A memorable shore dive experience...

[fjpatrum]

Last Friday my brother (Sean) and I met up with a group of divers from meetup.com for a shore dive in Hollywood Florida. There were 6 of us in total. The two folks who organized the dive, two single divers, me and Sean.

The dive was a simple reef on a submerged water pipe about 25 feet deep. The plan was to walk/swim out to the swim buoy ~50 yards off the beach and drop there to find the "yellow brick road" and dive for about 45 minutes or so.

The surf was 1-3 foot waves and 2 of our party had some issues with getting through it. One was one of the single divers and the other was Sean. Sean just finished his OW and we'd done BHB and 4 boat dives in the 2 days previous but this was his first shore entry and he was getting tired from working through the surf so we slowed our pace a bit. The single diver was having a very hard time so we tried to help her into the rip to get through the surf. When she seemed to be making progress again we attempted to catch up to the other three divers. I was furthest out when I heard her start yelling. I turned around and she was throwing her hands up in the typical "I'm drowning" posture you see in movies and submerging occasionally. Sean and I swam back to her and got her BC inflated and her reg in her mouth. By the time we had gotten to her (perhaps a 20 foot swim for Sean and maybe 35 foot for me) she had lost her mask/snorkel and her fins. At the point we reached her, I was able to stand with shoulders and head above water. She could stand but just barely have her head out of water and waves were breaking over her head.

The lifeguards came out with a paddle board and got her back on the beach while Sean and I walked ourselves back. The lady and Sean both got O2 for about 15 minutes (Sean's heart rate had spiked to 160) and we talked about the incident a bit. I also signaled the other 3 divers that we were okay. They continued their dive.

Apparently the two single divers had different assumptions about being buddies. Our "subject" assumed she was buddying with the other single diver since the rest of us had "brought our own". The other single, however, seemed to assume it was a "group swim" and stuck with the dive organizers, rather than buddying up with her. She hadn't actually had a buddy check of any kind with anyone. (Sean and I didn't know that or would have just buddy-checked as a threesome.)

Sean and I talked about the dive organizer's responsibility in this situation. Sean and I agreed, legally he probably has no responsibility (even as a dive pro) because he wasn't acting in a professional capacity. Morally, however, we both faulted him, somewhat, for not calling the dive and coming back in to check on everyone. We both felt that's what we would have done despite me signaling that we were okay on the beach.

How would you have handled things? As the dive organizer or in our positions as divers helping someone we didn't know and missing our dive as a result?



As a postscript, it turned out we didn't miss too much. Viz on the dive was poor and they didn't see too much other than a few lobsters and a couple of fish. Certainly not the dive we all hoped to have.



EDIT: The original post said "solo" rather than "single" diver above, causing some confusion. I meant "single", like no pre-planned buddy, not someone intentionally planning to dive without a buddy. Sorry about any confusion.

 

[Searcaigh]

For starters it should have been made very clear before anyone entered the water as to who was buddying with who.

Given the local conditions of surf then some discussion on how to do a surf entry should have been done, mask on reg in mouth and possibly securing fins on BC straps

As for your actions you did the right thing in rescuing the apparently "solo" diver

 

[DivemasterDennis]

When there is a group diving together their should be a clear understanding of group rules and buddy rules. My wife and I do a lot of this kind of diving, most often just the two of us, but we regularly have other divers along. Dive briefings in those cases include a lot of "what if's." What if a buddy pair is separated from the group? What if a buddy pair doesn't want to stay with the group? What if a buddy loses their buddy? It also needs to be clear to all what is the planned dive time and profile. With a bit of surf, entry technique should be reviewed. Buddy teams should confirm each other's approach, and how to meet up past the surf if separated. It's hard to imaging someone attempting a solo dive at all who has problems with a surf entry to the point of panic and equipment loss or dislodging.
A word on surf entries. I subscribe to the view that one should get off the bottom asap. Standing in surf is a bad idea. Debbie and I have been known to crawl out from the beach, so as to start swimming as soon as we can. In those conditions we are fully geared up above the high water line, including fins, and then crawl to swim. In calmer conditions we usually don gear in the water. In conditions you describe we would also breathe from the regulator during entry and exit, rather than a snorkel. As you swim out through the surf and surge, kick strongly when the surge is carrying you forward and you can usually get through the surf line quickly. Practice, practice, practice.
Lessons from your experience should include the following: 1) be sure all divers are on the same page for the dive by way of a through pre-dive briefing and resolving the "what if's." 2) discuss entry and exit before execution, and then go with the plan, as buddy teams. 3) While there should be a dive leader, pro or not, each diver in a buddy pair needs to be responsible for him/herself AND their buddy. 4) Everyone should dive with a buddy. 5) When shore diving independently, have an adequate emergency station at hand, including oxygen. You had the lifeguards nearby. If more remote, have your own stuff.
Reading the post it was good to note how fjpatrum analyzed the situation and learned from it. Learn from every dive, even the aborted ones. Then make corrections, and then go diving again, within your limitations, experience level and competence. That may have been an issue here. But you have to try new things to grow.
DivemasterDennis

