To help or not to help!!

[iztok]

While I do not agree with the captain's call for the reasons above I wold probably jump in after him to be his rescue buddy in case he needs it.

 

[LeadTurn_SD]

Sorry to be a "wet blanket", but: It is very difficult to estimate distances over water (my previous career was as a ship's navigator). At 1/2 mile, unless the water is totally flat, and the diver has a safety sausage, and the diveboat has a fairly high deck.... it is nearly impossible to see a diver in the water at 1/2 mile range, without binoculars and a good deal of luck. Also, in general, you wouldn't be able to hear him yelling at that range... a very good whistle or an air horn, plus the wind in the right direction and engine turned off, but probably not just a voice....

Anyway, distance estimation aside, unless you are certain you can reach the diver faster than the boat can, it would have been better to wait for the anchor to be raised, slipped or cut. And if the decision was made to swim, the captain should have stayed on the boat! He is the one most qualified to operate it, and if he were injured or needed to be rescued, it could be a big problem.

Best wishes.

 

[Puffer Fish]

Leadturn, you are dead on. If you could hear him, you were not 1/2 a mile away.

But lets assume it is 1/4 mile...200 yards... makes very little difference. First, because it is a down current swim and second because you are not doing a rescue...someone goes over there to calm the "excited person" down. Been thru that exersize a bunch of times.

You swim over, calm the person down and wait for the boat to get there. If they were really drowning, you would not get there in time.. well, unless they have invented a new form of slow, very slow drowning.

So people just don't do well by themselves, alone in the ocean.

Sorry to be a "wet blanket", but: It is very difficult to estimate distances over water (my previous career was as a ship's navigator). At 1/2 mile, unless the water is totally flat, and the diver has a safety sausage, and the diveboat has a fairly high deck.... it is nearly impossible to see a diver in the water at 1/2 mile range, without binoculars and a good deal of luck. Also, in general, you wouldn't be able to hear him yelling at that range... a very good whistle or an air horn, plus the wind in the right direction and engine turned off, but probably not just a voice....

Anyway, distance estimation aside, unless you are certain you can reach the diver faster than the boat can, it would have been better to wait for the anchor to be raised, slipped or cut. And if the decision was made to swim, the captain should have stayed on the boat! He is the one most qualified to operate it, and if he were injured or needed to be rescued, it could be a big problem.

Best wishes.

 

[LeadTurn_SD]

Leadturn, you are dead on. If you could hear him, you were not 1/2 a mile away.

But lets assume it is 1/4 mile...200 yards... makes very little difference. First, because it is a down current swim and second because you are not doing a rescue...someone goes over there to calm the "excited person" down. Been thru that exersize a bunch of times.

You swim over, calm the person down and wait for the boat to get there. If they were really drowning, you would not get there in time.. well, unless they have invented a new form of slow, very slow drowning.

So people just don't do well by themselves, alone in the ocean.

I agree with everything your saying.

If I can get to the person safely, faster than I think the boat can, or the boat can't be moved, I'd jump in.

Realistically though, beyond maybe 400 yards, even taking a few minutes to start the engine and pull in an anchor the boat will most likely beat you to the diver in distress unless you are an Olympic swimmer moving at world record pace, and even then it would be a close finish

Best wishes.

 

[onefastpony]

So what is the rest of the story? Did the Capt reach the diver? Who drove the boat to the Capt and diver, or did the Capt pull the diver back to the boat. Where did this happen, what operator? A little more info please. I would really like to know if it is a local operator for me since there are a limited number of them here in the Tampa Bay area, due to me knowing how said Capt would react in a future situation.

 

[Blackwood]

Wait a minute, I just re-read the story. Was the 'camera guy' the last guy in the water?

 

[htn123]

Thanks so much for all the responses. I am not very good I judging the distance so it could have been 1/4 mile, but is is a fairly far distance, plus he was down current so it would have been a struggle for him to get back to the boat by himself.

