Have You Ever Used A Cutting Tool In An Emergency Situation?

[Nemrod]

Yeah, several times, the last was a couple of years ago at Morrison Springs. An instructor had a gaggle of students dog paddling all over the place zonging from top to bottom and bouncing off each other like pool balls. He had set some sort of dive flag float and tied it to that log down there. Then, for some reason, as I watched him, he inflated his vest and zoomed upward at which point a large tangle in the line looped around his tank valve. The students just continued bouncing and dog paddling about in disarray as he went into an arm flailing, bubbleing dervish. His feet up, his head down, his poodle jacket fully inflated, his eyes as big as saucers. I swam over, surveyed the mess, decided the knot was pulled so tight my fangles would be of no use, deployed the Sea Hawk in anger as I vented his BC, one swipe, he was free of his nemisis. True story, believe it or not. Oh, he had PadI stickers, master diver, master instructor, master------, on everything.

That is OK, the same adventure, I was with a buddy, we were diving some stupid sinkhole in some dudes back yard. There was another group of divers in the throat readying to dive but they seemed to be taking forever. We went ahead and entered the water--wrong---middle aged white dudes everywhere in black rubber outfits all exactly alike and all with Jet FGins. I got disoriented as I rolled in and as I got my bearings back I saw my buddy, Joe, headed off down into the sinkhole. Soo, I kicked the Jets into top gear and away I went in hot pursuit. Around 70 feet Joe stopped and took his fins off. I thought that was strange, why is Joe taking his fins off. Joe proceeded to frog kick without effect while his fins drifted away. Hmmm, what the hades is Joe doing? I zoomed up to Joe with some curioisty as to why he might have jettisoned his fins? Then I realized, this dude was not Joe, in fact, I had no idea who he was or what he was doing, whooooooaaaaa. Ok, strange person, I don't know you, later, addios. I decided now that I figured Joe was thumbed the dive waiting for me on the surface, I was halfway to my target, I had doubles, I had four lights, there was some strange guy with no fins, might as well continue onward, solo, made sense to me. Not like I had never been cave diving before? So, I turned the corner, took my bearings, and my main light went out, I was at about 110 feet, maybe 130, I was pretty deep. Flipped the switch on and off, beat on it, whacked it, no light, huh! Meanwhile I had drifted further into the sinkhole. Hmmm, no issue, I got three more lights, clipped off number one, grabed number two, flipped the switch, it came on and went off, what the h--------. I flipped it on and off, whacked it, no light, hmmmmm, no problem, I got two more. Let's see here, which way is out, hmmmm? Clipped off number two, grabbed number three, flipped the switch, it came on, I began my ascent, it went out, yep, light number three went out! Same thing, no light, flipped the switch, beat on it, cursed at it, no light---NOTHING. OK, then, I still got one more light, a four cell AA Q light on my webbing. A tiny little thing. It was totally dark, black dark!!!!! Twisted the cap with a prayer, light came on and stayed on. Cool, I oriented myself, turned the corner, now I could see the surface light---barely--I passed 90 feet and entered the middle area, a large cavern with fossils everywhere and waved as I passed the strange guy with no fins still cavorting about. Now, guess who I run into, yep, Joe! Not exactly pro. Oh, all lights worked perfectly back at the truck, before and after. N

 

[seaducer]

I voted no cuz I assumed you were talking about people. I did have to free a fish once who had wrapped a line around/through some rocks and was stuck there. The fisherman had long since cut his losses, so I cut away the fish. One man's amusement is another fish's emergency I suppose...

 

[RJP]

Have you ever used a cutting tool in an emergency situation?

Hard to know for sure...but I have used a cutting tool in several situations that turned out to be nothing more than a momentary distraction simply because I had a cutting tool handy.

Without the cutting tool...who knows!

 

[mjh]

Because I had a knife it did not become an emergency situation. Was at about 65', in a pinnacle/chimney and was hooked on a triple barb hook and some heavy duty monofilament line. Had to slide out of my BC, cut the line and the re-don the BC. Still had plenty of air to enjoy the rest of the dive.

 

[tc]

Not really emergencies but I've cut myself out of fishing line many times, both knife and shears.

 

[tc]

Only time I've used bolt cutters was to free a boat prop that was wrapped with stainless cable.

 

[nereas]

My diving buddy got hooked by a barbed sportfisherman's line at her forearm during a late evening dive when the wharf (see left, in the avatar) was packed with fishermen. It was probably a bad time to dive, and a bad place to make our outbound underwater swim. But that is what she wanted to do.

It was one of those times when I though, "This is not going to be a good idea." And it wasn't.

As I was trying to unhook her, the fisherman thinking he had caught a fish (rather than a lovely mermaid) jerked in his line, sinking the hook even deeper into her wetsuit, and almost catching my thumb with it. So I then drew out my knife and quickly cut the line. Then I finished removing the hook, rolled it up in line, and sent it down to Davy Jones' Locker.

 

[RonzoTheGreat]

Because I had a knife it did not become an emergency situation.

this is what it is all about isnt it?

if my buddy happen to screw up blowing a bag and i z'd the bag free instead of letting him pop with it ... i may have used a knife ... does it constitute the term "emergency"?

 

[clifftondiver]

I use mine all the time when I dispatch a fish I've managed to spear. While it's not an emergency on my part, I don't like the idea of leaving an animal to die slowly on a stringer.

 

[lmorin]

No, but in Roatan, my wife gave her EMT shears to the DM so he could cut some stainless steel leader and remove a whole lot of fishing line from the reef. He had no knife or shears.