Cave diver drowns - Jackson Blue Springs, Florida

[steinbil]

I asked Edd about this, and essentially you are putting the reg in the divers face so that's all they see, and simultaneously controlling their upper arm with your other hand. The idea is that what they really want is the regulator, but if they are in fight mode and continue to go for the one in your mouth, you can turn them away from you. You don't want to do anything aggressive because they are already in survival mode. If you know about ocean rescue of a panicked swimmer, it's something similar, you go underwater and turn them around if they try to climb on your head.

That doesn't sound wildly different from what I was taught in GUE fundies. I was told to present the reg calmly right in front of the OOG diver, easy to see and grab, and to grab their elbow/arm to reassure them and as GI3 said in the DIR tapes "take control of the situation". Obviously no aggressive moves, and there wasn't much emphasis on defending/turning them around, but to stabilize and make sure the OOG diver is ok and calm.

 

[billgraham]

That doesn't sound wildly different from what I was taught in GUE fundies. I was told to present the reg calmly right in front of the OOG diver, easy to see and grab, and to grab their elbow/arm to reassure them and as GI3 said in the DIR tapes "take control of the situation". Obviously no aggressive moves, and there wasn't much emphasis on defending/turning them around, but to stabilize and make sure the OOG diver is ok and calm.

That's solid technique and I think the defensive angle is highlighted by the description of what went on before he got there. Another good takeaway from this is the chaotic scene and inability of the other divers present in the cave to communicate with each other and Edd.

 

[tmassey]

If you know about ocean rescue of a panicked swimmer, it's something similar, you go underwater and turn them around if they try to climb on your head.

Thank you for this, both asking Edd directly and your description.

I loved panic diver on the surface in my rescue class. And the concept you’re conveying really translates: grab their opposite hand, spin them around and grab them from behind. You’re not actually doing that in this case, but you’re prepared to.

My original open water instructor told us that the octo was not for a buddy, the octo was for us when our out of gas buddy grabs ours out of our mouth. I’ve repeated that to a couple of people and got blasted, saying that nobody has ever seen an out of air diver react in a panicked way. It’s interesting to hear anecdotes in this thread to the contrary.

I know that this concept is something that I have now been thinking about and will definitely add elements of to my out of air practice. It doesn’t even really change anything that the out of a gas diver will necessarily even notice, which I guess is kind of the point: do nothing to provoke them while making sure you can still stay in control of the situation. If anything, it’s just as much mental preparation and mindset on the part of the donating diver. Anyway, thanks for your reply.