Distressed divers on the surface

[Tortuga James]

Renate Edwards of Atlantis IV Charters posted this very helpful link on her Facebook page.

Drowning Doesn’t Look Like Drowning

I haven't had to swim anybody down this year, but I have had a couple instances where I thought I was going to have to. After reading this article, I am going to add to my briefing that "if I ask you if you are ok, or if I am trying to get your attention, then you need to respond that you are alright."

One example was that I had a diver jettison from the hangline and then drift slowly behind the boat in the current with his face in the water. He was still breathing from his reg and moving his arms. I was yelling and banging on the boat and finally I threw the poly ball on the tag line and hit him on the head. He then looked up and responded. He was just looking at his friends on the hang. His AL80 got positive and he couldn't stay at 15'.

 

[tekdvr2]

The article is spot on!

Thanks,

tb

 

[Capt.Ed]

Yeah,
I was out a couple of weeks ago and a diver surfaced about 300 yards from the boat, we had a pretty heavy current. He was the first one up but we had numerous divers directly below the boat doing a safety stop and getting ready to recover divers. I signaled to him and nothing. In the meantime we were signaling him and checking him w/ the binocculars. He had and smb but it was laying on the surface. We got nothing out of him for about 5 minutes and then finally he signaled with a wave and held his SMB up; no OK, no nothing for 5 minutes. I think the only reason he waved was because there was a boat of freedivers near him (500 yards away) that were idling over to check him out. We didn't move because we had about 15 divers on the ascent line and we needed a head count to ensure we had everyone (less the one in the water).
When we picked him up (he was about 3/4 of a mile away) he said his camera created too much drag and he couldn't swim against the current so he ascended (he had a big Ikelight SLR case) which was the right thing to do. When I asked him why he didn't signal he said he was too busy checking out the bait fish directly below him! I informed him that proper procedure upon surfacing is to make contact w/ the boat, shoot an OK, receive one back from the boat, and then go back to what ever it is you want to do...he said, "I know". If it was up to me I wouldn't have let him go back out on the second dive.

 

[Tortuga James]

Yeah,
I was out a couple of weeks ago and a diver surfaced about 300 yards from the boat, we had a pretty heavy current. He was the first one up but we had numerous divers directly below the boat doing a safety stop and getting ready to recover divers. I signaled to him and nothing. In the meantime we were signaling him and checking him w/ the binocculars. He had and smb but it was laying on the surface. We got nothing out of him for about 5 minutes and then finally he signaled with a wave and held his SMB up; no OK, no nothing for 5 minutes. I think the only reason he waved was because there was a boat of freedivers near him (500 yards away) that were idling over to check him out. We didn't move because we had about 15 divers on the ascent line and we needed a head count to ensure we had everyone (less the one in the water).
When we picked him up (he was about 3/4 of a mile away) he said his camera created too much drag and he couldn't swim against the current so he ascended (he had a big Ikelight SLR case) which was the right thing to do. When I asked him why he didn't signal he said he was too busy checking out the bait fish directly below him! I informed him that proper procedure upon surfacing is to make contact w/ the boat, shoot an OK, receive one back from the boat, and then go back to what ever it is you want to do...he said, "I know". If it was up to me I wouldn't have let him go back out on the second dive.

I had a similar instance last week, he held his speargun up, but did not deploy his SMB. Luckily I was able to radio a nearby dive boat that was off the hook and they picked him up for me. Since I originally posted that article, I have added to my pre-dive briefing that if you do surface off the line, make sure you make contact with the boat and let us know you are by putting your arms over headed in a ring. Most still neglect to do so.

 

[oldsalt]

Dealing with oblivious customers comes with the job. Since I am a frequent customer of dive boats, I try to consider the captain and divemasters position. On a dive charter off the Kona Coast, the captain went out in what I would consider hazardous conditions. When we arrived at the dive site I had decided I wouldn't go in because I couldn't imagine grabbing the boarding ladder in steep 5 ft seas. The captain aborted the dive. When one of the divers started to object, I interrupted him, pointing out that he had no responsibility for the safety of the passengers and crew. I hope I made the point. Those of us who accept responsibility for the lives of others must deal with those who have no clue.