OOA and Situational Awareness...

[gypsyjim]

You might want to consider learning to ask ... before the dive ... am I carrying enough gas for the dive I'm planning to do?

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

It was not until I took a Fundies class with Bob Sherwood that I really begun to understand what good "gas management" skills really means.

How to determine exactly how much of the gas that you and your buddy are each carrying on this dive, it would actually require to safely return two divers from the max depth you are planning to dive.

And then NEVER touching that portion of this reserve during the dive.

It is a far cry from the "turn at 1500lbs" concept of much diving I was previously involved in. Doing the math the first time, was a REAL eye opener! :shocked2:

 

[herman]

Wasn't trying to imply that one BC is better then the other or that there is some connection between good and bad divers based on their BC choices, although I definitely have my preference. Was only trying to point out that jacket style BC's do not facilitate the consumption rate of back inflation type BC's and that knowing that I should have been more attentive. There is an old saying among motorcycle riders, " There are two types of riders, those who have had an accident and those who will". Moral of the story is that sometimes bad things happen to good people/divers. I personally wouldn't feel comfortable diving with someone who thought they were so "together" that nothing like this could happen to them or at least be surprised by it! I'm just getting back into the sport after a 10 year hiatus and will be taking a refresher course and maybe a rescue course if I think I'm up to it. Thanks for you feedback.

What evidence do you have that this is true? I dive everything from a jacket style to no BC at all and just about everything in between. There is little difference in my SAC reguardless of the BC I am wearing. Preference is one thing, I have my own preference. SAC is a function of diver skill and is for the most part non-equipment dependent or at least not BC or reg dependent.

 

[gypsyjim]

What evidence do you have that this is true? I dive everything from a jacket style to no BC at all and just about everything in between. There is little difference in my SAC reguardless of the BC I am wearing. Preference is one thing, I have my own preference. SAC is a function of diver skill and is for the most part non-equipment dependent or at least not BC or reg dependent.

Heck Herman, sometimes I don't I don't think you move at all under water So, BCD or no BCD at all, or wing or Poodle, it ain't gonna make a whole lot of difference.
NO water resistance at all, when you are silently hovering over one spot on the reef, waiting for that perfect picture.

 

[Bubbletrubble]

I would never claim to speak for the majority, but I'd say that in a similar situation, I might well do a safety stop. It would depend on the circumstances. How close were we to the NDL? How much air do I have? If we were close to the NDL and I had plenty of air, I might well do the safety stop. Would that be wrong?

@Dirty-Dog: I agree that the decision to do a safety stop depends on the situation. Let's evaluate the given scenario...

The OP stated that he was "very low" on air when he began to share air with his OOA buddy. Given the depth at which they began to share air (approx. 90 fsw) and the semi-frantic state of his OOA buddy (high respiration rate?), it's likely that once the two divers arrived at safety stop depth fxrguy was quite low on air. At that point, both divers were probably shaken up quite a bit...and managing buoyancy might have been a little iffy for the OOA diver. Taking all of this into consideration, I think the least risky course of action would be to skip the safety stop.

It's a simple decision in my mind: 2 divers with no deco oblication and only one air source = ascend to surface.
Don't get me wrong, though. I like safety stops as much as the next guy. Heck, I can't remember the last time that I didn't do a safety stop, but I think it's a good trade-off to forego protection against a very unlikely DCS hit in favor of obtaining an unlimited air source at the surface. Stressed and/or panicky divers do weird things. I'd rather deal with things on the surface where the margin for error is much higher.

 

[DevonDiver]

Safety stops.... why not?

If the donor has sufficient air to allow both divers to complete a safety stop, then they should do that. The added bonus (as is always the case with safety stops) is that it provides a few minutes of clarity, when you can calm down, focus, and plan your final ascent and actions on the surface (particualy important in an OOA/AAS scenario..where one diver will have to orally inflate). It also allows buoyancy to be properly resolved.

Chances are that in an OOA emergency some of the ascent could have been completed too quickly... and breathing patterns would differ from normal. It is the perfect example of when a safety stop would make most sense.

I had a bad freeflow when I was a novice diver. My tank expended quickly, but I had a pony with which to complete my ascent. It was a deep dive (36m). My buddy was quite panicked during the incident (she was AOW diver, less than 20 dives) and our ascent was fast (computer alarm) as we got shallower. She got a suspected bend (wrist 'niggle') ...1 hour of O2, a call to DAN and a trip to hospital. Thankfully, she didn't require recompression treatment. Safety stop would have been ideal in that scenario.

Recreational divers don't have to do safety stops on any dive, least of all during an emergency. The issue of safety stops is well communicated during OW training... all of the literature describes them as optional (above 30m). However, if air and circumstances allow, they should be performed - especially during emergency circumstances.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Safety stops.... why not?

I'd say it depends on the divers. In "normal" situations, if the second tank runs dry it's a simple matter to CESA from 15 feet and manually inflate your BCD. But that's assuming that both divers are calm enough to "remember" what they were trained to do. If one or both divers are showing symptoms of stess it's better to get to the surface while breathing, and have enough air left for one diver to auto-inflate, and therefore be able to assist the other diver on the surface while they manually inflate their BCD.

