Tired diver tow or push?

[mjh]

Have been volunteering at the local aquarium, now moving into the diver program and have to do my check out dive. Most of the skills are basic the only one I am not familiar with is the "tired diver tow". I assume it involves:

1. Inflating their bc and getting them on their back.
2. Grabbing the bc firmly, at "top" and towing them in.

Is there a kick for the "tower" that is preferred?
Assuming they have air Reg in their mouth or out?
Are you supposed to grab something else to tow them by?
I have heard of a tired diver push how would you do that?

We will be in drysuits, lots of lead. As a long ago Life Guard I have some ideas but not having time to take the Rescue Diver course prior to the check out any help is appreciated.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

There are three common methods ... we teach them in OW class and you'll get lots of practice at them in Rescue class. A short synopsis of each ...

1. Fin push - tired diver lays on their back. You put your reg in your mouth, their fins on your shoulder, and kick. Advantage ... easy and fast. Disadvantage ... you have your face in the water and can neither talk to them nor monitor their vital signs.

2. Tank tow - tired diver lays on their back. You (also on your back), straddle the diver, grab their tank valve (NOT their first stage), and kick. Advantage ... easy to cover long distances, and you can talk to the diver and watch them while you're towing. Disadvantage ... not as fast or easy as the fin push, plus you're going backwards and can't really see where you're going.

3. Do si do - usually reserved for an unconscious diver. Position diver on their back. You are prone (face forward). Slide your left arm under their left armpit (or vice-versa), reach behind their neck and grab the tank valve. Then, facing forward, you kick. Advantage ... you can "monitor" the diver's vitals and, if necessary, provide rescue breaths while towing. Disadvantage ... it's physically demanding to cover more than short distances, requires some practice to do it properly, and is relatively slow.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Walter]

Drop #2, it'll kick your butt. It's an exhausting tow. Try it against a current some time. Instead, loop a buddy line around the tank valve and tow them with that. The tired diver is in the same position. You are far enough away you won't be grabbed if they panic (not that they are likely to grab you if you have a firm grip on their valve) and you are able to position yourself face down so you can swim much more efficiently and you can see where you're going.

 

[terrasmak]

Tank tow is my fav. and they can give a kick or two as they feel better .

 

[rawls]

We teach a modified form of the fin push and it seems to be more effective for me. You are facing the diver. You are between the divers legs...sounds like something different aye You grab the bottom of the bc and basically steer the diver any way you want. In addition, you have closer face to face contact so the diver can see you and you can communicate easily. You also have alot of steering control holding onto the bc.

The tank valve tow has a drawback in that the diver generally cannot see you, or at least not as well. But it is a very effective towing method. I believe there is no "best" tow method. You incorporate the one that's best for the situation. A few months ago during open water skills, a DM candidate got really tired and was being swept away by an outgoing current. I got to her and we were moving very fast with the tide. No way we could have made it to shore, but there was a fence that ran from shore. I inflated her bc, grabbed her tank valve and started back kicking as hard as I could to try to get to that fence. We finally got there, but the push method would not have worked at all. We would have never made that fence. Point being...you need to learn all tired diver tows proficiently....

 

[dmdoss]

I agree with rawls on this.

 

[String]

Tank tow is my fav. and they can give a kick or two as they feel better .

Yeah i go for tank tow. Can stay close to reassure but still out of their reach if things go bad, they can be enouraged to help kick a bit to feel involved etc. Its my tow of choice.

was only recently introduced to fin-push method when i crossed over to padi. tried it a few times, wasnt impressed.

 

[WesTexDiver]

We will be in drysuits, lots of lead.

The lead will be lost before I push or drag anyone. Period.

 

[gregmontalbano]

The only I can say about the tank tow with a buddy line is that there seems like there would be a risk of the diver rolling over into the water, and that could be bad. I prefer this method because it enables you to inflate the tired divers BC and he can't try to climb on top of you and such.

 

[lamont]

2. Tank tow - tired diver lays on their back. You (also on your back), straddle the diver, grab their tank valve (NOT their first stage), and kick. Advantage ... easy to cover long distances, and you can talk to the diver and watch them while you're towing. Disadvantage ... not as fast or easy as the fin push, plus you're going backwards and can't really see where you're going.

Tank tow is also useful if they're agitated and you're worried about panic. I helped tow back a guy once who was a few minutes earlier yelling "help I can't breathe!". I chose to use the tank tow so that if he had a relapse I could grab the tank with my legs and keep him under control....