what do you do if?

[razor]

I went divng at Grand Caymen and my normal dive buddy could not make this dive due to having trouble clearing her ears. I paired up with a quiet individual on the boat who told me he did not have a lot of experience which is great because everybody has to start somewhere and I myself don't have a whole lot of dives (35). Every thing is going great till near the end of the dive. I look around and he is going up at an alarming rate and he looks like he is trying fight it by swimming back done. I signal to him to dump his BC. He still keeps swimming towards me. I ascend to meet him, my computer is pitching a fit and we finally meet I reach over and dump his BC and then dump mine. He has this wide eyed look and the dive master comes and takes control of him. I regain my bouyancy and start my normal ascent and spending 6 mins at 15 feet.

We get on the boat and the dive master comes over and asks how I am doing. I feel fine but I am kinda worried about how fast I was ascending during the incident. The turd I was buddied up with did not even say thanks and just sat there till the boat docked and he just left.

Now my question..what should I have done? After reviewing this with my normal dive buddy (wife) who rips me a new butt
I realize that it could have been much worse but it was a reaction on my part to help this guy. I am still not sure what I would do if it happened again. The only thing I am damn sure about is I will not dive with anybody that I just met and probaly won't dive with anybody other than my wife.

Thoughts?

 

[fan(t)a(s)tic]

The only thing I am damn sure about is I will not dive with anybody that I just met and probaly won't dive with anybody other than my wife.

Thoughts?

Happy to hear nothing happened to you (and the other guy, for that matter).

I'm not sure how I'd act in your position, but believe I'm too much into helping others even if it puts me in a tight spot as well. (been there on other occasions...)

And him not even saying thanks is bad form, even if it is most probably a sign of bad conscience.

About the last part, what would guys like me, who do not have the luxury of a permanent buddy do, if everybody stays away from us?

 

[jiveturkey]

I'd try to help but wouldn't compromise my own safetly. If the guy is a certified diver he's supposed to have basic diving skills. A rational adult will dive within his abilities and if after your OW course you don't feel confident in your basic skills, you'd better head back to the pool.

Look at the thanks your got for helping. You're sure to meet more divers like this one.

 

[scubatoad]

I think the guy may have just been too embarrassed to face you after making such a rookie mistake. This simply could be his coping mechanism. Rookies that try hard to hide the fact that they are rookies often end up looking like really stupid rookies.

 

[String]

Tend to say help to a certain extent, id make a call and go up a certain amount, extend my hand for them to grab, if they grabbed it id dump air and attempt to stabilise us both in the water. Sometimes all someone needs is the few extra seconds to feel for and pull their dump and problem is over.

If its obvious they are still in trouble id try to reach their dump myself. If that didnt work or couldnt be reached somehow id just let go, wave good bye and ascend myself making sure my ascent rate was OK, any deco obligation met but i may skip safety stop depending on their problem.

The (very few) times this has happened to me, grabbing their hand whilst dumping my own air has bought enough time for them to regain control of their own buoyancy but its a call you have to make individually as to how much risk you are willing to be exposed to.

If its a momentary lapse not a permanent skill problem i tend never to mention it once one the surface- what happened under the water stays there so to speak, no sense grilling them or embarassing them over it, it happened and the person will know themselves they made a mistake without being permanently reminded.

Obviously if its a deco dive or happens a lot words maybe needed and training suggested.

 

[MechDiver]

regain my bouyancy and start my normal ascent and spending 6 mins at 15 feet.

I feel fine but I am kinda worried about how fast I was ascending during the incident.

Now my question..what should I have done? After reviewing this with my normal dive buddy (wife) who rips me a new butt
I realize that it could have been much worse but it was a reaction on my part to help this guy. I am still not sure what I would do if it happened again. The only thing I am damn sure about is I will not dive with anybody that I just met and probaly won't dive with anybody other than my wife.

Thoughts?

The whole premise of recreational NDL diving is the ability to DIRECTLY proceed to the surface if necessary. As I seriously doubt you had incurred any deco obligations on your dive, you most likely would have not had a problem with a direct ascent, provided you obeyed the first rule and did not hold your breath.

The 6 minutes at 15 feet was a good itea, but overkill IMO. As long as you don't have a hard ceiling (true required deco) you most likely will/would not have a issue. Rec divers get all wrapped up on this stuff and cause themselves a big bunch of worries over non-things.

MD

 

[String]

The whole premise of recreational NDL diving is the ability to DIRECTLY proceed to the surface if necessary

But WITHIN certain ascent rate limits. EVERY dive is an on-gas and off-gas dive and therefore a decompression dive, the lack of stops is just countered by a slow ascent rate to allow time for the off gassing to happen. A dive within NDLs doesnt mean you ignore all the rules.

I cant comment on the 6min stop as i dont know enough details about the dive such as depth, time, number of dives before this etc. It seems sensible and better safe than sorry.

 

[Walter]

A few points:

You probably had little reason to worry. The ascent rate used to be 60 fpm and still is for emergencies. Millions of dives were made using a 60 fpm ascent rate.

You were correct to extend your safety stop. I rarely make my last safety stop for less than 5 minutes. It is overkill, but what else do I have to do with that air in my tank?

You did exactly what you should have done. You were there for a buddy. Good job!

Your buddy probably wasn't at fault. He probably didn't have enough training to know how to react to the situation. Standards are low.

You and your wife are being too harsh on you and your buddy.

In the future, discuss background beyond "I do not have a lot of experience," so you'll know what to expect.

Don't give up on all unknown divers.

 

[MikeFerrara]

Things sometimes happen fast as you noticed. You take about an eighth of a second to decide if you can help and then do it or don't. I've chased people up to get hold of them and I've let them go and followed at the fastest rate that I was willing to ascend. I did the later last weekend BTW.

I will say this though...
While I enjoy meeting and diving with new people the dives I'll do with someone I don't know are pretty limited and the longer I dive the pickier I get about who I dive with in general. The buddy seperations, rapid ascents and other stunts that some divers pull can significantly add to your risk on a dive. Depending on the person and the dive I'm not always willing to accept the additional risk.

 

[SueMermaid]

What Walter and Mike said. It is a personal choice to assume some risk to come to someone else's aid. I would have done the same, and I think you handled the situation well.