OOA Buddy starts to drag you up by your octo - What would you do?

[Puffer Fish]

For reasons I cannot understand, most people seem to think you get to "donate" your regulator to someone out of air.. for the most part, you don't, they take it, and they don't take your octopus.

And people swimming to the surface don't, for the most part, even see anything else. You can be two inches away, and later they will tell you they did not see you.

Once a an adrenalin rush has been chemically ingauged, in will be several minutes before they will come back to the real world.

Umm.. My octopus is on the longest hose?
My training tells me to grab the octopus when OOA and to donate the octopus to an OOA diver, not my primary regulator..
Yeah, things might not go as planned tho..


I wouldnt say even my best friend is worth getting bent over, simply because if were both sick, I wont be able to help. Im much more likely to do things right if Im ok and hes sick (or the other way around) than if the both of us are..
Ok, you can call me cynical, I know I am, but Ive worked with things that have made me prioritize and my priorities is rather simple..
1. My safety
2. Other peoples safety
3. Structural and valuable safety (Does not really apply to diving)

If I fail to make sure Im safe and Im unable to act, Im unable to make sure other people is safe and Ive not done my job..

 

[Puffer Fish]

Shoot him with your speargun..........

Where, specifically should you shoot them?

 

[Tigerman]

For reasons I cannot understand, most people seem to think you get to "donate" your regulator to someone out of air.. for the most part, you don't, they take it, and they don't take your octopus.

And people swimming to the surface don't, for the most part, even see anything else. You can be two inches away, and later they will tell you they did not see you.

Once a an adrenalin rush has been chemically ingauged, in will be several minutes before they will come back to the real world.

Ive been donated and have donated my octo several times actually. That said there was no full stop of air, but "lets share rather than push it" scenarios (5 bar still aint much air tho)..

As ive said already, If you bolt to the surface and I cant get control of you real fast.. have a nice trip, I have no intention of following you..

People on an adrenaline rush is in most cases NOT in panic of any sort.. Why do you think people do extreme sports to begin with? Panic and adrenaline is most definetly NOT the same and there is no reason why you cant be calm even tho youve got the adrenaline rushing.

I might not have been in the most stressfull DIVING situations, but belive me, Im no stranger to either stress, adrenaline or panicky people. Infact, stressfull situations has been part of more or less all my jobs for the past 10 years..

 

[Diver Dennis]

When people have an adrenaline rush they are not necessarily panicked but they are on the edge of panic. Adrenaline is the body's way of getting you ready for a dangerous situation. It does not take much to push them over the edge. Adrenaline starts to enter the body when they realize that they have just run out of air and unless you are looking them in the eye giving them assurance or they look over and know you are right there, they may well be gone before you know it.

 

[ArcticDiver]

Thanks for the responses. It helps clarify the post.

It is an unfortunate fact that some people get so wrapped up in their particular style of diving that evangelical religious terminology becomes very appropriate to describe them.

As for me; as I've said before, I'll dive with just about anyone. The only person whom I've ever at first sight refused to dive with didn't speak my language and I didn't speak his. For everyone else I take the reasonable precaution of keeping the dives simple until we get to know each other.

We are all human so I don't worry too much about other people's mistakes. I'm too busy trying to rectify mine and become a better diver and a better person.

To date, of all the different people I've dove with there is only one I would never dive with again. That person broke the dive plan and then compounded the issue by misstating his gas supply making me think there was an emergency when there wasn't. Then when I thumbed the dive he refused it further amplifying the problem.

Bests

 

[Tigerman]

Thanks for the responses. It helps clarify the post.
...
To date, of all the different people I've dove with there is only one I would never dive with again. That person broke the dive plan and then compounded the issue by misstating his gas supply making me think there was an emergency when there wasn't. Then when I thumbed the dive he refused it further amplifying the problem.

Bests

What did you do when he refused to abort the dive? Did you leave him or stay with him or what?
Thats a situation where I think I could have problems making up my mind, as on one hand, I didnt feel comfortable continuing the dive (thats why you thumb it to begin with, right?) and on the other hand you have a responsibility for your buddy as well...

 

[Tigerman]

When people have an adrenaline rush they are not necessarily panicked but they are on the edge of panic. Adrenaline is the body's way of getting you ready for a dangerous situation. It does not take much to push them over the edge. Adrenaline starts to enter the body when they realize that they have just run out of air and unless you are looking them in the eye giving them assurance or they look over and know you are right there, they may well be gone before you know it.

So youre saying a skydiver is on the virge of panic on all his jumps?
A racecar driver on all his rides?
A FMX rider on all his jumps?
A soldier on all his missions?
That definetly does NOT make any sense whatsoever in my book..
Adrenaline is a drug that sharpen your senses and focus and yes, it can be part of panicing, but no, an adrenaline rush is not the same as being close to panicing..

 

[ArcticDiver]

What did you do when he refused to abort the dive? Did you leave him or stay with him or what?
Thats a situation where I think I could have problems making up my mind, as on one hand, I didnt feel comfortable continuing the dive (thats why you thumb it to begin with, right?) and on the other hand you have a responsibility for your buddy as well...

I screwed up and not only stayed with him I attempted to "rescue" him. I interpreted his actions as resulting from the emergency and resulting diminished mental capacity. Of course I later discovered there was no emergency, only his cavalier attitude toward dive planning and responsibility toward his buddy.

To top it off as late as a year later he still didn't understand the gravity of the situation his signals and actions had created.

 

[Thalassamania]

For reasons I cannot understand, most people seem to think you get to "donate" your regulator to someone out of air.. for the most part, you don't, they take it, and they don't take your octopus.

And people swimming to the surface don't, for the most part, even see anything else. You can be two inches away, and later they will tell you they did not see you.

Those are two rather sweeping statments. It leads me to wonder what sort of a sample size you're drawing on?

 

[Diver Dennis]

No, I'm saying that:
A skydiver is on the verge when his main is tangled and he has to cut away for the first time
A race car driver is on the verge when his back end steps out in the rain for the first time
An FMX? rider when he first tries a back flip
A soldier when he hits the ground the first time he is mortared

And remember, we are talking about divers here who have most likely never been in this position before and has probably had less training than any of the persons you described above, except for the skydiving which I used to do.
Adrenaline, as I posted, is pumped into the body when it senses danger and most divers have never and will never be in this situation. The people you described above are in these situations every time they participate in what they do, they have real life practice. They have familiarity with the situation because they have been there before. Try asking them about their state of mind the first time it happened.