Rescue Diver: Day 1,2,3

[namabiru]

Yeah, my dive buddy was a bit challenging. He wears a back plate/wing, so in simulating cutting off his gear while towing him to shore, the poor guy's trying to chicken wing his way out, and I'm feeling bad and trying to help him and getting the count off, etc... Gah!

Very rewarding class, though.

Also finally learned just how heavy a double rig is. I knew it was good and heavy, but never tried it out. I've always dived a standard setup. But in the last scenario, my instructor put on his doubles and went and got lost. There was a definite difference with pulling him up (even with my buddy). He chicken-winged out of his gear, and I was going to be nice and bring his rig up on shore after we had completed the scenario. I went to lift, and good lord! Quite a bit of weight there.

Rescue definitely made me more aware of what's going on around the water. I gained the confidence to offer help to people, both in diving and out.

 

[Sepandee]

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!

If he was trying to act as a paniced swimmer, then that's what they actually do. My instructor did the same thing, but he didn't pull my hair or poke me in the eye.

 

[Sepandee]

Day 2: More of what we did on day 1, and a couple of search and rescues, comping up from almost 40ft below with no air, swimming with the gear off (carrying it), and 2 dives for fun. The search and rescue was fun, really fun. I had to rescue someone twice, and i played the victim once. I had my weights off as the victim, which was a bit funny because we were in a ship wreck and i was grabbing on to a pole so i wouldn't hit the roof too hard but once i released my weight belt my hand slipped and i hit the roof hard with my head! Then when the rescuer came and put my belt back on ... well, let's say if I'm conscious and pretending to be unconscious I;d rather have the rescuer try to attach the weights to my bcd or something.

And for the 1st time i noticed that the fish inside and around ship wrecks are much more friendlier than the other fish. They don't get scared as easily.

 

[almitywife]

huh? your inside a wreck removing gear and simulating a rescue?

cheers

 

[Sepandee]

no, removing gear to swim with it started outside the wreck but we moved into the wreck afterwards (with the gear off). Rescue was inside, we had to get the victim out of the wreck and to the surface.

 

[paperdesk]

Please edit your posts quick, it's spelled panicked not paniced! Sounds like a great course! Hope to do it someday.

 

[Sepandee]

Please edit your posts quick, it's spelled panicked not paniced! Sounds like a great course! Hope to do it someday.

Indeed, I stand corrected. No need to edit though

 

[rongoodman]

no, removing gear to swim with it started outside the wreck but we moved into the wreck afterwards (with the gear off). Rescue was inside, we had to get the victim out of the wreck and to the surface.

Which organization is running this course? What are the prerequisites for it? I've never heard of doing the scenarios in an overhead environment.

 

[Sepandee]

it's a dive shop here in Barbados. The course is a PADI course.
I think doing the rescue in an overhead environment is necessary. It's one thing to search for someone lying at the bottom of ocean with nothing to hide him/her. It's much harder to find someone if they're caught inside a wreck.

 

[undefined]

I disagree. Doing the rescue class in an overhead environment presents a great deal of additional potential for disaster. There is no doubt that rescuing a diver from an overhead environment is a valuable skill and may be a necessity at some point, but the additional dangers of doing so during training when you have no already mastered the basics of rescue seems unwise.

Perhaps there should be an Advanced Rescue class to cover this sort of objective once one has finished the current Rescue program.