Rescue Diver: Day 1,2,3

[Sepandee]

Day 1: it was funny, cuz the first thing we had to do is pull someone off the water to the shore without any gear (no fins), timed. Few of us threw up after a couple of tries, and some kept falling when they tried lifting the victim after reaching the shore cuz their legs just gave up!

Non-responsive diver: my instructor played the victim, and I didn't go low enough, so he grabbed on to me like a moth****. He lost his fins and mask, i lost my mask, and for 2 seconds I forgot i had a regulator in my mouth and could breath under water!

Tiring but awesome day. Finally learning something (AOW is such a waste!).

 

[almitywife]

Day 1: it was funny, cuz the first thing we had to do is pull someone off the water to the shore without any gear (no fins), timed. Few of us threw up after a couple of tries, and some kept falling when they tried lifting the victim after reaching the shore cuz their legs just gave up!

MY hubby was my buddy for my rescue

he was lying on his back on the sand...... half in the water and half out

i thought i would grab a handful of wetsuit under each armpit and pull really really hard to pull him free of the water!

so I did it and then suddenly he is rolling around on the ground screaming and crying

i said to him he was being a bit way over the top and no one would believe that he was a drowning/paniced diver once he was pulled free of the water

then he shouted... "NO - you pulled my underarm hair out!!!"

opps - i forgot men have underarm hair


i think Rescue is a great course, tiring but very exciting and educational - enjoy!

 

[Sepandee]

Haha hilarious.
To be honest, I complained to my instructor. It could've been me and another guy with 2-3 other sexy girls, but no, i have to settle with 3 guys, each with beer bellies, man-boobies, and 160+ lb.

 

[almitywife]

my hubby is 6ft and weights almost 200lbs - and its all muscle

if he gets carried/pulled he digs his feet or hands into the sand to make it even harder for them to carry him

the look on the students faces when they turn around to see trenches dug into the sand is always funny

i think instructors like teaching rescue because they get to be very very mean

 

[Sepandee]

i think instructors like teaching rescue because they get to be very very mean

Agreed. Everytime i made a mistake, even if it was just at the beginning of the scenario, i was yelled out to swim all the way back to my instructor, only to hear him say "you should yell louder" or "when swimming towards the victim, you had your head under the water too often," followed by "now go do it again"!!

 

[almitywife]

for me... the amount of work and effort you have to put into your rescue course is what makes it so worthwhile

ive often said i would do my rescue again

 

[The Mushroom King]

Oh dear,

Not sure if I should be excited or concerned?!?! ;-)
I'm doing the rescue in about 10 days from now.... from the sounds of it, I should try to get some more exercise beforehand!

any more tips would be appreciated!

 

[Sepandee]

If your instructor is going to start with something intensive, i suggest a 5 minute warm-up beforehand, and a very light breakfast/meal. If you don't want your back or your legs to be hurting the next day, then work on them lighlty at the gym until the course starts. That should get your muscles a bit more ready.
But even better advice: go to the gym continously to keep yourself fit.
But remember, the strongest (wo)man can fail the course too. It's not about strength, although having it helps.

 

[DeepSeaDan]

for me... the amount of work and effort you have to put into your rescue course is what makes it so worthwhile

ive often said i would do my rescue again

...IMHO it is discovering what works & what doesn't that counts most. Alot of folks have preconceptions on how things should go & are suprised to find that reality is often very different. Further, I believe the ultimate worth of scuba rescue is to drive home just how vital it is to prevent accidents from happening.

Enjoy the sport, but remain alert & vigilant to potential problems, in all their forms, & we can nip disaster in the bud before the poop hits the fan...

Best,
DSD

 

[Matt_NJ]

I have not done rescue diver yet, but I did a course awhile back for a lifeguard/rescue training program where they did similar stuff with having to drag struggling paniced people from the water etc.. I can understand instructors trying to simulate a real paniced person but my instructor was being a real ********* to everyone litterally kicking and biting, pulling hair etc etc. It was not fun, after he stuck his thumb in my eye I actually ended up kneeing him in the groin to drag him out of the water..... I hope when I do rescue I dont have to go through that again, we almost came to serious blows!