Rescue procedure if diver blown off wreck?

[Gelirfella]

This is a general hypothetical question. Let’s say you are at depth on a wreck with a decent current. You are personally able to swim against it but it’s definitely hard work. You finish your dive (let’s say you thumb it because of the current). You and your buddy make it back to the upline. You notice another team has been blown off the wreck and are struggling to make it back to the upline. One diver is okish making small headway but seems to be flagging. The other is farther out and not making headway.

What’s the appropriate procedure? Let’s say you have plenty of gas. Depth is 110, you’re on 28% and have only been down 10 minutes in your twinset.

I was floating in my mind that you might consider tying off to the upline (using your Smb spool, assuming you don’t have a true reel) and swimming out to both divers assuming they are reachable and putting them on the line. You already know you can swim against the current so not a huge risk of not getting back and you are on a line. But wondering what the likelihood of breaking that line is with 3 divers in current/are you just creating an entanglement hazard?

Maybe the best plan is just to keep an eye on them as you surface and alert the captain? Do you fly an Smb just so the captain is alerted to a potential problem and might consider dropping a diver to check it out?

 

[rongoodman]

I would assume the other team would stay together and ascend under an SMB. I’m not sure what purpose it would serve for your team to join them and once you surface the captain would be free to go after them, assuming no other teams in the water.

 

[mr_v]

The main rule is to not complicate the situation.

How confident are you in your skills? How far do you have to swim? What happens if the struggling divers run out of air? How close are they to the wreck? Is it possible to tie shoot a bag off the wreck and go up using another line? Does the wreck have other lines? These are the things you need to consider before making a decision. That is where additional training, such as a legit wreck diving course, pays off.

If you're on a boat that is any good, you'll discuss these procedures during the pre-dive. The boat captain will tell you what to do if you get blown off the wreck. Also, finally, if you're diving in current you should consider becoming proficient with SMBs, shooting bags, and carrying a dry tube with a GPS locator. Good whistles and mirrors will help, too.

In your situation, suppose you swim to the team that is having an issue. Now you have a spool/reel that you can give to them. Then what? Do you expect that the three of you will spool/reel up to the upline? I highly doubt it will work. What's more likely to happen is the three of you running out of air fighting the current.

 

[SlugLife]

What’s the appropriate procedure?

In rescue courses, perhaps the #1 thing they teach is to never endanger yourself to rescue another diver.

Air-share and things that are clearly within your abilities, are fine to do. However, if you have to ask the question, "what is the appropriate procedure," then you clearly lack the training for that kind of rescue. (That's not a criticism of you, it's a statement which applies to all of us in some way) While I'm a fan of self-teaching and picking up knowledge as you can, learning rescue in that way could be dangerous for both yourself and another diver.

In the scenario you describe, you risk experiencing the same problems as the other divers, who were blown off the wreck. Perhaps those divers would have been fine, but in your attempt to rescue them, you become the person needing rescue. If you really want better answers to this question, "take a rescue course" is probably the correct answer to your question.

Maybe the best plan is just to keep an eye on them as you surface and alert the captain? Do you fly an Smb just so the captain is alerted to a potential problem and might consider dropping a diver to check it out?

Both are better options than attempting to do a rescue yourself.

 

[Zef]

Sending up an SMB to alert the captain/boat crew of a problem is only viable if before splashing it is noted and agreed that deploying an SMB will be an indication of a problem....if that is not established prior to the dive then there will be no reason for the boat crew to think there are any issues going on below the surface.

Also, it is unlikely and impractical for the captain to put another dover in the water to scope/sort things out. It possibly endangers another life and I would not expect a boat crew member to be kitted up and waiting to respond to these types of scenarios, unless it is the policy of the boat to have an additional diver standing by on the deck at all time when divers are in the water....it's possible but not practical and unlikely.

-Z

 

[johndiver999]

I guess it is a matter of how much you want to help and how strong you are. If you can see them down current and swimming and the water is not incredibly clear, then they are probably not too far away. You might drift down current and try to push or drag the weaker diver, but this could be extremely demanding physically.

Another option would be to rise up as much as possible and just watch and see if they make it. If they are not going to make it or if you are unsure if they have an smb, you could simply deploy your smb, let go of the ascent line, drift over there, signal the divers to ascend with you and hopefully escort the divers to the surface before they gas out.

