Post-rescue depression???

[Crass3000]

A friend and I were at the end of our planned bottom time on a decompression dive, and we wanted to untie a line (simple nylon cave line) before we ascended. When he encountered trouble doing that, my buddy pulled out a knife and started sawing at the line, After a while, I took out my line cutter (similar to the trilobite I now use instead) and cut it in one easy swipe. Problem solved.

I'm sold. My knife just didn't do well above water in a comfortable situation. I were in a bad place where it needed to work I would be screwed and it seemed like a really nice knife. I figured a serrated (sic) knife would cut like butter but definitely not the case for at least the material used for a BP/W. I actually need to get a better BP/W too. It seems less is more and while I like my APEKS I know it is sucky from what everybody has said. I want to start diving aluminum doubles. Then again I find myself thinking I want to do a lot of things. AN/Deco is pretty much required for caves right?

 

[boulderjohn]

AN/Deco is pretty much required for caves right?

The best path to caves depends upon the agency you eventually want to do your cave training. I firmly believe that if you are planning to do caves, you should go through some kind of tech training first. You should get your buoyancy, trim, propulsion, etc. under control so that your cave instructor does not waste time teaching that. When you get into the more advanced cave courses, yes, you will be doing decompression, so you should have those skills as well.

 

[ianr33]

AN/Deco is pretty much required for caves right?

Depends.
Intro cave is no deco. If you want to do (Full) cave in places like Florida (typically much deeper than Mexico) then you will be doing deco on pretty much every dive. Believe AN/Deco may not be absolutely required for that,but it's a REALLY good idea.

 

[Crass3000]

Establishing positive buoyancy on the surface is the #1 rescue skill, bar none. Unless you can keep the victim on the surface, they're going to die.

Thanks again Captain Obvious. We all took open water.

 

[flots am]

Thanks again Captain Obvious. We all took open water.

If you check the DAN fataity reports, you'll find that not ditching negative equipment is the #1 cause of death in divers that make it to the surface.

Since the "obvious" stuff doesn't seem to be happening as often as it should, The "Captain Obvious" hat is sometimes useful.

 

[Crass3000]

If you check the DAN fataity reports, you'll find that not ditching negative equipment is the #1 cause of death in divers that make it to the surface.

Since the "obvious" stuff doesn't seem to be happening as often as it should, The "Captain Obvious" hat is sometimes useful.

While I agree with you, I assume you were hinting to me that was what I should have done. I have already said in this thread that if I had it to do over again that's the first thing I would have asked her to do while I tried to hold her above water. It wasn't happening if I had to do it and she wanted to breath. I just wasn't strong enough to keep her breathing and manipulate her equipment. In a perfect world that would have been obvious but in the real world things don't always work the way we want them to. No offense intended but she was either sinking or breathing -- one of the two. I found that she would have rather breathed. I can't do all things for everyone. She should have known to ditch her stuff long before I got there.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

If you check the DAN fataity reports, you'll find that not ditching negative equipment is the #1 cause of death in divers that make it to the surface.

Since the "obvious" stuff doesn't seem to be happening as often as it should, The "Captain Obvious" hat is sometimes useful.

Maybe it is splitting hares (or rabbits) but is it "fail to ditch gear" or fail to "establish buoyancy"?

Cutting off expensive gear, that may sink down (and drag the diver down via a dry suit inflator hose, for example) would not be my first choice.

 

[islanddream]

The timing of all this was crazy and that's why it's such a trip. I never dive that site and normally ALWAYS dive a different part of the lake. This was actually the first time I dove that side of the lake with one exception.


God put you on that side of the lake to save the two people's lives. You were their "angel." Good work and know that many of us admire what you did!

 

[Crass3000]

Maybe it is splitting hares (or rabbits) but is it "fail to ditch gear" or fail to "establish buoyancy"?

Cutting off expensive gear, that may sink down (and drag the diver down via a dry suit inflator hose, for example) would not be my first choice.

Ditching expensive gear would have been the easiest thing to do in this instance. That expensive gear is certainly more important than the person's life. Not to mention that where we were that expensive gear could have likely been easily retrieved. It's possible it may have kept rolling on down the hill and ended up at a couple hundred feet but I doubt it. Even then it could have easily been retrieved by someone who was a trimix diver like these people were. Why not just ditch crap. It was the easiest thing to do unless your assuming that maybe she should have been able to play with her own manifold as a tech diver should be able to do?! This just keeps getting more interesting.... blame me instead of the diver who can't take care of themselves.

 

[flots am]

Maybe it is splitting hares (or rabbits) but is it "fail to ditch gear" or fail to "establish buoyancy"?

Cutting off expensive gear, that may sink down (and drag the diver down via a dry suit inflator hose, for example) would not be my first choice.

The OP didn't think that the BC would hold the victim up, so in this case it would have been ditching gear. However in most cases, it would be "establishing positive buoyancy".

---------- Post added September 7th, 2013 at 02:04 PM ----------

While I agree with you, I assume you were hinting to me that was what I should have done.

Not really. "should have, would have, could have" are all irrelevant without a time machine, as is blame and second guessing.

I posted mostly for the benefit of anybody who might get dropped into a rescue and not think of ditching negative stuff.