Bolting to the surface...

[dytis-sm]

I was on a dive with someone that I had not dived before. We did do the traditional dive planning and discussed our rigs, buddy checked and went in. We had agreed to communicate when the first of us will be half way through air since we were close to the boat and in a fairly calm and easy environment. We proceeded with the dive and everything was going great until we were getting close to our safety stop. That is whey my buddy signaled out of air. So I handed over the octopus and turned my head to check my air gauge. As I turn my head back to hold on to his BC (all happening within seconds), he is gone and bolting to the surface. I cut my safety stop and followed to make sure he was ok. Apparently he claims that he could not purge the octopus second stage. I tested it and it was fine other that then hard suck you had to use (by design). We concluded the dive normally swimming back to the boat. I kept the second dive short, shallow, and with a good safety stop and the day proceeded uneventfully. But I have to admit that this was a scenario I had not experienced before and wanted to share it.

SO I am wondering if anyone ever encountered a scenario like that. I am backtracking my octopus handoff and the only thing I did not do was grab on his BC right away. Then again if he could not suck air and obviously panicked to bolt for the surface, would I have endangered myself doing that? How would you guys handle a situation like this. I am thinking if part of dive planning should be a test of each others octopus or breathing apparatus. His was a tech setup with the 7ft long hose. Mine a standard octopus. I am suspecting he thought that the hard regulator was not working when compared to his Scubapro MK25... Possible?

Oh and forgot to add that I am still shocked that I did not get a warning signal when my buddy was breathing fumes...That I am not happy about.

 

[flots am]

SO I am wondering if anyone ever encountered a scenario like that. I am backtracking my octopus handoff and the only thing I did not do was grab on his BC right away. Then again if he could not suck air and obviously panicked to bolt for the surface, would I have endangered myself doing that? How would you guys handle a situation like this. I am thinking if part of dive planning should be a test of each others octopus or breathing apparatus. His was a tech setup with the 7ft long hose. Mine a standard octopus. I am suspecting he thought that the hard regulator was not working when compared to his Scubapro MK25... Possible?

Oh and forgot to add that I am still shocked that I did not get a warning signal when my buddy was breathing fumes...That I am not happy about.

This really depends on how well equipped you feel to handle the situation.

I tell my students that if their buddy suddenly bugs out and bolts, all they can do is "wave goodbye", then do a safe ascent and render assistance on the surface as needed, if possible. There's no sense in creating two victims. If you had a death-grip on his BC, all that would happen is he would drown, or you would get a really fast ride to the surface, or maybe he pulls off all your gear and you both drown. Just let him go.

Your buddy was completely unqualified for the dive regardless of the length of his hose or how "techie" he looked. Purging a regulator should be a completely automatic non-event and a hard breathing regulator shouldn't be a huge issue. However he was probably very close to panic and that was the last straw. That said, there is no good reason for an alternate second stage to breathe like crap. There's a difference between "doesn't usually freeflow" and "suck-starting a Harley". The next time you have to do an air-share, I'd suggest that you switch to your octo and give the OOA diver your primary. This ensures that they get a working reg that breathes OK.

The best way to avoid this is to not dive with strangers until you've gone through all the skills with them in the water and are confident that they can do things like air sharing, mask clearing and regulator retrieval. If they balk, then they don't get to dive with you.

 

[supergaijin]

I am thinking if part of dive planning should be a test of each others octopus or breathing apparatus.

Exactly. When buddy diving it is important to understand that their alternate 2nd is as much yours as it is theirs.

His was a tech setup with the 7ft long hose. Mine a standard octopus. I am suspecting he thought that the hard regulator was not working when compared to his Scubapro MK25... Possible?

More like he had 'all the gear, but no idea'. Running OOA is a fairly stupid thing to do- I know because I have done it myself However your buddy ran OOA after (assumingly) knowing his half tank pressure and time. Simple maths and checking the SPG should be enough to end the dive with a decent reserve for emergency situations.

 

[dytis-sm]

I am almost certainly going to do a buddy breathing check with the next buddy I will dive for the first time.

My octo was breathing fine and I had practiced before giving my primary instead and me breathing from my octo. But in lack of the 7ft hose, I went standard... My octo is a Scubapro and tuned just enough so it does not free flow. Scubapro packs a funny holder with a cap, so when I backtracked on the boat I thought that I gave him the octo with the cap on...but I checked on my BCD and the apparatus was good. I do tend to agree with you that the diver was panicking already and he was trying to hard not to embarrass himself with the low air situation. Being a new diver myself, I understand. The tech setup did not distract me to feel that he was more experienced, just that somebody sold him a good set of gear. Should have sold him a bigger tank. That I still use and I am in love with my 130 steel...but as my air consumption is getting better I now have to watch out my bottom time.

I am learning something on every dive...

 

[TSandM]

I assume this diver was very new?

There is a big difference between sitting on the bottom of the pool and having your instructor turn your gas off (briefed ahead of time, and completely expected) and pulling the last breath off a reg when you didn't expect it. I've had the latter experience several times (never from running out of gas, though) and I can tell you that even if you have all the skills required to deal with it, the spark of adrenaline that comes with that sudden lack of anything to breathe is remarkable. Compound that with someone who does not have his act together enough to try the purge a couple of times, and you have a recipe for panic. I would, however, say that if your backup reg is so detuned that the work of breathing is substantial, that's not a good idea. Given that the person receiving that reg is likely to be highly stressed, it would seem a better idea to make sure the reg you donate is easy to breathe (which is, of course, an argument for donating the reg you are breathing).

