Abandoned Diver Prevention

[Jcsgt]

Today's article in the Ten Foot Stop

Abandoned Divers, What to do, How to Prevent

The Boat

* Check out the boat and boat captain before diving
* Ask questions about rescue action plans
* Ask about the history of the motor
* Ask about the credentials of the crew
* Ask about the system for counting heads (Names!)
* Find out if the boat has a functioning radio
o Request to see and hear it function
o Ask who they call for assistance
* Be alert to location of the nearest land

Important! Don't be put off by an officious captain! Your life may be at stake. If the captain doesn't want to cooperate - ask your dive leader to intervene or get off the boat.

The Dive

* If a drift dive, listen carefully for instructions, stay with the group
* Check for current, tide and wind conditions; imagine yourself out of sight of the boat
* Always start your dive by swimming upcurrent after orienting yourself
* Develop navigational skills. See http://snipurl.com/tcv0

Equipment possibly helpful

* Inflatable Sausage
* Reflector
* Whistle or other noise maker
* Slate
* Line

Hazards of being left behind

* Dehydration and thirst
* Hypothermia
* Severe sunburn and immersion injury
* Marine animal injury
* Drowning

Things to do

* Inflate BC
* Drop weights, preserving belt
* Inflate sausage
* Flash reflector (Someone might see it, even though you can't see them)
* Blow whistle
* Write time, approximate location and speed of current on your slate
* If you swim, swim diagonally with the current toward any known dry land.
* Stay with others involved. Use a tie up method using empty weight belt or other straps. This gives a larger target for searchers.
* Remember that there will be rescue attempts and searchers.

'Seven Steps to Survival'

Survival at sea depends on the recognition that you are in danger of losing your life. There are commonly described "seven steps" to survival that may make a difference in the outcome of some rather terrible situations. Even an accident fairly close inshore in cold water can quickly lead to hypothermia and drowning. The seven steps to survival are: recognition, inventory, shelter, water, food, signals and play. Of course, flotation is a prerequisite for any survival after only a short time in the water. Other factors come into play, the most important of which is unmeasurable, "the will to live".

The seven steps to survival include recognizing that you are in peril and realizing that what you are wearing constitutes a form of shelter. Use signals in the form of mirrors, flares, colored objects or waving arms, suits or objects about to attract attention. Finally, "play" comes into action as you have memories, fantasies, prayer, tell jokes and get rid of your anger.

posted by Ern Campbell, MD

 

[Barracuda2]

Ya know, when I was a kid in simmer camp, while swimming they always called out "buddy Check" every 10 min. We hated it, but we had to grab hold of our assigned buddy's hand and hold it high. If there was a kid without a buddy's hand to hold up, all hell broke loose. Why not at the end of a dive, call out "buddy check" and have hands go up. Then call out "team buddy check" and have two assigned buddy teams look for each other on the boat and hold hands up. Sounds juvenile, but added to the list of checks would add accountablity for divers to other divers. Pretty lame, uh? Sorry I took up your time---the more I reread my post, the dumber it gets.

 

[ekremer]

Ya know, when I was a kid in simmer camp, while swimming they always called out "buddy Check" every 10 min. We hated it, but we had to grab hold of our assigned buddy's hand and hold it high. If there was a kid without a buddy's hand to hold up, all hell broke loose. Why not at the end of a dive, call out "buddy check" and have hands go up. Then call out "team buddy check" and have two assigned buddy teams look for each other on the boat and hold hands up. Sounds juvenile, but added to the list of checks would add accountability for divers to other divers. Pretty lame, uh? Sorry I took up your time---the more I reread my post, the dumber it gets.

the problem is what if both buddies, or both teams get lost? the boat should have an idiot proof method. at the least a total head count. preferably a role call.

 

[jk47]

I know dropping your weights in this situation is suggested, but I guess I don't understand why... If I have established positive buoyancy on the surface with my weights on, what's the purpose? I could see an advantage in hanging on to the weights in case I wanted to resubmerge to swim a considerable distance.

 

[djanni]

I have been abandoned. I know how it feels to surface and see your boat drive away. The boat that abandoned us was carrying 24 divers and did not do roll calls.

While I don't asked to listen to the radio or for a history on the engine I do ask a lot of questions and the main one I ask is "how do you ensure all divers are back on board?"

My wife and I dove in Panama City last weekend with Panama City Dive Center. When booking the trip I asked how many divers on the boat and was told the only available boat would handle about 28 divers and they expected it to be nearly full. I declined to book but left my phone number in case they had cancellations on a smaller boat.

I called Divers Den but both their boats were down. I called the Dive Locker but they were booked on Saturday. While trying to decide what to do I get a call from PCDC. They have an opening on a smaller boat chartered by a group from Montgomery, AL. There would be 14 aboard this boat. Even though that's larger than we perfer I ask the question... "How do you ensure all the divers are on board before leaving the site?"

The answer... all divers put their names on a list and then all divers are accounted for before the boat departs.

Sure enough, we were asked to put our names on a list and following a dive they checked off the divers by name. Not a true roll call but we did see them checking of names on their clipboard.

So the most important thing you can do is ask the questions and if you don't like the answers tell them so. insist on roll calls. That way they will know why they lost your business. If everyone would follow these steps eventually roll calls would become standard operating proceedure and we would all be safer.

BTW: Carry all the gear.... SMB, whistle, dive alert, signaling mirror. You can tuck it all neatly away in your BC pocket. You do have a pocket or some way to stow the gear right?

 

[slingshot]

jk47: reasonable point. I've heard of dropping a weight on the end of a reel line to the bottom (if in waters shallow enough) to slow one's rate of drift. I suppose the main idea of dropping weights is to be abudantly buoyant, i.e. head higher above water, so less likelihood of getting swamped by small waves, and making yourself more visible to searchers.

I agree with Don about carrying a full kit, though my BC pockets are tiny (SP knighthawk) and so I bungee a large SMB to the plastic "backplate" and keep the smaller stuff in the pockets (mirror, OMS dye tube).

B2: did the same buddy drill routine in the Boy Scouts. My wife and I usually find some nice folks on dive trips (part of why we dive) and we usually have an agreement with someone else on the boat to look out for each other before leaving a dive site.

 

[Cacia]

* Ask about the history of the motor

I do check the fuel gauge now, on drifts.

 

[NYHippo]

The boat I dive on has a simple effective way off ensuring that they keep track of all divers. All divers names are written on a board. Before you jump in, the crew member assisting you asks your name, no matter how well they know you. Another crew member writes the time you jumped off on the board.

Whe you get back to the boat, a crew member asks your name and the time out is written on the board. No one can be missed. I dive on that boat because I admire the captain, the crew is knowledgable and helpful. I know that this simple method is not standard. I feel safe on this boat.

Even though everyone is marked in a headcount is still done before leaving the site. So to avoid being abandoned make sure you have a professional experienced captain and crew who follows safe practices.

 

[pilot fish]

I do check the fuel gauge now, on drifts.

Theirs or yours?

 

[fairybasslet]

Ya know, when I was a kid in simmer camp, while swimming they always called out "buddy Check" every 10 min. We hated it, but we had to grab hold of our assigned buddy's hand and hold it high. If there was a kid without a buddy's hand to hold up, all hell broke loose. Why not at the end of a dive, call out "buddy check" and have hands go up. Then call out "team buddy check" and have two assigned buddy teams look for each other on the boat and hold hands up. Sounds juvenile, but added to the list of checks would add accountablity for divers to other divers. Pretty lame, uh? Sorry I took up your time---the more I reread my post, the dumber it gets.

We did that at camp too. Yeah it was dumb.:mooner: