So, this weekend I really wanted to get some diving in. The local chapter of Diveheart was also conducting a rescue diver class and, since I am starting to volunteer with them, I wanted to meet up with them and probably help out some.
So, assuming I could find a buddy at the quarry (usually a good assumption this time of year) I went up to the quarry figuring "worst case" I'd just help out with the rescue class. I showed up and checked in, where I found the guy who showed up before me was also needing a buddy.. wee~ I have a buddy instantly). I asked if he wanted to buddy up, introduced ourselves, and briefly talked about diving (he mentioned diving on vacation and I told him I'd just got back from a dive trip). We then discussed the dive plan, deciding to go to some things around 45 ft in the quarry as he said he was only OW certified.
I set up my gear and told him I'd meet him on the dock to do weight checks (new setup for me in this environment, he was using rental gear as he wasn't from the area, just here for work. He asked me to do a buddy check of his gear before I left (responsible, but this also should have clued me in to ask more about his recent diving experience). I got in the water after meeting the group from Diveheart, and helped them out with some rescue class exercises while my buddy got his gear on and weight checks done (had to go back for more weight as he said he didn't have enough the first time). Then we were ready to go dive.
The plan was simple - follow the line from the dock we were all at to the first things we were going to check out, then continue in that same direction upward to some more shallow things where we should be able to get our safety stop done while checking out stuff underwater. Visibility was ~10 ft and the water temp drops about 8-10 degrees (F) at about 20 ft.
So I lead the way down the line (near, not "on") and check on him as I hit ~5 ft, he's about 2 ft down and looking okay. About 30 seconds later I check on him again to make sure I'm not going to fast/slow. As I look back on the line, I don't see him where I expect to see him, just bubbles. I follow the bubbles down and see him at around 25 feet (I'm at about 10 ft now). What I see is a diver that is clearly panicked, arms and legs flailing but still descending. I rush to him while holding and pointing to my inflator. He does notice what I'm doing just before I reach him and inflates his BCD... completely. So now I grab him, spread eagle myself to slow his ascent, and start deflating his BCD. I tried to get him to look at me and tell him to breathe slowly but that's doing nothing.
We get to the surface and I talk to him letting him know everything is fine, he's safe, etc. I found out that he had problems equalizing as he started descending. So the then concentrated on that, but forgot to go up to equalize, so he just kept trying to pinch his nose and equalize. Wearing a 5mm suit with hood wasn't normal for him. As he tried to equalize, the suit was compressing, and he was becoming more negatively buoyant but not realizing what is happening (as he was concentrating on the pain in his ear). The task loading of dealing with not being able to equalize, getting some water in his mask, and descending uncontrolled was too much for him and he just panicked. The incident only resulted in him hurting an ear (it was still hurting an hour later so I suggested he see a doctor about it, which I believe he will).
What I learned was that I should have paid more attention to learning about my insta-buddy's experience diving, as well as experience diving in the conditions we had (colder water, poor visibility, etc). I could have changed the dive plan and moved the entry to somewhere that we could have done things slower, with a shallow hard bottom etc. I was too busy concentrating on meeting some new people, as well as wanting to get to diving in a place I was comfortable already, and didn't take enough time to consider what my buddy needed. I usually only encounter divers with lots of experience when diving locally so I'd become complacent in checking on my buddy. The location we were at goes to about 145 ft below our entry, so I'm glad the vis was low so I checked back as frequently as I did since normally I wouldn't check on my buddy twice in the first minute of the dive. But if I'd checked a few minutes later instead, it could have been much worse. We got lucky this time, but now I have a good reminder to ensure I know the capabilities of the other divers I'm with before splashing.
So, assuming I could find a buddy at the quarry (usually a good assumption this time of year) I went up to the quarry figuring "worst case" I'd just help out with the rescue class. I showed up and checked in, where I found the guy who showed up before me was also needing a buddy.. wee~ I have a buddy instantly). I asked if he wanted to buddy up, introduced ourselves, and briefly talked about diving (he mentioned diving on vacation and I told him I'd just got back from a dive trip). We then discussed the dive plan, deciding to go to some things around 45 ft in the quarry as he said he was only OW certified.
I set up my gear and told him I'd meet him on the dock to do weight checks (new setup for me in this environment, he was using rental gear as he wasn't from the area, just here for work. He asked me to do a buddy check of his gear before I left (responsible, but this also should have clued me in to ask more about his recent diving experience). I got in the water after meeting the group from Diveheart, and helped them out with some rescue class exercises while my buddy got his gear on and weight checks done (had to go back for more weight as he said he didn't have enough the first time). Then we were ready to go dive.
The plan was simple - follow the line from the dock we were all at to the first things we were going to check out, then continue in that same direction upward to some more shallow things where we should be able to get our safety stop done while checking out stuff underwater. Visibility was ~10 ft and the water temp drops about 8-10 degrees (F) at about 20 ft.
So I lead the way down the line (near, not "on") and check on him as I hit ~5 ft, he's about 2 ft down and looking okay. About 30 seconds later I check on him again to make sure I'm not going to fast/slow. As I look back on the line, I don't see him where I expect to see him, just bubbles. I follow the bubbles down and see him at around 25 feet (I'm at about 10 ft now). What I see is a diver that is clearly panicked, arms and legs flailing but still descending. I rush to him while holding and pointing to my inflator. He does notice what I'm doing just before I reach him and inflates his BCD... completely. So now I grab him, spread eagle myself to slow his ascent, and start deflating his BCD. I tried to get him to look at me and tell him to breathe slowly but that's doing nothing.
We get to the surface and I talk to him letting him know everything is fine, he's safe, etc. I found out that he had problems equalizing as he started descending. So the then concentrated on that, but forgot to go up to equalize, so he just kept trying to pinch his nose and equalize. Wearing a 5mm suit with hood wasn't normal for him. As he tried to equalize, the suit was compressing, and he was becoming more negatively buoyant but not realizing what is happening (as he was concentrating on the pain in his ear). The task loading of dealing with not being able to equalize, getting some water in his mask, and descending uncontrolled was too much for him and he just panicked. The incident only resulted in him hurting an ear (it was still hurting an hour later so I suggested he see a doctor about it, which I believe he will).
What I learned was that I should have paid more attention to learning about my insta-buddy's experience diving, as well as experience diving in the conditions we had (colder water, poor visibility, etc). I could have changed the dive plan and moved the entry to somewhere that we could have done things slower, with a shallow hard bottom etc. I was too busy concentrating on meeting some new people, as well as wanting to get to diving in a place I was comfortable already, and didn't take enough time to consider what my buddy needed. I usually only encounter divers with lots of experience when diving locally so I'd become complacent in checking on my buddy. The location we were at goes to about 145 ft below our entry, so I'm glad the vis was low so I checked back as frequently as I did since normally I wouldn't check on my buddy twice in the first minute of the dive. But if I'd checked a few minutes later instead, it could have been much worse. We got lucky this time, but now I have a good reminder to ensure I know the capabilities of the other divers I'm with before splashing.
