Question regarding surface rescue...?

[deepblueme]

Tell them in a loud voice if they don't clam down you will be SMACKING them in the head.

You will be amazed how well that gets someone to listen to you.

Keep your gear on till you need to dump it for a long distance tow.
Its your gear wear it.
Go under and behind as was said to cradle their tank that way you can give them floatation and reach their PI and be able to dump weights if you cant make them bouyant.

I've used this method more times than I care to count.

 

[igotag!]

Definatly, do NOT give up your gear! That is YOUR safety net. Two victems are never better than one.

Trtldvr
www.divealive.org

The more I think about it. The more I believe this advice was geared more towards me personally. I dive a Bare D6 6mm Neoprene Drysuit, I can't submerge without a BC if I wanted to (i've tried!).

What is the URL for your on-line Master Diver quiz? Is it based on NAUI, PADI SSI?

Sound Dive Center - Master Diver Test

I love this site...I learn so much!

 

[Web Monkey]

Thinking about it there are def multiple ways to handle these sorts of things, depends on the situation.

There are really only a couple of ways:

1. Run away. The panicked diver will may drown or die or might be OK.
2. Stay and help. Make them buoyant as mentioned by DBailey and Thalassamania and keep their head out of the water. They'll probably be OK.

FWIW, I've rescued several panicked divers in the last few years or so, and don't even bother yelling "Inflate your BC", since it wastes time and nobody has ever done it.

That only seems to be effective when they're scared, but not yet paniced, or when you notice they're about to be in deep poop, but they haven't figured it out yet.

Terry

 

[ArcticDiver]

There are only a few things to consider in the few seconds you have to make a decision.

1. How is the "Victim" behaving? There is never, never any reason to make two casualties instead of one. If you think you can rescue the person then by all means do so. If you can't think of a way to do it with acceptable risk then don't. Mind you I said "acceptable risk". There is no guarantee of success.

2. If you decide to attempt the rescue by all means never, never give up your last ditch survival tools; your buoyancy, your breathing gas, etc.

3. Do what you need to do to assure the person will stay on the surface. Drop weights, inflate wing/bc.

4. If the person is flailing stay out of the way until they slow down or stop. Sooner or later they will become more manageable.

5. Never stop talking to them in a calm voice, it is infectious. If you can't talk calmly then keep quiet.

These are baselines. No matter how much you think and talk about a rescue when it happens it will be a surprise and you will react according to your character and your instincts. Unless of course you practice a lot of them and do more than a few real ones.

 

[mkutyna]

I think you're all forgetting the method of holding the diver under the water until they submit.