Hey, Gary - I see you post quite a few of your more interesting callouts over on the DL board. I'm curious - on average, what percentage of those 200 callouts actually end up with team members in the water?Gary D.:
What is proper procedure for downcurrent
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Snowbear:
Over 50% of them we get wet. Some of the calls are one quick dive while some last for dozens of dives. A couple of years ago we had two calls where we dove 10-12 hours a day for over a month and never worked the streets at all. That put a big strain on patrol. We all got sick from that one but the net haul brought closure to 4 families.
Hard to predict what is going to happen. Last night we had one rig endo twice and come to rest 3' from going swimming. Not bad for a 25mph zone.
About an hour earlier we had a drunk go over a bank and headed for the H20. A bush, that has stopped two school busses from going in the drink, caught him and only his front bumper got wet.
Both of these would have been saveable had they gone in except both had BAC's over .20 which is a death sentence.
Stupid drunks.
Neither was a callout but we have these close ones almost daily year around.
What sucks is as long as I'm close to home I have to watch my sport diving bottom times. It wouldn't be to cool if I was maxed out and we get a rescue call. Recovery is no big deal because must we can do them on our terms. So when I get out of Dodge I let the computer short circut and enjoy myself.
More than once I have been diving off our own boat the the Marine Deputies show up and take me away. That ruins a perfectly good diving day.
Gary D.
ArcticDiver
Contributor
Gary D.:
Gary:
I sense your frustration. I get it too when I think people are either just not getting it, or just want to argue. I don't think either is the case here. Surfing a horizontal current either on the surface or underwater can be a blast. Haven't had as much opportunity to do that as you have, but it was fun.
On the other hand the original question was about down currents. My limited experience with them hasn't been fun at all. Being carried down even though finning and inflating the BC to try to get away and/or go up ain't fun.
By the way I sure do enjoy your stories. Hope to do an eyeball with you some day.
pufferfish
Contributor
Gary D.:
Gary I don't doubt an experienced diver like yourself may be able to ferry out of a down current but remember you have received current training and more importantly continue to keep that training up to date. The other 99 % of divers out there do not have access to current training as you describe. There still isn't a PADI ferrying course and I don't ever expect there will be :biggrin:
We sometimes go diving in the Niagara river (well above the falls) where the current can be four to five knots. Next time we are out I will try what you are refering to in a controlled situation where while learning I don't have to worry about ending up at 223 fsw. Two years ago though a couple of Canadian divers ended up surfacing accidentally on the US side of the river in scuba gear. It took them a night with US Immigration and a lot of explaining to get released. Maybe ferrying in the horizontal plane there is not without its risks
ArcticDiver
Contributor
Gary D.:
Yeah, we have a BIG booze problem here too. I don't know about down in the Banana Belt where Snowbear is but up here we see .20s fairly often. They always seem to make it though.
The highest I've seen in someone who was still breathing was .8 something!! (No - this person was not driving) .4-.6+ is not uncommon at the local sleep-off. Some people build up quite a tolerance!ArcticDiver:
ArcticDiver
Contributor
Snowbear:
Today is Saturday, But not That Saturday. That Saturday is the 20th.
Are we still on for That Sunday?
To Gary D:
Seadeuce here, I live and work in Ireland - a mite far from PSD diving!! As I said, distance can be a curse sometimes.
I'm CMAS trained, with the Irish Underwater Council, the governing body for scuba diving in Ireland.
I have had the experience, many times, of being called out to recover the body of a suicide victim. Usually the callout is made by the victim's family. There was a time when drowning was a "popular" choice as a suicide, of late it has switched to the rope. So callouts are less now than they used to be.
Sad, but that's life I guess.
I agree with your approach to training, be comfortable with harsher conditions than you're likely to face, and the real thing should come easier.
A couple of us here dive the twelve months of the year to the max. for extended range air diving, that's 167ft officially. Whenever we travel to warmer waters the diving is way easier, and more enjoyable.
Most of our current diving is due to the tides, which can be strong at times. Don't do many rivers, so wouldn't be exposed to the "flow" as often as yourself. I believe I understand your ferrying concept, streamlining and all that. Not sure about your training routine though, and yes, I don't believe any self-respecting agency would condone training in such environments per se due to litigation, more's the pity.
To close on the downcurrent topic, I can see where familiarity with "ferrying" would be an advantage, but that would all depend on how deep you have been carried before taking action. For increasing your metabolism, which "ferrying" would have to do to some extent, would leave you vulnerable to a hit from CO2 such as happened to me, due to the higher partial pressures of that gas - Dalton's Law coupled with Henry's - and this would seem to indicate that the least possible effort made to extricate oneself from the problem would be the best choice in terms of safety.
Hence, let the BC do most of the work. A buoyant ascent is the best ascent in a downcurrent.
CO2 is rarely mentioned by training agencies. It's a silent killer. How many times have divers been found, on the bottom with mask on, reg in mouth, and cylinder half-full?
"Panic" seems to be the conclusion as to cause of death. No, my friend, that's CO2 buildup due to rapid breathing, increase in metabolic rate, leading to passing out and dry drowning, or asphyxia as it's called.
I apologise for the little lecture, but I hope that it will lead some readers of this "conversation" to realise the danger that comes with breathing fast at depth. Maybe it might save someone someday.
Stay Wet,
Seadeuce
P.S. and a Happy St. Paddy's Day to you all!
Seadeuce here, I live and work in Ireland - a mite far from PSD diving!! As I said, distance can be a curse sometimes.
I'm CMAS trained, with the Irish Underwater Council, the governing body for scuba diving in Ireland.
I have had the experience, many times, of being called out to recover the body of a suicide victim. Usually the callout is made by the victim's family. There was a time when drowning was a "popular" choice as a suicide, of late it has switched to the rope. So callouts are less now than they used to be.
Sad, but that's life I guess.
I agree with your approach to training, be comfortable with harsher conditions than you're likely to face, and the real thing should come easier.
A couple of us here dive the twelve months of the year to the max. for extended range air diving, that's 167ft officially. Whenever we travel to warmer waters the diving is way easier, and more enjoyable.
Most of our current diving is due to the tides, which can be strong at times. Don't do many rivers, so wouldn't be exposed to the "flow" as often as yourself. I believe I understand your ferrying concept, streamlining and all that. Not sure about your training routine though, and yes, I don't believe any self-respecting agency would condone training in such environments per se due to litigation, more's the pity.
To close on the downcurrent topic, I can see where familiarity with "ferrying" would be an advantage, but that would all depend on how deep you have been carried before taking action. For increasing your metabolism, which "ferrying" would have to do to some extent, would leave you vulnerable to a hit from CO2 such as happened to me, due to the higher partial pressures of that gas - Dalton's Law coupled with Henry's - and this would seem to indicate that the least possible effort made to extricate oneself from the problem would be the best choice in terms of safety.
Hence, let the BC do most of the work. A buoyant ascent is the best ascent in a downcurrent.
CO2 is rarely mentioned by training agencies. It's a silent killer. How many times have divers been found, on the bottom with mask on, reg in mouth, and cylinder half-full?
"Panic" seems to be the conclusion as to cause of death. No, my friend, that's CO2 buildup due to rapid breathing, increase in metabolic rate, leading to passing out and dry drowning, or asphyxia as it's called.
I apologise for the little lecture, but I hope that it will lead some readers of this "conversation" to realise the danger that comes with breathing fast at depth. Maybe it might save someone someday.
Stay Wet,
Seadeuce
P.S. and a Happy St. Paddy's Day to you all!
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