Diving "Etiquette" and the lack thereof

[ScubaJoy65]

My significant other, Lee, and I just returned from drift diving in the waters off Jupiter, Florida. Lee is a Master Diver with over 200 dives under his belt. In his entire diving career he has never had a major incident underwater... until yesterday. Upon descent, his BCD inflator hose gave way. He heard a pop as he tried to discharge the air from his BC.

He sensed that something was wrong but his descent continued until he landed on the bottom on his knees with 80 feet of water above him. He then tried to inflate with no lift response. Little did he know but his bladder was quickly filling with water. One of the other divers on the drift dive saw what happened and came over to show Lee that his inflator hose was detached and broken. And then the diver swam away and continued with his dive.

Yes, you read this right... the diver saw a fellow diver in distress and he swam off and left the distressed diver! Nice diving "etiquette." (Good thing Lee didn't tell me this while we were on the boat or I would have had some choice words for this idiot.)

But I digress...Lee then decided he had to bale out on the dive due to the emergency situation. He made an attempt to swim to the surface. But his weights and lack of buoyancy worked against him. He decided to drop his weights and slowly swam to the surface.

The good news is my seasoned and smart diver-love, Lee, was able to keep from panicking and did an emergency swim to the surface with his tank still attached. But what if he hadn't been able to do that. What if panic had set in as the other selfish diver left him there to figure out what to do? What if Lee had not been able to get out of this and had - - oh, I don't know - - died? How would that non-caring individual have felt for leaving a distressed diver behind?!

I guess my expectations that others would want to help their fellow divers are just too high. But come on people, diving is such a wonderful sport and there are so few of us that know, love and appreciate what the underwater world has to offer. We really must have high expectations that we will help each other in times of need. Don'tcha think?! I know I do.

Lee and I have discussed it and affirmed that part of our diving credo is to never leave another diver in distress and help other divers in times of need.

 

[fairybasslet]

Were you diving too? If so, weren't you with him? About the other diver, maybe he/she had a buddy to look after? What about the dive master? I know that on some boats in Jupiter, they don't really have one per se. They're used to pretty independent divers.

 

[ScubaJoy65]

Were you diving too? If so, weren't you with him? About the other diver, maybe he/she had a buddy to look after? What about the dive master? I know that on some boats in Jupiter, they don't really have one per se. They're used to pretty independent divers.

Yes, I was diving but I had lost track of where he was in the initial descent while I was manipulating my gauges. Lee and I are both independent divers so I was certain we'd connect somewhere along the drift dive. (In fact, I spent the remainder of the dive looking for him which was quite stressful to me.) Also, in drift diving you typically dive in packs not so much buddies.

Due to the fact that it was a drift dive, the dive master was leading the way and didn't realize Lee had to bale out on the dive until after she was on the boat.

But even if you have a dive buddy and you see another diver in distress - does one leave the diver in distress? I guess it's akin to seeing someone get robbed or attacked on land. What do you do? Use the fact that you're going somewhere with your spouse or partner as an excuse not to do anything? Or take a moment to stop and help the distressed person out?

By a persons actions one really shows the type of person they are and that is exactly what happened underwater, too.

 

[Doc Intrepid]

With great respect, please understand that communications can sometimes be difficult - both on land, in the office environment, and especially underwater - (to say nothing about posting to scuba forums...)

It remains unclear whether the other diver perceived that Lee was in distress.

Did Lee request assistance and it was denied? Did Lee communicate a 911 to the other diver? (Did Lee request help?)

(IOW, if I were in Lee's exact same situation, and another diver swam up to me, perceived I was in distress, and - absent any request for assistance from me - proceeded to render assistance when I had not requested any, I would have been nonplussed to say the least.)

It's sometimes tough with some diver's being truly independent types and being self-sufficient underwater and other's NOT being that way, to know when aid is expected - much less render it 'appropriately' - absent clear communications.

(Had the diver gone about rendering aid without being asked to, that also may have been perceived as 'rude'...)

I agree with you that there are many people in all walks of life, who pursue all sorts of activities, who are either insensitive or downright rude. Perhaps this is one of those occasions.

From what you've posted, however, you don't comment on whether Lee requested assistance or not. I agree that the other diver ought to have inquired - but seeing Lee diving basically solo (if you were his buddy, and you were not immediately in a position to render assistance then at that specific time Lee is diving solo - whether you define it that way or not) the other diver may well have been justified in thinking that Lee had the situation under control (which in fact he did - in this case).

I can certainly see how you would perceive the other diver's actions as rude.

I'm simply pointing out that as a reader of a thread on a forum, this is not immediately apparent to some readers - and had I seen a solo diver in Lee's situation I would have certainly inquired as to whether he wanted assistance or not. But I would not have been astonished if he had calmly indicated that, 'no, I have the situation under control', and I would also at that point have continued on with my dive.

Sometimes different people can view the exact same set of circumstances, and draw different meanings and understandings of what is going on from them.

Glad that all turned out well, that lessons were learned, and that you and Lee have come up with new protocols that should keep you both safer.

Regards,

Doc

 

[princessaprilia]

First off, I'm so glad that Lee is okay. Big pats on the back for not freaking out, taking control and surfacing safely.

Unfortunately, it's a sad lesson learned. Even when you are in a group of divers, you can't assume you will receive help if needed. There have been a few threads about whether or not someone would be willing to take the "risk" of helping another diver... the answers from some people disturbed me.

