Safety Divers for Deep Dives - What Do They Do?

[Rick Inman]

When we do dives to 200' or deeper, we like to bring safety divers with us. These divers are not deco trained, but doubles divers who can carry stages and meet us at our 120' stop (there are no other tech divers that we know of in our area).

We have kind of a self-made list of the requirements of our safety divers, and the duties they preform from pre to post dive.

So the question is, what should a safety diver do to help divers doing deeper or more complex technical dives? Do you use them, and if so, in what circumstances? What are the minimum requirements? What are their pre and post dive duties?

 

[pickens_46929]

When we do dives to 200' or deeper, we like to bring safety divers with us. These divers are not deco trained, but doubles divers who can carry stages and meet us at our 120' stop (there are no other tech divers that we know of in our area).

We have kind of a self-made list of the requirements of our safety divers, and the duties they preform from pre to post dive.

So the question is, what should a safety diver do to help divers doing deeper or more complex technical dives? Do you use them, and if so, in what circumstances? What are the minimum requirements? What are their pre and post dive duties?

So my question / concern is: Why aren't they deco certified? What happens if one of the "deep" divers cannot get to recreational depths? What if the safety diver needs to stay longer at depth and blows NDL?

Ok that part said, it's a super idea to have someone in the water at a pre-determined depth and expected time... so kudos on that.

What do they do?

- communication conduit to the surface in case of emergency
+ since it's unlikely that any diver on the dive could ascend to the surface directly without issues... a safety diver within NDL can do a bounce dive to the surface and relay problems / issues at least once... not repeatedly though
+ communicate latest surface conditions

- spare gas in case of emergency
+ wouldn't rely upon the safety diver to bring you deco gas to complete your dive
+ but in the cases where you just can't all the gas for you and a friend the safety diver becomes more critical

- carry extra tables and gear / lift bags / supplies... reading materials for deco... game boys / psp's... the water proof cases aren't generally good for 200+ ft. LOL

- off load gear (eg. camera and samples)
+ take 'em off your hands and back to the ship

- gas check

- max depth check and table check
+ make sure it's within planned parameters, if not go back topside and cut tables
(have seen this done once)

- neuro field exam
+ for some of the dives that really push the limits this becomes more critical

I don't dive deep that often and have only gone out once with a safety diver in the water, so take the above advice with a grain of salt... just my $0.02

Might post to cave diving forums where there's sometimes "stage" or safety divers being used.

Dave

 

[JeffG]

When we do dives to 200' or deeper, we like to bring safety divers with us. These divers are not deco trained, but doubles divers who can carry stages and meet us at our 120' stop (there are no other tech divers that we know of in our area).

We have kind of a self-made list of the requirements of our safety divers, and the duties they preform from pre to post dive.

So the question is, what should a safety diver do to help divers doing deeper or more complex technical dives? Do you use them, and if so, in what circumstances? What are the minimum requirements? What are their pre and post dive duties?

When I was a safety diver, I would never go that deep (120 ft). I would meet the divers at 70 ft.

The safety diver must never be close to a deco situation. He/she should always be able to go directly to the surface. Whether it is to get extra gas or just to relay a message.


I carried a 40 of 50% and a 40 of 100% in case of lost deco bottles.

The safety diver should also be able to unload any extra gear of the bottom divers. While training, I would carry around 4 empty stages and 3 scooters

The first couple of times I did lose it. It took me a bit to get used to hauling so much positive gear. LOL

I would help the boat captain drop gear lines at the start of the dive.

I would help the divers gear up.

I would time my entry into the water to be around the time of the ascent off the bottom of the first divers in the water.

The safety divers job is to make the bottom divers have the easiest dive possible.

 

[allenw1972]

Pour coffee and make sandwitches. :14:

Oh...and crash into us at our 30, 20, and 10 foot stop.

"Heay safety diver, would you fill up the boat before you drop it back by my house."

Just kidding.

 

[BarryNL]

Oh...and crash into us at our 30, 20, and 10 foot stop.

Yeah, I've met them! I've had support divers who land on my head, then lodge themselves between me and my buddy, then finally decide they're going to practice their deco buoy deployment and get it all tangled up with my deco buoy.

I get kind of jealous of the divers who are lucky enough to get me as a support diver

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

When I was a safety diver, I would never go that deep (120 ft). I would meet the divers at 70 ft.

The safety diver must never be close to a deco situation. He/she should always be able to go directly to the surface. Whether it is to get extra gas or just to relay a message.


I carried a 40 of 50% and a 40 of 100% in case of lost deco bottles.

The safety diver should also be able to unload any extra gear of the bottom divers. While training, I would carry around 4 empty stages and 3 scooters

The first couple of times I did lose it. It took me a bit to get used to hauling so much positive gear. LOL

I would help the boat captain drop gear lines at the start of the dive.

I would help the divers gear up.

I would time my entry into the water to be around the time of the ascent off the bottom of the first divers in the water.

The safety divers job is to make the bottom divers have the easiest dive possible.

That pretty much describes how our safety divers function.

Lately I've been diving with a small group of NAUI Tech divers. We use a safety diver on any dive planned to 200 feet or deeper, and we take turns being the safety diver.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Rick Inman]

Oh...and crash into us at our 30, 20, and 10 foot stop.

Yeah, Allen is my buddy on these dives, and he is not kidding about the last time we had "safety" divers. I had forgotten to mention the most important rule to the SD's: Stay out of the way!

They were, like, ten mins. late, and rode the line from the bag I shot for them straight down on top of us. And bumped into us several times during deco.

So my question / concern is: Why aren't they deco certified?

Because there are only three of us in this one-horse town, and we're the ones doing the dive!
Good stuff, Dave!

When I was a safety diver, I would never go that deep (120 ft). I would meet the divers at 70 ft.

The safety diver must never be close to a deco situation. He/she should always be able to go directly to the surface. Whether it is to get extra gas or just to relay a message.

Yeah, good advice. All of it.

 

[SparticleBrane]

I get kind of jealous of the divers who are lucky enough to get me as a support diver

As long as it doesn't require any complex navigation.

 

[SparticleBrane]

Let's look at this from an alternate point of view:
What can I, as a potential safety diver in the future, do to make people's dives easier? Any kind of specific practicing I should do? Jeff's "4 bottles with 3 scooters" practice is out of the question since scooters aren't on the team yet, but I'll assume that learning to deal with lots of positive bottles would be good.
Anything else?

 

[BarryNL]

As long as it doesn't require any complex navigation.

Why would support diving require navigation? It requires the ability to follow a bit of string.