buddy out of air emergency...and the lessons learned

[PerroneFord]

Les,

Again, I think you did a great job, and that's mirrored by the other responses here. I wonder if I would have done as well under the circumstances.

 

[Meister481]

Great job! Sounds like you did everything you could. A better pre dive check would have headed off the problem, but that's unfortunately how things work out. I find many divers reluctant to submit to or be bothered by what I consider the most important part of the dive. They take it as an affront to their skill as a diver.

In my early training I was taught to fix things underwater. I find this a valuable skill, but I don't think it's feasible with an OOA situation. Consider the fact that you have an upset diver sucking hard on the same 1st stage as you. It might freeze, you might run low yourself, you just never know. I will surface with an OOA unless it's impossible to do so beacuse of an overhead environment or deco ceiling.

The way I present a safety check to an insta buddy is that I want to check out their cool gear, that usually gets the diver in the proper mindset and happy to do the same to me. I consider complacency to be the most dangerous thing I see on the dock. Just my .02.

 

[jeckyll]

....
It's a judgement call.

-P

I agree. I've remember having a finstrap 'unwind' itself and we fixed it in the water (which is not easy in a group with drygloves and 5mm neoprene gloves) and continued the dive. I was with people whom I know and it wasn't a big deal (though I looked rather like a cow on rollerskates trying to maneuver with my single fin).

I guess for me it really would depend on the circumstances and if I knew the person or not.

Anyways, I need to pack my gear, Les and I are going diving

Bjorn

 

[Captain_Frog]

I have a buddy who has really learned his lesson about seperation. This last weekend, he ran out of air at 48 feet, had to make a CESA and got another breath from his tank at 18 feet. He stayed there as long as he could and the surfaced. Several minutes later he was incapasitated with the bends and had to be air lifted out. I saw it all happen and it is one thing I never want to go through myself. If you become seperated, I think you should surface after searching for one minute. Just like it says in the PADI O/W book. If it means you can avoid spending a week in recompression, it is worth it to end the dive. Bad stuff....

 

[Sideband]

I have a buddy who has really learned his lesson about seperation. This last weekend, he ran out of air at 48 feet, had to make a CESA and got another breath from his tank at 18 feet. He stayed there as long as he could and the surfaced. Several minutes later he was incapasitated with the bends and had to be air lifted out. I saw it all happen and it is one thing I never want to go through myself. If you become seperated, I think you should surface after searching for one minute. Just like it says in the PADI O/W book. If it means you can avoid spending a week in recompression, it is worth it to end the dive. Bad stuff....

Huh? He tried to do a safety stop on one breath of air? Sounds like he missed the "C" part and just did an ESA if he got bent.


Joe

 

[PerroneFord]

I have a buddy who has really learned his lesson about seperation.

No, your buddy had an accident. Whether he learned his lesson remains to be seen. Hopefully, his behavior will be modified after this emotional event.

 

[Captain_Frog]

Huh? He tried to do a safety stop on one breath of air? Sounds like he missed the "C" part and just did an ESA if he got bent.


Joe

Well, he stayed there for as long as he could.

 

[mikerault]

During my descent to 40 feet for my Nav cert last week I noticed the reg breathing hard, I looked at the spg and it was fluctuating with my breathing. I signalled to the instructor to check the valve, she did and it was nearly closed (I could swear I fully opened it when I did my pressure check) anyway, it was no emergency, it didn't require a return to the surface and was handled calmly. Maybe next time just reach back and check his valve before surfacing...usually a failed reg fails open, a lack of air usually means a closed valve.

Mike

 

[jeckyll]

I have a buddy who has really learned his lesson about seperation. This last weekend, he ran out of air at 48 feet, had to make a CESA and got another breath from his tank at 18 feet. He stayed there as long as he could and the surfaced. Several minutes later he was incapasitated with the bends and had to be air lifted out. I saw it all happen and it is one thing I never want to go through myself. If you become seperated, I think you should surface after searching for one minute. Just like it says in the PADI O/W book. If it means you can avoid spending a week in recompression, it is worth it to end the dive. Bad stuff....

I would think the lesson here would be about gas management and planning.