Divingblueberry
Contributor
With what you know you did the right thing. Only thing you could have done differently would have been to come up from behind and grab the inflator with your left hand. If the diver was truly panicking being in front allows him to grab on to you and then you lose control of the situation. Hard to say on offering the reg. I would have switched over to the necklace so the main reg could be available if needed without hesitation.
Take the Rescue course as you plan to. It is filled with useful tips. Many her will probably say you don't need it and are just Card collecting but it is really good information for on land issues and in water issues.
If you have options where you live then research the Instructors. Can make a big difference.
The rescue course was very helpful, but I found basic wrestling skills worked best at managing a flailing, panicked diver:
First get left-on-left wrist control. . . twist his wrist inward (pronate) so you can get behind him, go two-on-one on his left wrist if needed . . . once you're behind him, throw a half with your right arm, but don't run it--just leave it there to control him in an upright position . . . switch your left hand from his left wrist and reach under his left arm to gain control of his inflator hose and pre-position your hand to give signals right in front of his face . . . depending on your relative body sizes, either put in both legs like you're going to leg ride him or wrap his waist with both legs, hooking one ankle with the other foot. Now with the right hand that's on the back of his neck, calmly twist his head to the left so he can see your smiling, reassuring face coming over his left shoulder to let him know everything is going to be all right.
Thank you both for the input ; what you are suggesting is exactly that is the kind of knowledge I am lacking right now.
I wonder if many people take that course. I mean, is that something as common as Nitrox or seen as a fringe course that, like @MiloR says "it is just Card collecting" ? Just curious...