Future of surface rescues...

Please register or login

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.

Benefits of registering include

  • Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
  • A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
  • You can make this box go away

Joining is quick and easy. Log in or Register now!

Like I tell my wife, another tool is a good thing.

A couple of boats I go out on are big enough to have a tender and staff to do the job, this might be a good addition to boats without larger capabilities. The NORAS seems to be a better design as the victim could hang on it easier if exhausted imho. Both address the problem of getting to the scene quickly.


Bob
 
As mentioned, apparently many divers are not of "SB" quality, and some just shouldn't be diving. But in light of that, I can see no reason that these things could be anything but good.

Nonetheless, rather than some new tech device that could only at best rescue a conscious and participatory diver instead figure out what is deficient in the equipment and training of these divers and address it before they ever need to be rescued. That is equally fictional as it is not human nature.

Any of these BCs would very likely float an unconscious diver face up. Maybe back inflate and wings should be relegated to advanced qualification or require additional training to identify their deficiencies to the potential user. Maybe SCUBA divers need more self rescue training at the Basic level, in any case if they are drowning without employing the self rescue techniques they already have been supposedly trained in something is wrong.

82350260_o.jpg


Well, anyways, y'all carry on, checking out.

N
 
Nemrod, I think we all agree on all you say and wish these problems were fixed. The machines seem good anyway.
 
Under the right circumstances, it could save a life. Like a 1/2 inch wrench, it's the right tool for the job.....sometimes.

Jay
 
Last edited:
Divers Alert Network, Thirteen-Foot Dive

Q3 Summer 2016

On the second day the dives were at a different location. The boat was anchored over a 13-foot-deep sand bottom. The bottom sloped downward to the reef, which was at a maximum depth of 35 feet. After they entered the water and began heading toward the reef, the diver's father and other witnesses reported that the diver appeared to be having difficulty with her equipment. Exactly what was wrong was never clearly established. Her movements appeared erratic, and she seemed unaware of her buddy or other divers. Within moments she ascended quickly in an uncontrolled manner from 13 feet to the surface. Upon reaching the surface she appeared to struggle and did not establish positive buoyancy. Her father made a controlled ascent to the surface and was able to establish positive buoyancy for both of them. The diver had already abandoned her mask and regulator and was breathing rapidly. With aid from one of the dive guides, the pair returned to the boat.
 
Coast Guard investigating diver's death

June 2015

Twenty-seven miles offshore Saturday, Francis dove into the Gulf at the Pegasus Reef.

Suddenly the situation turned scary. Investigators said he surfaced yelling for help before disappearing underwater for the last time alive.
 
I posted these examples just to illustrate it happens. In the first one, the girl was fortunate to have her father establish positive buoyancy for her.

Whether an RC buoy could have saved any of the fatalities, who knows? Maybe. Someone saw the divers in distress, but they couldn't be reached in time. There's countless other stories out there just like these.

And although the YouTube video has its own thread on here. I thought it was worth sharing again. We can't see what happens next, but she, nor any of the divers she was with established positive buoyancy for her by inflating her BC before the clip ended and I doubt during the incident any weight was dropped.
 
Last edited:
I doubt during the incident any weight was dropped.
Why should it? The way I see the clip, there wasn't any buoyancy issues after the rescuer identified the situation and started to rescue the girl. They ascended fairly easily, didn't they (except for the girl flailing all over the place, rejecting her gear and refusing to breathe from the donated reg...)? You are also quite right that we don't see anyone helping her to establish positive buoyancy, but OTOH the clip ends shortly after she'd surfaced, and she didn't seem to have any obvious issues with surface buoyancy.

BTW and FTR, I of course completely agree that ensuring that the victim is positively buoyant on the surface is a primary concern in a situation like that. That's why I'm not particularly thrilled with the trend of recreational divers having no dumpable weights.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/peregrine/

Back
Top Bottom