Have you been involved in a Rescue?

[Dirty-Dog]

John, you are right. But I have also seen dive ops in MX that violate ratios and do not provide every diver with a light. That's why I tell people over and over again that they should know what the "rules" are, and make sure, when they call to make their reservations, that they are using an operator who follows them.

Couldn't agree more. It's been pointed out on more than one occasion that the cenote guides have an excellent safety record. But clearly there are, and always will be, people who make poor choices.

I know the "rules" say one guide for every four divers, but I don't know exactly what else is required. We did out cenote dives with a guide we'd dove with enough to trust. He's a full cave instructor. The five of us had about an hour drive to Chac Mool which was, essentially, an extended dive briefing. Equipment, signaling, separation (and why/how to avoid it), the meanings of the various colored lines (including which ones we would be following and which ones we would not be following) and gas management: all discussed at length. Alvaro dove in full cave gear, including doubles, long hose, and can light. Everybody had a light and a backup. I wore an Al 100 (a little more extra gas, just in case) and carried two backup lights.

I don't think the guy who grabbed my fin had been in a group that was quite as safety oriented...

 

[--tom--]

The most memorable that comes to mind was last year. The extent of my involvement was calling 911, directing emergency people and keeping people out of the way.

Anyway I was finishing the instructor course with a group of instructor candidates. We were debriefing after the last dive when there was yelling from the water; a student in an open water class shot to the surface and had lost consciousness and other students in her class was towing her in. One of the instructor candidates was a recently discharged medic who was down the steps and into the water faster than I could believe. One of the CDs (Course Director) ran to his nearby van for his O2 bottle. The Instructor Examiner is an ER Nurse Trainer, so she took control of the situation on the beach. After that it was textbook CPR, mouth to mouth, AED on standby etc.

It is amazing to watch skin color go from blue to pink; pupils dilated to normal. She (the victim) was out of the hospital later that week.

Lessons learned:
O2 works--always have it available.
Carry gum or breath mints, the victim will always throw up & the mints helps get the taste out of your mouth.
Shears cut off wetsuits fast.
Be vigilant when taking students out.

BTW, the instructor who lost the victim came out of the water about 15 minutes later. He looked like he was in shock. I did see the Instructor Examiner and the 3 CDs that were at my class talking to him later. I think his instructor status was (thankfully) doubtful at that point.

 

[Pinto]

safety stops are not mandatory. If you are no where decompression limits, and you have ascended according to proper practice, a safety stop, while it's a good idea, simply is not necessary.

Also, had this happened on a boat I was captaining, while I would have probably made a point of talking to the buddies in a manner that would have gotten the point across, while staying light hearted, I would not have restricted them from making the next dives. They paid for the dives, not me. And ultimately, your burden of your survival rests solely on your own self, not anyone else, not even your buddies.

Superlyte....After thinking about your response, I agree with you that the boat captain had no responsibility here. All divers are responsible for themselves. The boat captain did exactly as you stated, he made the point to them in a customer friendly manner.

Both my freinds were still within NCD limits but one did a controlled emergency accent from fifty, which is why he decided to not make the second dive. That was his choice to make. I'm sure if he wanted O2 as a safety precaution it would have been offered. .

 

[ian@1904]

2003 Gozo (Malta)
Buddy went deeper than the planned 30m depth, became seriously narked, and I had to dive down and collect her from 45m. On ascending to 25m I established that she was down to 40 bar, her dive watch was broken and that I had 15 min of deco. No idea what deco obligation she had. At 20 bar she became positively buoyant, so I had to hold her down whilst gas sharing at 5m.
It all ended happily.

I have been on site where a diver has vomited into regulator, panicked, ascended and missed 9 mins of stops. Buddy has panicked and followed buddy to surface. Two guests for helicopter and chamber.

Buddy's hand became trapped in a lift-ouch, in rough sea (It was calm when we descended and not in the forecast) and I had to hold her and assist back on to the lift. The hand looked a bit messy, but all fixed in a few days. Good job she was the manager of the local Hospital A&E

Not really a rescue....buddy's pillar valve was closed by the shot line on the way down. Buddy had not properly attached his drysuit hose, so by the time we reached 20m he had a serious squeeze, and had no idea that one of his independant twins was shut.