First "save" as DM. Sort of...

[HammerNoMore]

dc4bs once bubbled...
I know how to take criticisim...

Well, my comment wasn't really criticism. As I said the newbie diver handled herself quite well. When I said you didn't really do anything to aid in her rescue (other than haveing your octo close by) is not criticism. I am a firm beliver in self rescue/self sufficiency. The fact is she had a cool head and took care of herself. I hear many horror stories of instructors/dm's forcing help on people who don't need it, which is somthing you did not do in this case.

I agree I could have done better. I know NOW it was a mistake showing her the 0 PSI guage but it seemed logical to me at the time.

This is the only mistake I see, but it's a compound mistake. Yes, showing her the 0 PSI esclated the situation, but I understand that was not your intent. The real problem here is that the diver did experience a real OOA situation (yes she had a full tank but she got that oh **** feeling of breathing a dead reg.) It seemed from your post that you wanted to show her the guage so she would know she had a full tank and could continue the dive. After a scare like that the dive should be aborted. If only for short period to let her nerves settle a bit.

 

[dc4bs]

Yes, she said that if she had realized what the problem was she would have wanted to continue the dive. As it is, she had no problem with the outcome and was looking forward to the next dive of the afternoon.

Looking back, I could have pointed at both the primary SPG/computer showing the full tank and the reg she was on at that point instead of introducing the "negative" information of the 0 PSI pony reg... Then put the "dead" reg together with the pony SPG before showing it to her.

 

[Rick Inman]

Like I said, hindsight is 20/20, so it's easy for me to arm-chair critique. I still think the lady did great for an OOA where she ended up having a dive where she used 3 regs - and she never paniced. With only 10 dives, good for her.
And (although we can always look back to improve), like an aircraft landing, any OOA you walk away from is a good one.
She could have paniced and killed both of you, so her safe response could have "saved" you both... sort of...

 

[DeepScuba]

Well dc4bs:

I ain't gonna slam ya. Sure you could/should have possibly noted, either above or during the dive that she was on the wrong hose. I guess a lot of us would have, sure I'd like to think I would have, but who knows?? I do tend to check myself out and my buddy out during the dive quite regularly, but then again, more so with my "main" buddy vs, any new guy/gal that comes along, depending on thier perceived skill/comfort level.

You already know the err of your way when showing her her ZERO guage. The "lesson" is better taught back on the boat. As far as letting her "handle" it, that's the correct thing to do IMO, until you see she can't. Gettting in her way can only cause harm before then. You were close enough to render immediate attention if required, all the while not endangering yourself.

Good job. One problem solved, two come home safely.

It makes ya a better diver.

Don't forget guys, she's got her c-card, it's ultimately up to her not to kill herself.

What is it we're taught in "Tech" class?? Ulitmately it's YOUR dive and YOUR responsibilty. Maybe she'll learn that in time.

 

[Cave Diver]

Waterlover once bubbled...



I'll second that.....

I'll third it.

The best rescue is the one you never have to perform.

I also agree totally with Rick's assessment.

But, I think the real key here is, that no matter what went wrong or caused the scenario, it was dealt with safely and both of you came out of it with a little more experience and none the worse for wear.

Thanks for posting it for the rest of us to learn from.