fairybasslet
Contributor
Very fun class (but very tiring) like I was warned. We happened to have a great group that really worked well together on the missing diver scenarios. We wound up doing 3 of them. 2 with a diver and one with a lift bag that was hidden in a boat on the bottom. Our group found that in 5 minutes which totally impressed our instructor. The first missing diver scenario I was a surface spotter. And then on the last, I was a diver again. Only this time, the victim was pretty well hidden. We were told to search for 5 minutes then surface. Well, we did 3 of those and let me tell you, my left ear is toast. I cannot do bounce dives like that. They were shallow, only to 35 or so feet so I was not worried about DCI or anything. Ironically, it was the snorkelers who found the victim and they were towing him to shore when we were surfacing the 3rd time. I saw them at about 15 fsw and said to myself, "That must be the other rescue class that we saw today." Turns out, it was ours. LOL. So I relieved someone who was doing rescue breaths because she was exhausted.
Of course we did the skills, tired dive tow, helping a panicked diver, writing an emergency action plan, administering O2, OOA scenarios. It was all very informative. One really funny thing that happened during the OOA. I have an Air2 and honestly, I never practiced with it (I know, pretty stupid). So I give the OOA victim my primary and I'm using the Air2. Then during our ascent, I'm looking for my dump valve and it took me a few seconds to realize where it actually was. LOL. My instructor noticed that and we had a good laugh about that on the surface. BTW, I had absolutely no problem controlling my ascent with the air2 and holding the OOA victim to control her ascent so I really think that complaint about surfacing with Air2 is unfounded. But I will practice ascents using the Air 2 in the future.
I didn't feel as challenged as I thought I would be though. Maybe because my panicked victim was pretty calm for a panicky victim. And I never got a chance to lift the victim off the bottom (I heard it was very difficult). I heard about other scenarios that instructors think up, with bleeding victims and deco obligations. So maybe I got off easy? Going up and down that hill at Dutch Springs 5 times in one day with all that gear was pretty darn tiring though.
Another thing I learned was that searching for a victim is a whole different ballgame than looking for critters. On the first search, I have to admit that I was more in "looking for critters mode" than "looking for a victim mode." I was too slow and looking in places it couldn't possibly be. Maybe that was because we were looking for the lift bag which is smaller than a victim would be. Anyway, it was a great class but I hope I never have to use it.
Of course we did the skills, tired dive tow, helping a panicked diver, writing an emergency action plan, administering O2, OOA scenarios. It was all very informative. One really funny thing that happened during the OOA. I have an Air2 and honestly, I never practiced with it (I know, pretty stupid). So I give the OOA victim my primary and I'm using the Air2. Then during our ascent, I'm looking for my dump valve and it took me a few seconds to realize where it actually was. LOL. My instructor noticed that and we had a good laugh about that on the surface. BTW, I had absolutely no problem controlling my ascent with the air2 and holding the OOA victim to control her ascent so I really think that complaint about surfacing with Air2 is unfounded. But I will practice ascents using the Air 2 in the future.
I didn't feel as challenged as I thought I would be though. Maybe because my panicked victim was pretty calm for a panicky victim. And I never got a chance to lift the victim off the bottom (I heard it was very difficult). I heard about other scenarios that instructors think up, with bleeding victims and deco obligations. So maybe I got off easy? Going up and down that hill at Dutch Springs 5 times in one day with all that gear was pretty darn tiring though.
Another thing I learned was that searching for a victim is a whole different ballgame than looking for critters. On the first search, I have to admit that I was more in "looking for critters mode" than "looking for a victim mode." I was too slow and looking in places it couldn't possibly be. Maybe that was because we were looking for the lift bag which is smaller than a victim would be. Anyway, it was a great class but I hope I never have to use it.
