What whould I have done?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Quote:
Originally Posted by DandyDon
Thanks for your rational post, but I guess we were posting at the same time...
Okay, this is what your link showed us, my thoughts are in bold. Your story:
"Buddy missing on surface - What would you have done?
I met up with two other divers at a popular practice hole across the state line to descend as a trio [To start off with, a bad idea- if you really adhere to the buddy system. Three-ways don't work]to the 81 ft bottom. I've dived with one several times before, the other as part of a group tour to Belize - saw both of them as multi-card vacation divers [and this means (?)...]who should know what they're doing. Your second error. I try to avoid my nature of wanting to tell them what I think we should do [Your shyness and deference is contrary to accepted diving practices where one 'plans the dive' and gets all contingencies on the table. That's #3.], and respected their training [Their c-cards?] and experiences enough (they'd both done this hole several times before) enough to just participate in group discussion of the dive plan. [What's that, now?]
I don't like diving trios, as that's twice as many buddies for me [So you were supposed to watch the both? It's really not done that way, each is assigned one, a daisy chain, as it were] to watch, but we did our gear checks and went in for what was supposed to be a simple practice dive. With the 5,000 ft elevation, we adjusted the time limit accordingly. Two lessons I did pickup from the experience that I'll mention now:
1-I wrote on my slate in indelible pen "Please stay close" so I'll remember show it to buddies on future diving planning, advising I may point to it later if I feel a need, also as a reminder in case the other(s) are casual about that. Not had that problem with these either of these two before, but - the dive site is viewed a bit boring to all 3 of us, a feeling to change in this story.
2-We had a very interested and willing bubble-watcher along, and I should have suggested "Okay, let's pretend [If that's her assignment, it aint pretend. Kinda hard to bubble watch just 3 in a crowd, though.] she is the boat crew and give her our okay signals before descending and after surfacing" as well as explaining to the watcher to return okays, or call for help if she saw a waving diver. On the next trip there, this watcher was now a paper carded newbie, and we did use both of these ideas, the latter adjusted - "remember to signal each other before and after the dive."
At the bottom, the other two seemed causal about staying in good buddy contact, and I recall feeling uncomfortable about trying to keep both close as I shot a few pics with my new strobe. This was supposed to be a practice [Was that everyone's plan?] and check any new gear dive, with two experienced divers! We did get the trio tighter tho, swam around a bit. No one told me when they hit 1500# [Was that in the plan?] (added that to my permanent slate list too) the simplest of hand signals but one of them [And the other? Already lost? Or just didn't signal? Wasn't asked?] did signal when he hit 1000# and we started our slow ascent, 1 minute stop at 40 ft, 3 minutes or more below 12 ft, but then we got separated by an OW class doing skills on the lines. I kept looking around, but felt we'd made it that far together, so I wasn't very concerned that time. I am more intent on that now, with the permanent request on my slate for a point-to communication. [Hope you don't forget/lose that slate or ever dive with a Ruskie.]
On the surface, I signaled my usual buddy who signaled okay back, but didn't' see the other?! I looked around again, looked to the bubble watcher asking where is so-and-so but I know now she didn't understand what I said and her "I don't know" signal was conveying that. [So no pre planned signals. Sounds like she was just watching the cheese sandwiches] At the time I thought she didn't know where he was. (see above lessons noted)
Having 700# in my back tank, 3000# in my 19 cf pony with both spgs easy to reach, and a computer well within the green zone - my reaction [I have a lot of "reactions". Some have gotten me slapped in bars.] was to tell usual buddy I was going back to search. I did not feel good about it, but then who would feel good the moment. I felt less comfortable later, [You're hitting on something there!] and worked on prevention of ever repeating the problem, but have decided to ask other trained and experienced divers - what would you have done at the moment...?? [I would have waited at the surface for "that usual buddy" to tell me that my planned descent and search was bull goose looney and that he wasn't going to join me. ]
I did a quick search of the 60 ft diameter bottom, then started a circling ascent, with another safety stop and exit with the pony nearly dry, my back tank with 450#. Having not found him in the hole, I left the water to check the parking lot before callng out, and then learned from the bubble watcher that the missing diver was at his car. He didn't say much, nor did I - as I wanted to cool my temper for a while before speaking, but he loaded up and left the site before I did - 200 miles back, skipping the other planned dives.
Yep, it was a continuation of the dive when I descended again - realized that at the time and did so only after checking my computer which was quite happy - well within the green. For the record, 700# in an 80 cf tank should be plenty for a diver to make a somewhat safe ascent from 80 ft, in addition to the 3000# 19 cf I used for the bounce - so yes, I did have backup gas to ascend if the other source failed. I had the pony gauge in one hand for the entire time I used it. Not defending the action, but clarifying that I did have the equivalent of 1450# for the extension of the dive.
Again, it was a spur of the moment reaction [Remember what happens to me in bars as mentioned above!] to search for a missing buddy - with 1450#, a happy computer, dive light in one hand and spg in the other, ending with a safety stop. I did not feel good about it at the time, less so afterwards.[Another hindsight view.]
"endquote
So fifteen different ways you realized after some thought that you executed a bad dive plan. We all agree.
But you have a "question". Your question is, "what would you do", inferring that if another would do less he should be... what... less heroic?
You can defend your moves socially, mathematically, or whatever. If you're going to do ill advised stuff, it really won't matter. If you're croaked, you're croaked. Sometimes they write books about boneheaded divers but submarines usually are the key to selling books.
One's best role? Report the incident and organize or assist in the rescue process. Your one-man futile search could have been amplified manifold had you gotten to the entry point and coralled some more divers. Your communication skills to the other divers at the surface who ignored you? Apparently not sufficient.
Your best role is as a resource of information to a dive team with zero bottom time. Tell them (hopefuly rescue trained) what, where, when, etc. Help them make a plan if the don't get it. Better they descend for 35 minutes and grope about than what 1450 pounds of air can do. Your meager efforts were, I am sorry to say, a waste. Luckily the victim "wasn't".
Pre-dive communication & planning, underwater communication, surface communication, incident management.
You asked. That's it.
Don, I gottta tell'ya... lose the pony tank. (or have I said that before? )
