This is not meant to sound like a lecture but I'm thinking it will. And it's definitely not mean to be a criticism of Sh0rtBus, but simply using his post as a jumping off point. That being said . . .
I personally don't think my ability or lack thereof to be able to swim that distance at that pace makes me a bad DM.
I have always felt that being able to swim well is
THE most important skill a DM needs to possess. In fact, when we still had Reef Seekers open and were doing trips almost every week, I would require my active DM to do a yearly pool swim test (400 yards, 10 minutes or less). Let me explain why.
First of all, DMing in CA is likely different than what many of you have experienced. For much of the diving world, DMing involves taking some certified divers on a guided dive and bringing them back to the boat. You're usually not too far away from them should something go wrong.
Not so out here. We rarely guide dives, we've got upwards of 35 people in the water all at the same time all over the place, and you're essentially acting not only as a dive supervisor checking people on an doff and watching the surface in a 360º manner, but you're the Rescue Swimmer should someone get in trouble.
I speak from experience when I tell you there nothing scarier than seeing a diver in obvious distress surface maybe 50 yards away, waving his/her arm for help, and you feel their life is on the line. You're not going to put on your fins. You're not going to grab your mask. You're going to jump off the boat in whatever state of dress or undress you are, and try to fly out to that person as quickly as you can in the hopes of stabilizing them on the surface, so you can then deal with the underlying issue. The fact that you got a 5 on treading water won't mean much to them.
Once/if you get them stabilized, assuming they're conscious, and assuming they're breathing, then you can take all the time in the world to do whatever needs to be done. But getting to them quickly is essential and that means being a good/quick swimmer, and not tiring yourself out and making you a second victim (as others have alluded to).
I mean let's be rational here....if you're having to free swim 400 yards (nearly 1/4 mile) to reach a distressed diver......
You likely won't be able to see a distressed diver 400 yards away (see the whole thread on Drifting Dan from 2005) so that's a moot point. [In the actual Drifting Dan trial, I had a picture of a diver 400 yards away and when we showed it while I was testifying, the first thing out of the opposing attoruney's mouth was, "Where????"]
10 minutes is going to be too slow.
Correct in that regard. But - again from a CA perspective - divers are rarely more than 100 to maybe 200 yards from the boat at any given point in their dive.
And chances are you're going to at least slap fins on your feet before you ever splash into the water....maybe a mask and snorkel too.
As I mentioned above, doubtful. You're wasting time. Get to them NOW.
Because you're going to want to breathe as much as you can and you're certainly going to need your vision by the time you get to said diver because in 10 minutes, it's highly probable that they're going to have dipped beneath the surface and without being able to see clearly underwater, your chances of finding them are seriously diminished.
You're right about that but here's the conundrum: How much time does it take for you to find your mask, find your fins, and put them all on? 30 seconds? 60 seconds? If by the time your masked/finned self gets to where they are but they've now sunk, could you have made it in time had you not gone for fins/mask? There's no right answer. It's simply something you have to consider.
Maybe I'm too jaded after watching divers for 40 years but being a DM isn't a merit badge, it's an important function is the chain of safety when diving. I know of stories where people haven't gotten to victims in time and they're sunk down and not survived. I'm convinced that I personally have gotten to more than one person under circumstances where if I had been delayed, it may not have had a positive outcome. No way to really know.
But what I can say, pretty much without fear of contradiction, is that no victim's ever going to complain and no peer is going to criticize you for getting to someone too quickly.
- Ken
