Team question

[LG Diver]

FWIW- one of the things our team has been working on is descents, and we've found that planning "stops" on the way down really helps keep the team together. We'll plan a stop every 15'. It's just a pause to regroup, get stable and positioned, and then continue down. We're doing it mostly as a drill, but it's really a good tool in low vis (we were lucky if we had 5' today).

 

[nadwidny]

FWIW- one of the things our team has been working on is descents, and we've found that planning "stops" on the way down really helps keep the team together. We'll plan a stop every 15'. It's just a pause to regroup, get stable and positioned, and then continue down. We're doing it mostly as a drill, but it's really a good tool in low vis (we were lucky if we had 5' today).

That may work for shallow dives but when you're trying to get down to 300' pausing every 15' isn't an option.

 

[Gombessa]

That may work for shallow dives but when you're trying to get down to 300' pausing every 15' isn't an option.

Well...yeah...but did you get the sense that the OP's team was going down to 300'? I think having control of buoyancy during ascents and descents is a great thing to practice, and even if you don't do 15' stops on deep dives, it's not a bad thing to practice with your team when you have the chance.

 

[MattL]

Well...yeah...but did you get the sense that the OP's team was going down to 300'? I think having control of buoyancy during ascents and descents is a great thing to practice, and even if you don't do 15' stops on deep dives, it's not a bad thing to practice with your team when you have the chance.

even in the op ? they go to 100' a stop ever 15' can realy mess up your gas plane. I'v done that onces i still can let it down still getting **** from the team but the team leader grab me gave me the *** and i gave him the im clow and we got it back on the line but i was tasked loud on a new dive for me and just forgot about it so grabing them is an ok thing if they still dont do what they need to be doing after that time time to go up and talk about it.

 

[LG Diver]

Guys, focus on the point... not the 15'. Of course you wouldn't pause every 15' if you were descending 300'. What about every 50'? or every 100'? How about the team talks about it and develops a plan that makes sense based on conditions? The point is that inserting a few planned opportunities to regroup and check the status of the team during the descent can avoid lost teammates.

 

[Ben_ca]

And the point LG Diver is trying to make is that a pause is just that a pause.... One second.... two seconds tops...

look left... look right...

ok the team then press on.

I think we can all agree that a free fall to the bottom oblivious of the team is a bad thing.

 

[nadwidny]

And the point LG Diver is trying to make is that a pause is just that a pause.... One second.... two seconds tops...

look left... look right...

ok the team then press on.

All that can be done without pauses.

I think we can all agree that a free fall to the bottom oblivious of the team is a bad thing.

Absolutely.

 

[nadwidny]

Guys, focus on the point... not the 15'. Of course you wouldn't pause every 15' if you were descending 300'. What about every 50'? or every 100'? How about the team talks about it and develops a plan that makes sense based on conditions? The point is that inserting a few planned opportunities to regroup and check the status of the team during the descent can avoid lost teammates.

We do a bit of a stop at 40-50' (that's the depth at which we start the timer) to make sure that everybody is OK and ears are clearing, everybody is caught up, etc. After that there is no need to pause as it's continous checking.

 

[Fotoz4FX]

First I guess I have to question the term you used which fell apart at the get go... "TEAM".

A Team has a plan, they follow it and make and discuss alternates in the event of a failure. I don't think you guys were diving as a team or at least on a team concept. I wonder if the TEAM sat down prior to this dive and discussed the objectives of the dive, how you would make your decent (free fall - very risky in unfamiliar waters or on a first decent) or following the 'decent or shot (get it?) line', where you were going to go, what you would be doing (objective) and designated pressure for returning to the line (rule of thirds). I do think you were right on in calling the dive with extra pressure to cushion any ascent issues that might present themselves. Kudos to you on that call. If you don't dive with pony bottles (we are required to have them here in the Northeast), maybe you might want to think about it as a backup escape module... ???

I applaud the fact that your Lead Diver had the foresight to utilize his light and that you didn't chase the less experienced diver which possibly could have increased your risk of injury... you kept your head, paced your descent and maintained control of the situation fixing little problems without making them become or appear to be bigger than they already became (separation).

In Dive Rescue there is a factor called Risk/Benefit that poses a question: Is the Benefit worth the Risk? In fact, you addressed this question perhaps without even knowing it... coming to a satisfactory conclusion.

Perhaps it might have been wise to grab a quick compass heading to the Lead diver on your way to the less experienced diver while you still had sight of him. This would at least have given you a direction to go upon retrieval of your 'rescue'. The most important consideration is to not become a victim... or worse yet, another victim (statistics bear this out... 70% of would be rescuers become victims).

The lead diver followed the line... he did not divert from it and effectively followed the smartest path. You might ask: Was he oblivious to what was going on? Perhaps he was and then again, maybe he was giving both of his team members the opportunity to 'fix' their problem (it certainly was not his). It is argumentative.

Fortunately (I always like to read the articles rather than be in them) your dive ended with all involved safe at the surface and better educated to face the next dive. You are making an excellent scenario for discussion which I will borrow for classroom debate.

It's always better to address scenarios before they present themselves so that in the event that they do occur... they aren't seen as scenarios but rather as solutions.

Thank you very much for bringing this to the boards.