So here is rest of the incident details. The camera guy was the last one in the water. And yes, the captain did get to him on time, calmed him down considerably, inflated his BC, took his huge camera away so he can float by himself without any obstruction and pulled his masked off so that he was not freaking out any more. The divemaster was able to get the stucked anchor off. With the help of the other spearo, got the anchor on the boat fast and we were able to picked up the DM and brought the boat to the capt and the camera guy fairly quick. When we got there the capt instructed the DM to jumped down and help him with the BC and the weight and the camera. I was up on the boat handling the camera, the BCD, the weight on to the boat. The camera guy was able to get on the boat on his own power but he did not dive for the rest of the trip.

The captain did give the first mate instruction before he jumped in to cut the boat anchor if the dive master could not get the anchor off. The dive master underwater trying to get the anchor off so I think that would not has been a wise idea to cut the line and crank up the prop to get the camera guy and risk running the dive master over or something else could happen.

As far as the captain concerned, I think he did a wonderful job. If/when I am in distress in water, I would want to have someone near by. That alone would give much comfort to the situation.

What I was seeking from yall/ boat captains from this board is a general protocol on how to deal with rescue situation.

Yes, if the gent went up and scream and went back down again, I will be the fist one to jump in to get his butt back on the boat. But he was floating fine but was just in distress/panic, I would want the capt to make a call. I am putting myself in the capt shoe. Do I want another diver jumped down and what if that diver does NOT know rescue protocol and now became another distress situation? What if that diver just went deep and in the course of trying to rescue the gent pulled a muscle or worst, has an DCS while swimming ? Who would be the liable party now? me, or the captain?

The next time I go diving, I would inform the capt about my rescue ability and let the capt make a call. After all, it is his boat and it is his responsibility for all the clients on the boat.

 

[captndale]

A situation in which a diver is caught in a current and drifting away from the boat is always a difficult problem. Each situation, however, must be evaluated on its own.

Some things to consider:

A diver in a one knot current (about as fast as a person can swim with MF&S without scuba for any distance) will carry a person on the surface 1/4 mile in 15 minutes.

It may take several minutes to get the boat ready to move to chase the diver down. Grannie and trail lines must be taken in; any deco bars, hanging regulator lines and the like must be pulled up; anchor lines or moorings must be cast off. Few captains would "cut" an anchor line; they would untie it and attach a fender or other float to the end for later recovery.

It is a very dangerous proposition for the captain to enter the water to go after someone. I am aware of at least one instance here in Lake Michigan where such action caused the death of the captain - The diver survived.

A diver who is yelling is not really in immanent danger. Like a baby who just fell down and is crying, they are upset and demanding attention but not seriously injured. Someone who is drowning does not make noise.

 

[htn123]

CaptnDale, so for your charters, do you establish upfront that you will make the decision for who will jump in for a rescue or what is your protocol or do you have one?

 

[Puffer Fish]

Captndale, about as good of a response as I have ever seen... thanks.

For the record, I would tell the captain that I was going to the diver and come pick us up as soon as they could. I've always liked floating on the surface.

A situation in which a diver is caught in a current and drifting away from the boat is always a difficult problem. Each situation, however, must be evaluated on its own.

Some things to consider:

A diver in a one knot current (about as fast as a person can swim with MF&S without scuba for any distance) will carry a person on the surface 1/4 mile in 15 minutes.

It may take several minutes to get the boat ready to move to chase the diver down. Grannie and trail lines must be taken in; any deco bars, hanging regulator lines and the like must be pulled up; anchor lines or moorings must be cast off. Few captains would "cut" an anchor line; they would untie it and attach a fender or other float to the end for later recovery.

It is a very dangerous proposition for the captain to enter the water to go after someone. I am aware of at least one instance here in Lake Michigan where such action caused the death of the captain - The diver survived.

A diver who is yelling is not really in immanent danger. Like a baby who just fell down and is crying, they are upset and demanding attention but not seriously injured. Someone who is drowning does not make noise.