hypothetical scenario 4 our Monday morning quarterbacks 20 miles out & boats gone

[D_B]

I do believe the point that Puff is trying to make is you need to be proactive in your knowledge .. Am I new to this area? what is the direction of the current? does it change? are we near a shipping lane? what is the direction back to shore? what eme. equipment is the best for this area? do I know how to use it?

As he said, swimming was the correct answer in that, rare, 1 in 300, case .. he knew that was a viable option before he needed to do it
Edit: oops, late post

Scott, I'm kinda like you are, like to hike the desert alone, carry all kinds of stuff I hope never to need ... I am not going to be one of those lost, hungry (or dead) guys you read about (i would take a BFG, but the park service frowns on it when your better armed than they are)
welcome to the board

 

[Puffer Fish]

how did I miss this? (hi, Scott, welcome to our playpen)

I know the mental issues are huge, and it is so interesting. What puffer says about expectations....

I drifted once after getting lost (not an hour) with this war hero amputee big combat hero, and I never got nervous because of who he was. very strange to feel that much faith in another person, even though he really couldn't do anything about the situation.

I have started leaving a big intertube tied off on the site mooring recently...just cause it is so easy.

The guy who I was talking about also has his own boat, and he says that if it's your boat adrift, one diver removes tank and tries to catch the boat if it is close enough.

back to your question...hmm. I think I would tell the freaky person to shut up. Sometimes yelling at people gets them to snap out of it. (it works on me)

I can't think of one thing new. Pray?

I must say, I am very impressed with the Halcyon personal liferaft that stuffs behind your backplate. I think Jay might have it, somebody does.

I would keep my tank in case sharks attack to use as a shield. Sometimes they bump once and go away.

Try and keep arms and legs next to your body for better heat conservation. Roll up, if possible. Talk constructively so your mind doesn't take over. (my hurddle)

He was correct about the boat...

Regarding the panic issue... never happens when people feel there is hope and some confidence in what is going on. Having had the fun of several rescues of paniced people, calm, confident talk, and staying out of arm's reach (for your sake) always works. I have even told jokes to people while floating out in the middle of the ocean... Sometimes just keeping your mind on anything is a good idea.

 

[Puffer Fish]

I do believe the point that Puff is trying to make is you need to be proactive in your knowledge .. Am I new to this area? what is the direction of the current? does it change? are we near a shipping lane? what is the direction back to shore? what eme. equipment is the best for this area? do I know how to use it?

As he said, swimming was the correct answer in that, rare, 1 in 300, case .. he knew that was a viable option before he needed to do it
Edit: oops, late post

Scott, I'm kinda like you are, like to hike the desert alone, carry all kinds of stuff I hope never to need ... I am not going to be one of those lost, hungry (or dead) guys you read about (i would take a BFG, but the park service frowns on it when your better armed than they are)
welcome to the board

Thank you DB, my fault for not saying it correctly the first time.

 

[Cacia]

Jokes are good. If I am going to die, I want to be with funny people. I drifted another hour with JB, in a huge swell, before we were together, and I was shrieking "get those sausages UP!!!" after about 40 minutes and he just laughed at me, which was very calming. I do freak, at sea, I'll admit it. Once, I was on a boat in rough seas stuffing plastic trash bags in my shorts.

 

[UnderSeaBumbleBee]

Puffer, first let me say thank you for your military service. I am grateful to all those who serve and sacrifice so that we may retain our freedom.

Like you said you should always know as much about your dive site as possible and the possible dangers you face. Usually when folks get in trouble it is when something they have not considered or something that is not likely happens to them.

That being said, if you have thought through what will likely happen and have some basic safety gear and can keep your head chances are you will fair much better. If you have taken time to think through how you would act and not act when the situation rears its ugly head you will have a better chance of defeating you bad luck.

A friend of mind recently was award the highest honor from the Red Cross for saving someone's life that had a heart attack. He has a deep commanding voice. He said you practice giving commands in a clear voice and do clear exacting motions. He said when the time came he was screaming like a little girl for people to get back and out of the way and was very scared and upset and had a hard time thinking. He did the right things, but he said it wasn't pretty to watch. Had he not had training and forethought he would have been like everyone else who stood by not knowing what to do.

Should I ever find myself out in the water in trouble, I want to do everything I can to help someone come get me and take me to dry land. I will be adding a signal mirror to my next Leisure Pro order. They carry the plastic mirror that was listed as the best plastic mirror in the survival signaling link above. Hopefully, I will never be adrift, but if I am, I have learned some great stuff in this thread ahead of time. I think I would have took off swimming, but the argument for staying put if you can makes sense to me.

Here are some changes I am going to make:
add 2 signal mirrors
always dive with my lights day or night (3 lights 2 led and 1 primary)
have 2 safety sausages and spools
I already notify someone on land of where I will be and when they should expect a call from me

I really would like to learn more about how to calm people in panic. The demons in their head could kill the whole group. Some have suggested joking, touching, looking into the eyes, assigning tasks and so forth.

