situations happen fast. It's important to take control in a situation like this and let the diver know that YOU are on it! Grab his bc and never lose eye contact. If you can get eye contact then your buddy is much less likely to bolt to the surface. You can actually communicate better than one would think with just your eyes. Plus you will quickly see if the diver is having trouble getting air. It will relax the diver, make the exchange more efficient, and make surfacing more efficient.

However its easy to respond with text book answers on a forum. I have been in several situations like this and one time I did not perform the way I had hoped. Evening worked out but I did a poor job in my opinion.

Glad everything is ok! Oh and if my partner bolts he is on his own until I get there safely.

This whole thread really should be in accidents and incidents near misses. I agree with bbarnett. Regardless of any errors your buddy made, your number one error was taking your eyes off of him prior to completing the air share, and making sure he was OK. In all probably, your buddy received the regulator upside-down which is why he couldn't clear it. I think that we can all learn from this. When practicing air share, we should look our buddy in the eye, signal to see if he/she is OK, and grab his/her BCD prior to doing anything else. You have provided us with a real-life example as to why all of these things are important.