Patient unconscious after diving accident - Vancouver, BC

[NudeDiver]

I've had two masks broken while in a bag full of stuff, despite being well padded and, I thought, well protected. Now I'm much more protective of my mask, and unlikely to leave it lying around anywhere.

 

[I Dive]

I don't think you can "master" it in OW, but I do think that people ought to be taught that they need to continue to practice these skills, no matter how distasteful they are. I don't like ice water in the face any more than anybody else does (and I utterly LOATHE being deprived of my vision) but I make myself do this periodically, so that I know that I can.

I had a buddy once have his mask flood on about his 40th dive. He completely lost rational thought and took off for the shallows . . . Luckily, he didn't bolt to the surface, but it was still a very traumatic experience for him and for the two of us who watched him flee and couldn't catch him. He had certified in warm water, and had never done a mask flood and clear in Puget Sound. He was appalled at his reaction, and immediately went to work fixing it.

Masks don't always stay sealed or in place. If there is a teaching point from this, it's to remind all of us that we need to be sure we are calm and competent in the face of a mask full of water, or a lost mask.

Dead on TS! Safety stops (or deco stops for you tech types) are perfect for practicing basic skills like this. Your just hanging around killing time, why not do something! I would just make sure the other people in your group know beforehand what you plan on practicing during your Safety of Deco stops or even during a dive itself and maybe even decide on a sign you will flash before you begin so they know you are about to begin practicing something. I can see some people becoming concerned if a fellow diver starts pulling his mask off or pulls his reg out of his mouth for no apparent reason...

 

[tahoeguy]

People NEED to practice those emergency skills on a regular basis. Then things like this won't happen. This young man was lucky, but he might not be next time UOTE=TSandM;3991375]If, in fact, this is what happened, this is really tragic.
-- if he doesn't quit diving.[/QUOTE]

The need to practice our skills can not be overstated. It is very easy to become quite rusty at some of the basic drills. Nobody wants to take their mask off in cold water while waring a hood too practice ... With "normal" incident free diving we do not use the "emergency skills", so therefore, the need for honest self-evaluation and recognizing the need staying current with our emergency skills is the only way to "Be Prepared".

 

[String]

I don't understand why a leaky mask would "force" anyone to the surface. Mask clearing, removing and replacement are all basic OW skills. You do them in the pool - you do them to get certified. Even an OW student on a cert dive should not perform this way - he/she would have had ample practice in the pool ):

Damn.......that sucks.

I can see how and why it happens. Students learn for the course, don't dive regularly, never practice it and then when its suddenly needed they suck a bit of water in, panic and bolt. Particular issue with holiday divers.

See it a lot with people used to doing it in warm water then having a problem in freezing cold water hitting their face when it happens elsewhere.

I wouldn't mind betting a large % of divers, especially holiday divers out there are unable to do a AAS ascent, controlled lift and other things as well as they haven't practiced or done one since their course.

 

[NudeDiver]

Hmmm....seems like a tough way to dive - but yeah, I guess that's what people do. Even so - don't people swim underwater anymore? I don't see a difference between swimming underwater with no mask and having a leaky mask - in terms of why it would cause such panic. Oh well.

 

[MMM]

Good practice idea on safety stop. When I did my rescue cert, the instructor had me remove my mask (in salt water) and require that I open my eyes. He said he will not pass a DM candidate who cannot do this.

 

[fisheater]

Hmmm....seems like a tough way to dive - but yeah, I guess that's what people do. Even so - don't people swim underwater anymore? I don't see a difference between swimming underwater with no mask and having a leaky mask - in terms of why it would cause such panic. Oh well.

They do, but they're not breathing. Many folks freak when they have to breath through their mouths (reg or snorkel), but keep water from entering their uncovered noses at the same time. It's a learned skill (hence the need for practice).

 

[NudeDiver]

Many folks freak when they have to breath through their mouths (reg or snorkel), but keep water from entering their uncovered noses at the same time. It's a learned skill (hence the need for practice).

Really???? Huh.

 

[S. starfish]

For those that are interested, here's a slightly more accurate version of the incident as told to me by people that were actually on the dive.

It was dive number one of the open water course, the instructor who normally likes to keep things around 30ft or above for the first dive elected to venture down to 40ft because the visibility was better. 20 minutes into the dive the instructor signaled the class to turn around and start heading back to shore. Just after everybody had reoriented themselves in the right direction the instructor noticed that between giving the signal and everybody turning around one student was missing - the students buddy indicated that the diver had gone up to the surface, a common enough occurrence with new students in drysuits. The instructor brought the class to the surface to find the student unconscious and face down, he immediately dropped both his weights and the students, removed masks and called to another instructor on the shore for assistance.

What happened with the student (who is fine by the way) was this: Something caused his mask to leak (got bumped maybe). No problem, he just cleared it. From what I'm told he was proficient in this skill. Something happened to cause his mask to flood again, this time however instead of clearing it he took a nice big snort of sea water, bolted to the surface holding his breath and embolized. From what I understand, the time between the student surfacing and the instructor beginning the rescue was around 1 minute at the most.

From what I understand the student was not from California, although I could be mistaken on this since I didn't bother to ask.

 

[ericaunderwater]

I don't understand why rising rapidly from 40 fsw would cause him to lose consciousness?

This goes back to presure changes being greatest in the first 30 feet of water... Think of clearing your ears in the top 30, first 31 to 60, and 61 to 90...you need to do it more in the top thirty - the pressure is greater. If you surface rapidly from 40 feet with compressed air in your system those bubbles expand, the same will happen from greater depths but it is a misconception to think you can rush up safely from a small depth,. It is however a complicated formula, and I am no expert, but this is how I understand it. Hope it helps :0)