Power Scuba teamed with the M/V Horizon and Stella Luna Productions to hold a simulated diver emergency scenario at the Point Loma Kelp Beds last Sunday. Approximately 34 passengers were onboard to observe and participate in the scenario.
I had a separate boat, Greg Feldheim's Spartacus, anchor nearby pretending to be just another dive boat out on a nice day. Little did anyone on the Horizon know, Spartacus had transported the victim to our area. In other words, the victim would not be a diver off the Horizon.
All passengers were aboard the Horizon, after the first dive, and things were relaxed as the divers grabbed a bite to eat and some water before their next dive. It was at that moment the "victim" from the Spartacus surfaced off our starboard beam... face down in the water and unmoving. Soon, someone from Horizon saw him and yelled for help. The boat DM was in the water quickly and got him back to the Horizon, where crew members were already fetching the oxygen and AED. The captain made a {simulated} mayday call on Ch 16. CPR was quickly commenced and the passengers gathered around to observe.
It was instantly clear that, even though everyone knew what they were watching was fake, the wide, unblinking eyes of the victim were having an effect on all of us as {simulated} CPR was performed on the vic. One glance around at the crowd confirmed this.
The stakes were upped even further a few minutes later when the victim's PARTNER surfaced near the Horizon looking for her buddy. She was brought onboard and, upon seeing the victim being worked on, collapsed to the deck in shock and grief. You could have cut the air around the observers with a knife.
More of an awareness-building scenario vs a training scenario, I can confidently say, "mission accomplished". We had a wonderful debrief wherein we spoke of many aspects of safe diving et al. People left the boat with a better sense of the impact and ramifications of unsafe diving. (The victim was simulating a lung over-expansion after an uncontrolled buoyant ascent.)
Huge thanks to the Horizon and it's crew, Stella Luna Production (for documenting the event), Greg Feldheim and Spartacus, and everyone who joined us for this special day at the Kelp Beds. Special thanks to our "victim", Travis Hicks, and his actress buddy, Meghann McDonald. GREAT job, you two!
(More picks soon!)
PS- The SD lifeguards were slated to participate as well, but they got a real call around the time of our scenario.
I had a separate boat, Greg Feldheim's Spartacus, anchor nearby pretending to be just another dive boat out on a nice day. Little did anyone on the Horizon know, Spartacus had transported the victim to our area. In other words, the victim would not be a diver off the Horizon.
All passengers were aboard the Horizon, after the first dive, and things were relaxed as the divers grabbed a bite to eat and some water before their next dive. It was at that moment the "victim" from the Spartacus surfaced off our starboard beam... face down in the water and unmoving. Soon, someone from Horizon saw him and yelled for help. The boat DM was in the water quickly and got him back to the Horizon, where crew members were already fetching the oxygen and AED. The captain made a {simulated} mayday call on Ch 16. CPR was quickly commenced and the passengers gathered around to observe.
It was instantly clear that, even though everyone knew what they were watching was fake, the wide, unblinking eyes of the victim were having an effect on all of us as {simulated} CPR was performed on the vic. One glance around at the crowd confirmed this.
The stakes were upped even further a few minutes later when the victim's PARTNER surfaced near the Horizon looking for her buddy. She was brought onboard and, upon seeing the victim being worked on, collapsed to the deck in shock and grief. You could have cut the air around the observers with a knife.
More of an awareness-building scenario vs a training scenario, I can confidently say, "mission accomplished". We had a wonderful debrief wherein we spoke of many aspects of safe diving et al. People left the boat with a better sense of the impact and ramifications of unsafe diving. (The victim was simulating a lung over-expansion after an uncontrolled buoyant ascent.)
Huge thanks to the Horizon and it's crew, Stella Luna Production (for documenting the event), Greg Feldheim and Spartacus, and everyone who joined us for this special day at the Kelp Beds. Special thanks to our "victim", Travis Hicks, and his actress buddy, Meghann McDonald. GREAT job, you two!
(More picks soon!)
PS- The SD lifeguards were slated to participate as well, but they got a real call around the time of our scenario.
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