 

[AfterDark]

A solo diver is suppose to take care of themseleves. She was apparently in over her head. 1-3 ft waves are not big or much of a challenge, something anybody that calls themself a solo diver should be able to handle without a thought, IMO anyway. You did what you needed to do no wrong there. What did you expect the dive organizer to do? He got an ok sign why go thru the surf twice if everything is OK? Sounds to me like she should have buddied up with someone, judging from what you posted IMO she doesn't belong in the water alone.

 

[TSandM]

We muddle about this periodically, because our dive club organizes dives through meetup.com. The responsibilities of the "dive organizer" are nebulous -- obviously, he set up the date and invited people, and I think it's reasonable that he would know the site and brief it, and make sure that anyone who WANTED a buddy had one. I'd have a real problem if I were the dive organizer and I had people showing up and saying they wanted to solo dive -- I don't have a problem with people solo diving if they want to, but I don't want to be in the position of having to evaluate their suitability for doing so. I think, in this case, I would have told the two "solo divers" that they had to buddy up if they wanted to dive with us; if they wanted to dive solo, they were welcome to do so, but on their own, and we would not watch out for them.

That might have killed this woman, which is a very scary thought.

But once you guys got the woman back to shore, I don't think the "dive organizer" had any further responsibility to come in and cancel everyone else's dive. Unless there was some specific representation made that this person was an instructor or was offering guiding services, he's just the person who decided to dive that day, and invite others to join him -- at least, that's the way I see it.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Sounds like this woman needs to rethink her desire to solo dive, given her apparent inability to help herself. If you hadn't been there to help her, she most likely would've drowned.

Someone who has to rely on another diver to inflate their BCD for them has no business even considering solo diving ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[fjpatrum]

Okay, sorry about the confusion with my original post. Neither of the "solo" (now "single) divers was intending to be a solo diver, they just didn't bring their own buddies. I've edited the original post to clarify that (I hope).

Afterdark and TSandM, I had mixed feelings about whether the organizer should have ended the dive after getting my okay signal... I would have probably paired the other divers up and come back in if I were in his position, but I don't really begrudge him doing his dive. I guess it comes down to my own personal sense of responsibility for others' well-being/safety. When I organize something like this, I am always a mother hen and try to make sure the group goes at the least capable person's pace, when necessary. Diving is different, though, and that needs to be considered.

Thanks, everyone for your comments.

 

[Crewfish13]

** Never mind, OP beat me to it. **

I could be wrong, but I think the OP's use of "solo" meant that they came without their own buddy (i.e. not as a pair), not that they are solo divers. Doesn't change the fact that there should have been much better pre-dive communication about buddies and responsibilities, but some of the comments above may be misdirected.

Either way, kudos to the OP for coming to the aid of a diver in need.

 

[Scuba_Noob]

The only time I've ever had problems with new buddies is if safety and procedures were not discussed or clarified beforehand.

These include max depth, signals, return air pressure, safety stop, how close buddies should be, entry/exit, objectives of the dive, what to do if separated, buddy info (# of dives, last dive, cert), who's buddied with whom, and the buddy check. It takes less than 5-10 minutes. I often discuss most of these with buddies I've dove with before, especially if it's a new site or if the vis isn't going to be good.

This lady clearly didn't discuss anything beforehand on a dive for which she wasn't prepared.

 

[diverrex]

When I've dived in groups like this I've made it clear that buddy pairs are responsible for themselves. If they get separated from the group in any way they need to deal with it as a buddy pair. In surf and low viz it can be hard enough to watch out for your buddy, trying to watch out for 5 divers can be impossible. I don't think the organizer should have cancelled his dive. I'd say at most he should have been more diligent in making sure buddy pairs were clear. That actually benefits the group organizer because by doing so it removes his responsibility other than to his buddy. I don't like it when someone wants to "tag along" with me and my buddy. Either they are part of a buddy threesome or they are solo in mind, but not something in between.