It is a lot safer to get the smb up early and close to the wreck, where the captain and crew should be able to see the smb right away. Once the marker is on the surface, you and your new buddies do a normal drifting ascent. It is probably safer to throw in the towel early, send up an smb right away compared to pushing a diver to utter exhaustion on the bottom.

Panic is often only a few moments away when a diver pushes themselves to the limit at depth.

 

[lostsheep]

“Another team?” They’re on their own.

MY buddy? I’m letting go of the line and going with them then launch an SMB as soon as possible.

I’ve been that guy who made it to the line when my buddies couldn’t and I ****** it up (we were just trying to descend not ascend fwiw). I should have let go and drifted with my team. Instead I spent the next 15 minutes getting my ass handed to me by the current while they got picked up and re-dropped. I’ll NEVER make that mistake again.

 

[Nick_Radov]

You're asking the wrong question. The appropriate procedure is to avoid that problem in the first place by running a live boat and doing a drifting ascent instead of trying to hang on an upline in a current. Get together with your buddies or dive club and charter the whole boat so that you can insist that the captain does things your way. This approach is safer, easier, and lower stress. Synchronize plans across all dive teams so that everyone is starting their ascent within a few minutes. Send up an SMB for each team as they leave the bottom, and the boat crew will track those as they drift together. The boat should be flying an Alpha flag to indicate restricted maneuverability and use VHF radio to warn off any other vessels that get too close. If you're in a shipping lane then advance coordination with the Coast Guard may also be necessary.

We had an incident like that years ago where one team got blown off the line and were lost on the surface for some time. After that we learned from the mistake and stopped diving from anchored boats in significant currents.

You may see other responses claiming that running a live boat and doing drifting ascents is impossible. They will tell you that they have been diving from anchored boats in currents for years and that it's fine. This is nonsense. Just because divers and boat captains have been doing things a certain way for years doesn't mean that it's safe or should continue. If your current boat captain doesn't want to do it right, then find another boat. Don't take no for an answer.

Of course, even if the integrated team does everything correctly there is still some risk of a diver surfacing away from the boat. Carry a variety of surface signaling devices as discussed on numerous other threads.

 

[lostsheep]

You're asking the wrong question. The appropriate procedure is to avoid that problem in the first place by running a live boat and doing a drifting ascent instead of trying to hang on an upline in a current. Get together with your buddies or dive club and charter the whole boat so that you can insist that the captain does things your way. This approach is safer, easier, and lower stress. Synchronize plans across all dive teams so that everyone is starting their ascent within a few minutes. Send up an SMB for each team as they leave the bottom, and the boat crew will track those as they drift together. The boat should be flying an Alpha flag to indicate restricted maneuverability and use VHF radio to warn off any other vessels that get too close. If you're in a shipping lane then advance coordination with the Coast Guard may also be necessary.

We had an incident like that years ago where one team got blown off the line and were lost on the surface for some time. After that we learned from the mistake and stopped diving from anchored boats in significant currents.

You may see other responses claiming that running a live boat and doing drifting ascents is impossible. They will tell you that they have been diving from anchored boats in currents for years and that it's fine. This is nonsense. Just because divers and boat captains have been doing things a certain way for years doesn't mean that it's safe or should continue. If your current boat captain doesn't want to do it right, then find another boat. Don't take no for an answer.

Of course, even if the integrated team does everything correctly there is still some risk of a diver surfacing away from the boat. Carry a variety of surface signaling devices as discussed on numerous other threads.

You’re answering the wrong question.

I’m not going to tell you you’re wrong, but you are being unrealistic.

Not everyone can charter the whole boat. If your answer is, “then don’t dive” then you’re not paying attention to how many people dive outside of Monterey or you’re being a bit elitist. Not every boat is the Escapade.

The right answer is to listen to the captain and crew then plan accordingly.

 

[Nick_Radov]

You’re answering the wrong question.

I’m not going to tell you you’re wrong, but you are being unrealistic.

Not everyone can charter the whole boat. If your answer is, “then don’t dive” then you’re not paying attention to how many people dive outside of Monterey or you’re being a bit elitist. Not every boat is the Escapade.

The right answer is to listen to the captain and crew then plan accordingly.

You're just making excuses for laziness and incompetence. The Escapade is a great dive boat, but other boats do things the same way all over the world. It's not hard or complex. Doing it right becomes realistic as soon as paying customers demands better service. I don't listen to incompetent captains.