lets go diving

[darkpup]

yup, i was in that rescue class, was an interesting day. i must pass on the word to the other guys in the class that helped this guy out of the water that he actually went back in!!

Yeah, I couldn't believe he went back in. From what my wife said, several people in his group (class?) sat out the rest of the day, and only a few of their group went back in. I spoke to one of the ladies in his group who had a hard time exiting mid day (after the rescue), and they either were part of a class or it was the weekend after their certification. Needless to say, they were all relatively new divers, in conditions that were rough.

After we asked for our weights back, he was hell bent on going back in to get the weight belt. We strongly advised him that it wasn't worth it, and that people die doing that sort of thing. I guess it wasn't enough of a warning, because upon returning from my 2nd dive, I saw him exiting the water shortly after with his group.

~ Jason

 

[CALI68]

The next XP Day will be January, but it's not on Joe's calendar yet. Chances are that it will be before the 1/21/05 Fundamentals class, and it might be a good chance for you to meet everyone before taking your Fundies class.

~ Jason

That would be great! I'm sorry I missed the event, I did nothing on Sunday..bummer.

 

[mossym]

Yeah, I couldn't believe he went back in. From what my wife said, several people in his group (class?) sat out the rest of the day, and only a few of their group went back in. I spoke to one of the ladies in his group who had a hard time exiting mid day (after the rescue), and they either were part of a class or it was the weekend after their certification. Needless to say, they were all relatively new divers, in conditions that were rough.

After we asked for our weights back, he was hell bent on going back in to get the weight belt. We strongly advised him that it wasn't worth it, and that people die doing that sort of thing. I guess it wasn't enough of a warning, because upon returning from my 2nd dive, I saw him exiting the water shortly after with his group.

~ Jason

from what i know about it, he was a certified diver, and not in a class. Yesterday was a mess at Breakwater, ow students getting thrown everywhere, every time a big wave came in we ended up picking people up out of the water..

 

[pchelp]

A little more info, I was parked next to the diver that had the problem, he was in a class, he was there with his girlfriend who was certified (they work at Any Sport, so they get free lessons). As he entered the water, he had fins in hand (since that's what he saw other people doing), got out to about 5' of depth, and tried to put on his fins, realized he hadn't put his regulator in his mouth or added any air to his BC, a surge came as he was attempting to put on a fin, and ended up drinking a mouthful of water, this caused him to panic, and yell for Help. Other people have described what happened next. I was talking to him later in the morning and he was concerned he had dropped his weight belt, my response was, you made it back safe, don't sweat the weight belt.

rusty


QUOTE=mossym]from what i know about it, he was a certified diver, and not in a class. Yesterday was a mess at Breakwater, ow students getting thrown everywhere, every time a big wave came in we ended up picking people up out of the water..[/QUOTE]

 

[mossym]

A little more info, I was parked next to the diver that had the problem, he was in a class, he was there with his girlfriend who was certified (they work at Any Sport, so they get free lessons). As he entered the water, he had fins in hand (since that's what he saw other people doing), got out to about 5' of depth, and tried to put on his fins, realized he hadn't put his regulator in his mouth or added any air to his BC, a surge came as he was attempting to put on a fin, and ended up drinking a mouthful of water, this caused him to panic, and yell for Help. Other people have described what happened next. I was talking to him later in the morning and he was concerned he had dropped his weight belt, my response was, you made it back safe, don't sweat the weight belt.

rusty

ah okay, one of the guys who helped him out of the water told me he was certified, i stand corrected

 

[CALI68]

Didn't theses instructors read the swell forecast? Is it a good idea to throw new divers in conditions like that? I would think that would crap them out for good. I'm not an Instructor so I'm just curious when you call it a day instead of tempting fate?


I shop at Any Water all the time, who was the Guy?

 

[mossym]

i was talking to a few different instructors there, who all said they wouldn't take an OW class in given the conditions, on the other hand i was glad it was like that for our rescue class, even though we had some wipeouts too. In fairness, it was a few rogue swells that got everyone, most of the waves were perfectly manageable..

 

[CALI68]

In fairness, it was a few rogue swells that got everyone, most of the waves were perfectly manageable..

Oh, ok. The way I read it I was under the impression they were up all day.

 

[mossym]

it was as bad as i've seen Breakwater, and i wouldn' have taken a class there, but an experienced diver could have gotten out in calm water by just timing it right, i mean we managed to get all our rescue drills done between the big waves...well most of them

 

[darkpup]

it was as bad as i've seen Breakwater, and i wouldn' have taken a class there, but an experienced diver could have gotten out in calm water by just timing it right, i mean we managed to get all our rescue drills done between the big waves...well most of them

Agreed, it was the worst I've seen it there, but I was able to make it out and back on my 2nd and 3rd (ever) dives in doubles. About every 3 minutes a really big wave would come in followed shortly by a 2nd large wave. This lasted for about 30 to 60 seconds, which then gave you a two minute window to casually make your way out. Joe noticed this pattern, and it really helped.

Don't get me wrong, it was quite intimidating at first, but it was doable.

I almost bailed on the way in from my first dive. I made it back into the shallows inbetween sets, had one fin off with the second fin half way off but still on my foot. That's when the next big one came, and it took a bit of effort to stay up right. Not big deal in a single tank, but the extra weight of the doubles combined with the exertion I made coming in really took it's toll. I was out of breath for a while, and learned my timing lesson before the second dive.

Here's a photo of two ladies that helped quite a few divers out of the water that day. It also shows some of the conditions that day.

~ Jason