Rough Seas and the ladder attack!

[erparamedic]

Just got back from our trip to WPB, which was amazing, I must say! We had a great time!

The first day we went out on the boat... the seas were supposed to be 2' or less... got out to sea, and it was a good 4-6 feet... which translates to me feeding the fish!

The fist dive went off great... had a wonderful time! (You can see the dive report in the Conch Divers, South Florida Forum).

The second dive, I was pretty sick... had my little spot on the side of the boat! The capt. let the first group of 3 off the boat... then circled to give me a chance to compose myself and get geared up. No problem. It came time that the 3 of us... Rod, me, and our great photographer, were going to enter all at the same time. The guys each picked a side of the dive platform, and I went off the middle between the 2 ladders... which is where we're supposed to stride off in the first place.

The rest of this was like "slow motion"...

We all took our stride off... when a nasty rogue wave took the boat and in turn, I jammed my left knee on one of the ladders. I felt the kneecap pop out... grabbed my knee with my left hand... relocated it (not hard to do!), held my reg in my mouth with my right hand... wanted to scream it hurt so bad! At this point, I was still underwater... hadn't surfaced to give the OK yet. Jeff saw (from underwater) what happened, and took off toward me... my husband quickly followed. Still underwater, kicking toward the top with one leg... I could hear the capt. and the DM on the boat yelling if I was ok... I surfaced, told them no... I hurt my knee pretty bad, and needed to get back onto the boat. The boat was still getting knocked around by the waves... wasn't safe to approach the boat yet. Left knee was very painful. I got my weightbelt off...and Jeff helped me out of my BC... and helped to hand it up. At this time I had a firm grip on the boat ladder. Finally, I climbed out and made it back to the seat... took off the wetsuit, and my knee was swollen, bruised, and had a couple small abrasions on it. The wetsuit had a small hole in it, where the ladder hit.

The crew said they saw the wave when it was too late to tell us to wait.... they said the ladder hit my tank too... and said that was really loud... they didn't know about the knee till I was able to surface. I was unaware that the ladder hit my tank... probably from the awful pain of my knee, that was my focus... as well and getting to the surface.

(Again... this sounds like it took a long time... but it was like slow motion to me... only took a couple minutes... maybe 5 at most... by the time I was back on the boat!)

I must give BIG THANKS to Pura Vida's crew and Jeff for helping me at that time. I went and had the knee checked out later that afternoon.... I was afraid that I might have cracked the kneecap... and that was my bad knee to start with (3 previous surgeries on it). All was ok... no breaks, just bad bruises and swelling.... and I was able to dive again 2 days later. The crew helped me out of my suit... couldn't move my knee very well without searing pain. They even put all my gear back into my gear bag... very kind of them.
That's my first dive incident in over 10 years! It was truly nobody's fault, and would have happened to anyone who stode off where I did at that time... King Neptune just decided that I shouldn't dive that site! And I didn't! LOL

I believe this situation was handled VERY well... considering the seas were much rougher than expected. I was very impressed with the captain and crew.

All is ok... still bruised pretty bad, and swollen, but I'm sure it will be fine in a few more days.

I was just lucky that the ladder didn't hit my head, or break anything. All was OK. Kept my wits, Jeff and the DM took my gear... but I climbed out by myself. The DM was right at my side though... and Jeff was right there to help too if need be.

What an experience. I never thought a ladder could hurt soooo bad!

 

[Wildcard]

Glad it wasn't worse. Try getting back on a boat WITHOUT a ladder (Catherine) it can be a challenge for anyone.
Always watch the sea, it will wait forever for you to get distracted.

 

[DougNR]

I'm very glad you're okay.

I'd say your training also served you well. To have reacted by popping it back in place rather than thrashing around in a panic as many might well have done says a great deal.

I live in the area of WPB and certainly the conditions could have been better. I'm glad you felt it was a good trip in spite of the mishap, and hope you'll have a much better experience nexst time.

 

[TSandM]

I'm very suspicious of ladders when the surface is rough. In fact, I'm not fond of diving off a boat when the surface is rough. I scrubbed a dive in our wreck workshop mostly because of surface conditions. There is a frightening amount of energy in the mass of a tossing boat, and if it hits me, I'm going to lose.

Kudos to you for relocating your own patella. You must have been through it before!

 

[Cacia]

wow.

Helldiver Rodeo?

Sometimes there is not much you can do...

Glad you are okay.

My tips, FWIW. Usually even worse trying to get back ON. Approach the boat from the side until you are ready to go for the ladder. This way a wave won't be as likely to slam the boat in your face. Always note the direction the waves are slamming/launching the boat. Don't place yourself there.

Never look down to remove your fins..you won't see what is coming at your head. Always protect your skull. There are maverick waves, but in general timing is key when dealing with waves. You time it, and go for it.

Don't take your fins off, no matter what anyone on the boat tells you in rough seas. Keep your reg/mask on until your are out of the water, completely!

I have been is seas so rough, that I have opted to let a wave throw me on the deck/ step and never removed my fins. That's rare, but don't get caught unexpectantly back in the ocean with no fins. Inflate your bc first, in case you get knocked out.

We use tag lines with a bouy to line people up here in Hawaii, on a rough pick up after a drift.

WC, if you used my ladder, you would see that it is just a bunch of sharp corners flying at you. The flipper kick, pull up is the ticket. Took me awhile.
maybe we need helmets?

 

[Walter]

I find it much easier to lift an injured diver onto the boat if I leave them in their gear. The easiest way is for two crew members to do the lifting. Each person has one hand on a rail (they don't need to fall into the water) facing each other. The injured diver is between them and away from any ladder. If the seas are rough, they have to keep the diver from hitting the boat. Reaching down, they each grab a BC shoulder (injured diver is facing aft) and lift the diver onto the boat. The entire proceedure takes about 1 second to execute and it's extremely easy.

 

[fairybasslet]

Glad you didn't break anything. I know about bad knees. My scariest experience on a ladder was the first time I climbed up The Spree. I slipped climbing up (the DM had his back to me) and both legs slipped through the ladder and I landed on my butt on one of the rungs. It was very embarrassing at the time because I was stuck there. They had to take my tank off me because there was no way I could get my legs out with it on. Thinking back on it now, I was really lucky that I didn't slip all the way off the ladder and gone down to hit my head on it (if I had flipped over that is). After that, I asked the DM to please watch me until I was all the way out in case I needed help. I do have a bum knee that is weak and sometimes I have trouble getting up the last step if I'm tired.

 

[Cacia]

Great tip, Walter. I haven't had that happen, but I will remember that.

yes, ladders can be traps, especially the smaller ones.

 

[Walter]

Great tip, Walter. I haven't had that happen, but I will remember that.

The best part is you and your daughter could easily lift NetDoc with this method.

 

[Cheekymonkey]

Glad your alright, some of those ladders can really flop, and I can't imagine how much they must weigh.