Had to use my safety sausage in Cozumel.

[charmygirl]

Just got back from a trip to Cozumel with my father. We had been diving and talking with a family (Mom, Dad, Son-16, Daughter-19) the previous day and were looking forward to a dive on Palancar reef. At the start of the dive, I noticed the daughter signaling her brother (her buddy) that she was in trouble. Her brother wasn't getting it and wanted to go on with the dive. I interceded (as she was going into panic mode) and told the son to buddy up with my Dad (my buddy) and signaled her to come with me. I figured she was just freaking a little and we would be back down shortly. I calmed her down and she and I made a slow ascent to the surface where she told me her reg wasn't breathing right - she could hardly get any air at the surface, less at depth. I checked her tank, it was hardly on. I checked her reg, it showed no improvement and her octopus was worse - no air at all. I made her inflate her BC and reached for my safety sausage. I inflated it and did the distressed diver signal.

It took me ten minutes to get the boat's attention. Finally, another boat came over and radioed our boat. (They told me that all three on the boat were looking at the engine.) Even after getting on the boat, I noticed a buddy pair from our boat a long way off and had to tell the boat captain and mates multiple times that they needed to get over and pick them up.

So, I was really hacked off at the boat guys for their lack of attention, but what really got me was the way the daughter and her family didn't seem to grasp the seriousness of the situation. They thought it was no big deal. For the rest of the week, I watched her not check her gear and have "issues" at the beggining of many dives. It got to the point that my father and I would intentionally not look her way because we didn't want to be responsible for helping her. She was in her own little world, not realizing that her life was in her hands.

K

P.S. When I got home, I thanked my brother for attaching the safety sausage to my BC - even though I had never asked for it.

 

[RDP]

Scary!!!

It's bad enough when there is a true malfunction. I will never understand why something so serious can be taken so lightly.

 

[Charlie99]

Audible signals such as a whistle or the ear splittingly loud Dive Alert have a better chance of getting the attention of someone who is daydreaming away on the boat and isn't looking because it isn't yet time for the divers to come up.


Lights, mirror, DSMB, surface signal tube, whistles and Dive Alert all have the unique advantages and disadvantages.

 

[cdiver2]

Who was the dive op that you used ?

 

[ShakaZulu]

This is the reason, why the DM's call the dive for everyone if there is a low air/emergency in drift dives. You did the right thing deploying the sausage, a whistle could have worked. If the dive boat spotters aren't paying attention, then you have a problem.

 

[Charlie99]

This is the reason, why the DM's call the dive for everyone if there is a low air/emergency in drift dives..

Why should the rest of the group and the guide pointing out the local fauna and flora abort a dive just because someone has a minor equipment problem or is an airhog. That's what buddies are for, although in this case, the buddy and the father weren't much help.

While there was a problem, Charmygirl had it under control and it doesn't sound to me like there was an emergency situation that called for the entire dive group to abort.

3 guys with their nose in the engine compartment aren't going to see 6 or 7 divers any better than they can see 2.

 

[rje634]

Like cdiver2 I'm curious what dive op you used. I'm heading to Coz begining of Sept. and would hate to be placed in the same situation that you've been in...

 

[Sue-ba]

I have a hard time understanding how parents that let their kids dive, do not watch them more carefully. I can't not watch them, reel them in, signal them, etc. constantly. I feel like a mother hen when we dive. If one of them was showing signs of stress, I would be right there. Incidently, we do not dive with the kids as much as we dive without them.

Maybe that is part of the problem. Maybe the parents do not dive any more than the kids, ie: once a year on vacation.

 

[DandyDon]

Who was the dive op that you used ?

Please! The operator deserves to be named!

You did great at saving the gal, and for all of the crew to look at the engine at once if just not acceptable.

 

[dtdiver]

reading these " near misses " postings, it is amazing the caring manifested by the scubaboarders.

so many potential disasters averted!

it makes me want to dive with a higher standard in mind. that is that we really are our brothers keepers.

i hope i can show the skill, fortitude, and altruistic attitude you all display daily in this incident and in the many others.

thanks for reminding me that there still are nice people around.

dt