Tough Buddy Separation Problem

[DennisS]

I would interpret my buddy missing as a strong indication that he noticed he was low on air, could not get my attention (because I didnÃÕ look back often enough?)and headed for sunshine. I would search around the outside and look without going under the wreck, then ascend. I would not cut my ascent short and, yes, I would follow my computer as usual. I would expect to find my buddy at the surface.

Entanglement with the many fishing lines on a wreck is another possibility.

 

[Reg Braithwaite]

Sorry... I've never consider diving safety a "game" before... it's a new concept for me...

Kriegsspiel

 

[Hickdive]

Back-track to the shot line, having a quick nose into any areas that could have been accessed either side of the narrow chasm. The topography you describe suggests that your buddy couldn't be ahead of you therefore they've either back-tracked themselves, gone into wherever could be accessed or ascended directly.

Look for lights and pause your breathing and listen for your buddy's, you won't get any sense of their direction, if you can hear them, but sometimes it will give you a clue as whether or not they're still about.

Once back at the shot, have another quick 360 look and listen, then ascend.

I don't think there's much else you could do but the one thing I wouldn't do is simply 360 and ascend from wherever I was on the wreck when I discovered we'd separated, that gives you the least possible chance of finding your buddy again. However, not everyone is comfortable being buddyless for even a short period and I wouldn't condemn anyone if they did make a direct ascent after checking around for a minute.

The underwater terrain does, IMO, vary your reaction to separation. In this case there appears to be a limited number of places your buddy could have gone. On an open reef they could be anywhere, on a wall they could have descended beyond sight and reach, on a big wreck there could be too many compartments to check or a multitude of routes back to the shot.

There's also the experience of the buddy to be taken into account, are they likely to have penetrated an overhead? Would they normally take more care to alert you to a stop or change of direction?

Perhaps this is just another scenario in which having everyone trained to respond in exactly the same way, regardless of any other considerations, would be advantageous?

 

[Belmont]

I did not dive the Gaskin but is there current at that location?
In that case I would look in the direction of where the current could have been taking him.
If he had a cramp or any other issue he could have been carried away and the vis there is not like in the Caribbean.

After 2-3 minutes I» would go back to the up line and do my minimum safety stop and surface.

By the way, are you talking about the Gaskin or the Daryaw. The Daryaw is upside down, the Gaskin not.

 

[scubadada]

My standard wreck plan, reviewed with my usual buddy, discussed in more detail with an assigned buddy, is a hybrid of Walter's and TSandM's. When separation is 1st noticed, stop, gain a good vantage point, make myself as noticeable as possible and look all around for a short period, up to a minute. Assuming the buddy does the same thing, this is very frequently successful. If that fails, I proceed slowly in the direction I last saw my buddy and make a reasonalble search along the way, this may or may not be in the direction of the up line. This may take up to another minute. If this also fails, I head back to the up line with a plan to rendezvous there and would wait up to 2 minutes prior to starting a normal ascent, hopefully to reunite with my buddy at the surface. This search strategy could take up to about 5 minutes prior to ascent.

I only have 55 deep wreck dives, this is hardly an extensive experience applying my search plan. First, it is actually quite rare that I lose my buddy. When it has occurred, the first 2 steps have been successful in all but one episode. On a dive on the Spiegel Grove, an assigned buddy took a different turn on a swim through and was then delayed by loss and retreival of a weight pouch prior to exiting a different access hole than I did. We met back at the upline after just a few minutes and proceeded to finish the dive. So far, it's worked well for me. I'd like to hope I don't need to proceed further along the search plan but am certainly ready to if necessary

Good diving, Craig

 

[Reg Braithwaite]

The Daryaw is upside down, the Gaskin not.

Top marks. It was the Henry C. Daryaw.

Description

This 220' steel freighter sunk on November 21, 1941 due to a large gash on her starboard side caused by running aground.

This wreck lies upside-down in heavy current. A wall beside the wreck, and the wreck itself, provide some protection from this current. Two buoys are tied off at the stern of the wreck and a fixed line leads from stern to bow around the left (starboard) side. A typical dive involves descending one of the buoy lines, admiring the two big props, and then following the fixed line around to the bow while poking around in the open cargo holds along the way. A quick drift returns the diver to the stern in no time. This dive should always be done with a good dive light as it is very dark under the wreck.

It is also possible to drift onto this wreck by dropping divers upstream. Drifting along the bottom of the channel at 90' will always lead to the wreck.

For those with proper training, penetration of the area around the stern is possible.

Hazards

Depth, current, and visibility are all hazards on this wreck. Most divers venture into the upside-down cargo holds, which is an overhead environment and can only be exited by first descending to the river bottom and then swimming out from under the sides of the wreck. All divers should carefully manage their air supplies to save enough for the return to the buoy line and controlled ascent in a very strong current.

For those penetrating the area around the stern, silt-outs are easy to cause and can take hours to clear

 

[hudson]

gain a good vantage point

One issue I noticed during lost buddy searches is maintaining your depth is crucial, especially during wall dives and lower vis. I would go up slightly to see over any obstacles, observe any bubbles etc. but then drop back down to my original depth before moving out. Your buddy should also be looking for you and you don't want to end up above him.

 

[shoredivr]

Ah, the Daryaw. There's a bit of a current, and bubbles may go off sideways depending on where you are (on the line ascending, or at the stern). It just adds to Reg's dilemma.

Knowing where you were on the Daryaw, I'd also check the other side of that huge rudder, the current might have "moved" him over there.

Would look under the wreck, not swim through. 1 minute search, begin ascent at normal rate, hoping he's on the line. If not, he might be doing an (inadvertent) drifting ascent, so on the surface have crew look for SMB.

 

[RJP]

I would have followed the specific "lost buddy procedure" that you and your buddy discussed and agreed to prior to the start of the dive. Can you tell us what that was?

 

[Walter]

I'm also wondering why this is a "tough" problem. It seems pretty straight forward to me.