Another random thought here, could you keep a chunk of lead one end of the weight belt and then use it like some kind of weapon to sling and hit at something unpleasant in the water? I don't know if it would work, but it might make me feel better holding it.

 

[Cacia]

I already notify someone on land of where I will be and when they should expect a call from me

I never do that, and I should. That is one simple thing that could mean a lot. onfloat does, and if he doesn't answer, the phone rings and rings.

I am not practicaly willing to carry a lot of stuff. (have SMB)

If you disappeared, how long before someone would "do something?" in my case, it could be a week.

 

[UnderSeaBumbleBee]

I am single and live alone. I work in a job that is located in a bad neighborhood, many of our employees are not the finest citizens and are frequent customers of the local police. So whether work or play, I have people that check in on me or I check in with them everyday. Each of my check in contacts has the phone numbers for my other check in contacts, for my work, the local police, my neighbors and local people that I am susposed to be with, when diving, they know the location, dive plan, my dive buddies and have the numbers of those folks as well as other dive shops that I know will be in the area, so if my party is lost, someone else who knows the area might be able to be contracted and be of help.

 

[D_B]

My dive buddy makes sure that someone knows where he's going (wife) but that is something that I have to do more of

.. it does not take much/any room to carry a small backup light, mirror, and a whistle .. in addiition to your SMB & spool .. things I always have on me (except the SMB on my shore dives from La Jolla .. I may need to rethink that)

 

[Puffer Fish]

Here are some changes I am going to make:
add 2 signal mirrors
always dive with my lights day or night (3 lights 2 led and 1 primary)
have 2 safety sausages and spools
I already notify someone on land of where I will be and when they should expect a call from me

I really would like to learn more about how to calm people in panic. The demons in their head could kill the whole group. Some have suggested joking, touching, looking into the eyes, assigning tasks and so forth.

Another random thought here, could you keep a chunk of lead one end of the weight belt and then use it like some kind of weapon to sling and hit at something unpleasant in the water? I don't know if it would work, but it might make me feel better holding it.

Here is my list of things to have and things to remember:

Safety gear -

1. SMB - Bigger is better, but at a lake or small bay, I carry a small one (regular size to everyone else). Ocean... big one.. Check it before every day of diving. I carry two on trips, just in case one breaks, but only have one with me on the dive. If you have only one, make sure it is not the type you blow up with your mouth. My buddy is my wife, and she has the same model.

2. Signal mirror - have a good one, and it does not take much room.

3. Noice maker... best you can afford. I have one of the special whistles, but I think I should add an air horn.

4. Strobe - have one on all dives.. Should be able to last more than one complete night. You can attach it to your tank.

5. Light - make it one with LED's. My pocket one would be good for days.

6. A reel, with 100 ft of line. Both the reel and the line might be needed.

If I were to go on a trip, like the Great Barrier Reef, I would carry an emergency transponder, just in case. But for diving in and around the US, would not.

I am adding anything? Yea, a large flag to be attached, if needed to the SMB - bright yellow. Does not take up much space and has no moving parts to break.

One additional thing that anyone diving should pay attention to, and it was what nearly killed me and three others - a tremendous current, one that we did not expect. And that sort of thing kills people every year. But could it have been anticipated? The answer is yes - I was just too stupid to understand it.

Currents are not mysterious, they are fairly reasonable events, that we humans tend to ignore, for the most part. They are the result, primarily from:

1. Tides - those are easy to figure. Dive the Destin Jetties, and you can see what happens when just 2 foot of water, from a bay, has to go thru a narrow openning. Oh, the bay is around 22 square miles, so two feet is....1.2 bilion cubic feet of water.

2. Ocean currents - also known.

3. River runoff - should be easy to know about.

4. Low pressure system - this is the big killer. When a low pressure system travels over water, the water directly under is under less pressure, so it raises up. Not a lot, but over say 50 to 200 square miles, it does not take a lot. For the water to go up, it has to be sucked into it. When they get near shore (in lots of miles, not our "near"), the water can only come from three directions, and sometimes less. This giant maker of big currents is what got us... a large low pressure was about 40 miles north of us, and water was rushing to get there so fast, we could not swim against it.

Knowing the above... and knowing that we are not perfect at predicting where low and high pressure centers will go, I now check to see if anything is even near and prepare for the worst if it is.

Note: High pressure can do the same thing, but usually not with the same intensity. Pushing out is not the same as sucking in.

 

[Cacia]

4. Low pressure system - this is the big killer. When a low pressure system travels over water, the water directly under is under less pressure, so it raises up. Not a lot, but over say 50 to 200 square miles, it does not take a lot. For the water to go up, it has to be sucked into it. When they get near shore (in lots of miles, not our "near"), the water can only come from three directions, and sometimes less. This giant maker of big currents is what got us... a large low pressure was about 40 miles north of us, and water was rushing to get there so fast, we could not swim against it.

I have never even heard this, thanks. I pay attention to the other stuff and feel strongly about getting in at slack tide, right before the tide switches. (careful)

The yellow flag is a new concept too. What type of strobe? They have some really tiny LED ones we put on our bikes at night. I could probably throw one in my housing actually. It turns on with a little magnet tail you pass over it.