It's one thing to "know" what to do when typing about it in the comfort of your office. It's another thing entirely when you're struggling for buoyancy, out of breath, and completely distracted by the fear of dying ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[DevonDiver]

It's one thing to "know" what to do when typing about it in the comfort of your office. It's another thing entirely when you're struggling for buoyancy, out of breath, and completely distracted by the fear of dying ...

Very true. I always make the assumption that a diver who recieves good advice here will not just heed that advice, but also practise the skills and drills concerned. Knowledge and capability are different beasts...

 

[dumpsterDiver]

While diving on a live aboard in the Dry Tortugas back in the early 90's, my dive buddy ran out of air at 90 feet while we were chasing a lobster. We booth were to blame for not being more situationally aware. He was diving with a jacket and did not have the consumption rate that I did. I have found this to almost always be the case when diving with people who use jacket type BC's as opposed to back inflation devices. Knowing this and wanting to be a good dive buddy, I would always check with my dive partner/s when I thought they may be getting low on air. Well I screwed the pooch big time that day and am lucky that no one died because of it. I had been diving for about 15 years by then while he was relatively new to the sport so I have to blame myself more then him for this one. On the upside I am very proud of myself for not panicking and doing everything right to get my partner back to the surface. Only those that have suddenly had their dive partners clutching madly at your regulator at depth can understand the cold terror and reality of this situation. Every decision and move has to be correct or your partner, or possibly both of you, "will" die! I immediately left him have my regulator and started using my octopus. He was still cognoscente enough to know that if he was out of air then I had to be out or near so myself and he started clutching at my gauge console. I knew what he wanted and gave him the thumbs up sign after looking at my pressure gauge. I was reluctant to actually let him see it though because I was very low myself and didn't want him to freak out any further. He really was on the edge! I knew we had enough to make a controlled ascent back to the surface. He immediate wanted to start an emergency ascent and I had to literally pull him back down by the foot. Using hand signals as best as I could I tried to let him know that everything was Ok, but that we needed to go back up correctly. I knew he was somewhat stabilized when he nodded OK and gave me a thumbs up. Using my computer I made sure we didn't ascend to quickly and even managed a safety stop at 15'.

Lessons learned?

Pull your head out of your ass when diving at depth. This may be a sport but it is inherently a dangerous one. Always and I mean "always" try to think what you might have to do if the unthinkable should happen because it can and does! Look out for your dive buddy because at that depth he is the only buddy you got!

Sounds absolutely terrifying! You allowed your buddy to use your second stage to ascend and them complete a safety stop from 90 Feet! WOW! I hate those damn jacket wearing clowns, when I dive with a guy wearing a BP/W I never even ask how much air he has, because I can tell he is safe just by his gear.

 

[Doubler]

I agree with Bob.

There are new divers that believe they will get bent if they skip a "Safety Stop". There are many of us, that began diving in the 60's and 70's that never did safety stops in our early years. Our ascent rate was based on the smallest bubble and we lived. I now do half stops and a 3 minute 15 footer but both are for safety reasons and not a deco obligation. In the case being discussed there is a paramount safety issue which should override a optional safety stop in all situations. In an emergent situation, when you begin for the surface, you control the ascent and go to the surface. There are to many bad things that could happen while hanging around at 15 feet.

 

[tstormdiver]

To the OP, you are correct, the cause of the incident was the fault of both divers. Buddies should communicate between themselves frequently throughout a dive, keeping eachother abreast of their conditions. Becareful of getting so wrapped up in a dive or a task, that you don't know where your buddy is/ what they are doing. I had a diving buddy that has horrible (non- existant) buddy & situational awareness (I'm being very nice about this). There are many that will not dive with him because of this. He has been known to leave a buddy & not even realize for a long time. Very quickly, diving with him, I learned that when I do a dive with him, that I am essentially doing a solo dive & plan the dive accordingly, on my part. He asked me to help him out with an Adv. Nitrox/ Deco course he was doing. We were doing a deep dive going up an old quarry haul road (gentle slope). It was briefed before the dive that there could be some drills pop up during the dive. About 15 min. into the dive, I gave him an OOA light signal & he continued to swim. I chased him (right behind him) for 50- 75 ft, signalling with my light the entire time, before I stopped & went "unresponsive". He continued to swim for a couple of minutes before realizing I was not there & returning. I was originally going to make him take me to the surface as an unresponsive diver, but he ran into me with such force, I had to move to keep from getting completely clobbered. I aborted the dive at that point. When we got to the surface, I said nothing to him. He came up with an excuse that there was no way I could have been out of air at that point in the dive, so there was no reason for him to look back & check on me (he was leading the dive, per the plan). I still said nothing. After doffing our gear, he asked me if I was pissed. I asked him to get my phone for me. I then instructed him to call our instructor & my parents & tell them that he "killed" me because of his inattention. That seemed to make something in his head finally connect. After that episode, his situational/ buddy awareness improved vastly. He now checks back & constantly looks for signals.

BTW- Good job at keeping things together & getting the 2 of you safely to the surface.:blinking: