Should I have done something different?

[Iruka]

Sounds fine to me....a tank loose isn't really an emergency, unless you're flailing around in heavy surf at the time, and the person should be able to breathe/keep the reg in his mouth without any problem. Once you have the tank properly secured, as long as the diver isn't unduly panicked by the whole thing, I see no reason to abort the dive. I also think it was a good idea to get your buddy's attention...if you hadn't, and he had continued on ahead, depending on visibility possibly getting separated from you, it could have caused more problems. Speaking from experience, sometimes the trickiest part is communicating to the other diver that he/she has a tank loose, and you're there to help.....sometimes they try to look "behind" them while you're working on the tank, and it's like a dog chasing its tail....except in this case "you're" the tail!

Ideally, the other person's buddy would have been close enough/prepared enough to lend a hand, but he wasn't, and you were, so good job.

 

[getwet2]

Good job!!!!

 

[Diver0001]

...snip...

Was it correct to spend that few extra seconds to grab my buddies fin?

Absolutely. This problem wasn't directly life threatening and you did the right thing by assuring that you and your buddy didn't get separated.

What if the struggling guy had been unable to breath and that few seconds was too long?

It's highly unlikely that this would have happened with an escaped tank.

Should the guy of aborted the dive at that time?

Why?

Would you have said something to the guys buddy after the dive?

Is there something you wanted to say but didn't?

The guy did thank me after the dive and the four of us talked briefly about it. The guys buddy said he was unaware of the tank comming out.

the way you describe it, he doesn't sound like thw world's most alert buddy.....

Problems like this can be avoided by doing a proper buddy check. If he didn't notice it coming out he might not have noticed it sitting loose to start with. Clearly two things went wrong with kitting up--namely (a) that the diver with the problem attached his BCD incorrectly (too loose) and (b) his buddy didn't notice it.

R..

 

[El Orans]

Well done.

 

[lhpdiver]

It is for situations such as this that my wife (my primary buddy) and myself both have squawkers (sp?). True, they can be abused to the point of being useless (eg 3 instructors on the same dive using them to corral groups of students). We use them to get each other's attention for significant events. A colorful parrot fish is not a significant event. A 6-8 ft hammerhead swimming overhead while I'm taking photos is a significant event. In your situation - let's say your buddy was 20 ft in front of you and the other diver was 20 ft behind you. A gentle tap-tap would have gotten your buddy's attention as well as the troubled diver and his buddy. You would have saved the time of swimming 40 ft and swam directly to the other diver.

 

[ScubaFreak]

Agreed,

Think u did the right thing, i too as ur buddy would have appreciated the signal, well done.

SF

 

[Cudabait]

I think you had correctly mentally assesed that the diver with the loose tank was not in immediate danger. You did it right!!

 

[Kestrell]

Well, as a personal opinion, I think that you did it right. Your first responsibilities are to you and YOUR buddy.. and then to everyone else. So, letting your buddy know that you were turning around was a smart move. Chances are that if the guy hadn't have been able to breathe and there was no one around, he would have aborted long before you got there, and that wouldn't have been your fault. It kind of sounds to me like HIS buddy wasn't paying attention. Hes lucky that you were there, or who knows how long he would have struggled???

Thats JMHO... kudos to you for seeing him and helping out!

I agree with this quote completely.

 

[spear_friend]

what i have done , was i slide my bc off with regulater still in my mouth and i just restrap it on

 

[wolf eel]

[Mr. Nice Guy Hello, Feedback?
A week later, I am sitting here wondering about the situation. Was it correct to spend that few extra seconds to grab my buddies fin?]

Two cents woth.

Yes it was the right thing to do. Your buddy and you helped him out not his buddy. Had the other guy told his buddy then they would have dealt with it together. The buddy system only works when you work as a buddy. If you had not told your buddy to come back and he had troubles where would you be?

Allways tell your buddy when you are about to go off in another direction. Not only for your saftey but hers/his

[What if the struggling guy had been unable to breath and that few seconds was too long? ]

Thats that training part. Why did he not connect with his Buddy? Why when they got in the water did his buddy not notice the tank slideing out ?. Had he been struggling you may have wanted the two of you there to calm it down a notch or two anyhow.

[Would you have said something to the guys buddy after the dive?]

I would have forsure. Thats me though.

[The guy did thank me after the dive and the four of us talked briefly about it. The guys buddy said he was unaware of the tank comming out.]

The other buddy was not aware because he was not a buddy at all.

You did it all the right way.

Cheers
Derek