You can have high expectations that you would help someone in an emergency, but it is foolish to have high expectations that someone else shares in your desire.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

This was not the others divers responsibility it was yours as his "buddy". As for him dropping his weights why did he ditch the tank and do a CESA. That was not necessary. Had he been properly weighted he could have ditched just the weights and had enough buoyancy to ascend safely with his gear. And the bladder would not fill with water. It would equalize with the pressure around it and stop. Yes it would add extra weight but this would have been offset by YOUR BC's lift had you been where you were supposed to be.

And drift dives are not done in packs. It may appear that way but in fact responsible divers dive in buddy pairs which is probably where the other dive went. To be with his buddy once he saw YOUR BUDDY was not in any real distress. On a drift dive you enter the water together, sort out issues TOGETHER, and end the dive if there are any that cannot be resolved TOGETHER. When you don't do these things and communicate effectively people get very dead, very easily. Fiddling with your gauges is no excuse. Your communications were not sufficient for the dive, you were not diving as a buddy pair, he was in no real distress, and had an issue that he was able to solve. Perhaps the other diver thought that this was the case and that your boyfriends "BUDDY" would show up to take their PROPER place with him?

Your analogy as to getting mugged holds no water. You do not leave your spouse or partner if it would endanger them. You left him they did not. You should read the "Who is responsible" thread in the New Divers forum. Had he been in real distress and the other diver not been around and he died it would have been on your head as his buddy.

I don't know where you trained but it did not impress on you what buddy's are, what communication is, and how to stay together. And what is your idea of this so-called "independent diver"? I have never heard of this. I KNOW what a solo diver is and I know what it is to be independent. But neither of these describes what you are doing. You left your designated dive teammate or he left you. That is not being independent, that is being reckless and foolish. DM led drift dives are the time when buddy skills need to be at their peak because of things like this. People get this false sense of security and think someone else will handle the problem if it occurs. Instead they are dangerous and, to me, a stupid way to dive if that's what it means to do them.

I stay with my buddy or dive alone. There is no middle ground and I expect others to do the same. When diving with my buddy we respond to issues together and when alone I expect other buddy teams to do the same. I most likely would not have noticed your boyfriends problem but if I had I would not have left him. I would have made it a point to ask you where you were though! And I do not do pack dives.

 

[IceBergSlim]

My significant other, Lee, and I just returned from drift diving in the waters off Jupiter, Florida. Lee is a Master Diver with over 200 dives under his belt. In his entire diving career he has never had a major incident underwater... until yesterday. Upon descent, his BCD inflator hose gave way. He heard a pop as he tried to discharge the air from his BC.

He sensed that something was wrong but his descent continued until he landed on the bottom on his knees with 80 feet of water above him. He then tried to inflate with no lift response. Little did he know but his bladder was quickly filling with water. One of the other divers on the drift dive saw what happened and came over to show Lee that his inflator hose was detached and broken. And then the diver swam away and continued with his dive.

Yes, you read this right... the diver saw a fellow diver in distress and he swam off and left the distressed diver! Nice diving "etiquette." (Good thing Lee didn't tell me this while we were on the boat or I would have had some choice words for this idiot.)

But I digress...Lee then decided he had to bale out on the dive due to the emergency situation. He made an attempt to swim to the surface. But his weights and lack of buoyancy worked against him. He decided to drop his weights and slowly swam to the surface.

The good news is my seasoned and smart diver-love, Lee, was able to keep from panicking and did a CESA. But what if he hadn't been able to do that. What if panic had set in as the other selfish diver left him there to figure out what to do? What if Lee had not been able to get out of this and had - - oh, I don't know - - died? How would that non-caring individual have felt for leaving a distressed diver behind?!

I guess my expectations that others would want to help their fellow divers are just too high. But come on people, diving is such a wonderful sport and there are so few of us that know, love and appreciate what the underwater world has to offer. We really must have high expectations that we will help each other in times of need. Don'tcha think?! I know I do.

Lee and I have discussed it and affirmed that part of our diving credo is to never leave another diver in distress and help other divers in times of need.

I would guess it is because a non-functioning inflator is no reason to panic and a CESA is not exactly the best reaction to such a minor inconvenience.

He still had gas? It was just the inflator that crapped out on him?

Why would he choose to do a CESA under those conditions?

Basic Open water teaches the oral inflate technique. That might have been the smarter option rather than a rush to the surface.

 

[Doc Intrepid]

Jim, I don't think he ditched the tank.

(Tank would have been full, and reg was working...)

He likely didn't do a "CESA" per se...no reason to.

Sounds like he just dropped weights and swam up, breathing normally during the ascent.

 

[scubafanatic]

...kinda similar thing happened to me a few years back, on the T & C Explorer....was @ 90 ft. and suffered a runnaway inflator on the left side...went up to 40 ft. before 'powering' my way back down to the rest of the group and reaching the DM, who helped me disconnect the inflator hose...then I just switched over to my right-side back-up inflator (I dive a dual bladder wing)...and what was a bit funny was right after that another diver in the group tried to be helpful and reconnect my left (bad) inflator...I shooed him away pointing out my other inflator was operational and I was 'OK'......almost suffered from too much help that day!
...I won't get into the whole issue of dive-buddy procedures...but will say if another dive shows up in the middle of your 'emergency'....is there because of the 'emergency'...understands the nature of the 'emergency'...well then, he/she is now 'involved' and has chosen to accept some measure of responsibility....so swimming off at that point is completely bizarre and not something I would consider 'normal/reasonable' behavior.

Karl

 

[JeffG]

Jim, I don't think he ditched the tank.

(Tank would have been full, and reg was working...)

He likely didn't do a "CESA" per se...no reason to.

Sounds like he just dropped weights and swam up, breathing normally during the ascent.

Thats how I read it as well.