The question of what to do when your buddy decided to bolt is a hard one. I know of at least one death here in Puget Sound that occurred precisely as a result of this scenario -- diver established an air share and abandoned it and bolted, embolized, and was dead at the surface. However, since you cannot be sure of WHY the diver is bolting after having been provided an ostensibly working regulator, it's hard to make the decision to do everything you can to impede their ascent -- which you almost certainly cannot stop, anyway, since you can't get negative enough to counter the force that can be generated by a vertical diver kicking like crazy. As a DM, I would probably TRY to slow the ascent, and TRY to make sure the diver was exhaling -- but from shallow water, this whole thing plays out in so little time that you don't have a lot of latitude for intervening.

As with so many diving incidents, it seems like the best thing to do is go back and figure out how this could have been prevented. Had you been asking this new buddy for his pressure on a regular basis? When you turned the dive, did everybody share their pressures then? Clearly this person wasn't monitoring his gas carefully enough, but perhaps he could have been encouraged to do so by more experienced companions.

 

[Searcaigh]

Welcome to the world of instabuddies ... glad you survived that encounter.

BTW although I don't use an Octopus, I always check my pony regulator on descent to make sure it is working and this is what I would offer an OOA diver should it ever occur.

Besides the instabuddy issue it is also good practice to check both your secondary stages under water and not just on the surface during the buddy check then at least there will be no issue if the octo has to be used.

 

[DevonDiver]

...he claims that he could not purge the octopus second stage. I tested it and it was fine...

How and where did you test it?

- If there was a torn diaphragm or exhaust valve etc, then it might not be obvious unless submerged.

- A cracked housing, torn/dislodged mouthpiece etc etc also..

Alternatively:

On performing the donation, did you visually confirm that he had taken the octopus and secured it properly for breathing. I see a large proportion of novice divers rush to receive an alternate air source and mistakenly place it in their mouths upside-down. I see their buddies fail to notice them doing that, because they are equally task-loaded and stressed from the incident.

Of course, with the exhaust valve facing upwards, it is difficult...near-impossible... to clear. You can 'breathe past' the water contained... but that's a tall order for a stressed and inexperienced diver..

...he claims that he could not purge the octopus second stage....I am suspecting he thought that the hard regulator was not working when compared to his Scubapro MK25... Possible?

"Not able to purge" sounds very different to "hard work breathing". If someone told me that they couldn't purge the regulator, my assumption would be a problem caused by water retention in the second-stage.

I am backtracking my octopus handoff and the only thing I did not do was grab on his BC right away.

When dealing with an out-of-air diver, it is prudent to anticipate a stressed/panicked state of mind. Having anticipated that psychological potential, you need to be pro-active and ensure that your assistance/response/rescue includes adequate precautions against a panicked diver response.

Physical contact is important. However, non-physical contact is probably more critical.... eye contact. Donate your octopus...and watch their eyes. Eye-to-eye contact can be very reassuring for the victim. If they remain in distress, it can be very illustrative for the rescuer.

When donating gas... solve the crisis first. That means you have ensured that the recipient is getting good gas supply and is comfortable, before you shift focus to subsequent issues; including checking gas supplies and ascent.

Never, never...donate and assume

You didn't notice the victim 'blow and go'.. that indicates to me that you were significantly stressed and task-loaded yourself. Tunnel vision... rushing through the motions...checking the gauges before the crisis was solved...not anticipating any issues or victim stress. Not understanding the impact of stress on your own performance.

Lots to be learnt from a very educational incident... and thankfully nobody got hurt...

 

[rhwestfall]

Making yourself a second victim is the wrong choice (one of the rules learned from a Rescue Class).....

I have been in your shoes, and with a person that was a "seasoned" diver. Had an insta buddy decide to do a blow and go from 110' without warning. No obvious signs other than switching regulators, shaking his head and rocketing for the surface - all in the blink of an eye. Tried to grab him, but I wasn't quick enough. With the exception of catastropic equipment failure, being in a sudden OOA shouldn't happen...It takes two to dance, and perhaps you should have asked once or twice during the dive what his air was....

sounds like the Pre-dive plan should have covered more points (reinforcing air monitoring). Sometimes you can even execute some skills as part of the dive.....

Lastly, have you tried your octo? How does it breathe?

 

[Steve_C]

As with so many diving incidents, it seems like the best thing to do is go back and figure out how this could have been prevented. Had you been asking this new buddy for his pressure on a regular basis? When you turned the dive, did everybody share their pressures then? Clearly this person wasn't monitoring his gas carefully enough, but perhaps he could have been encouraged to do so by more experienced companions.

Exactly. My first thought. When diving with an instabuddy we do several air checks. Usually I am leading so I request it from them. First couple are for me to get an idea of their SAC rates vs mine. Then we repeat every now and then. If they get nervous for some reason the rate goes up. Seen more than one new diver who burns their air faster once they get below half a tank. I figure that part of my having a safe dive is to get my instabuddy back to the boat with enough air for an ascent plus some.

If I am not leading then I let them know from time to time my air.

Personally I prefer to turn on thirds. If we get back to the anchor with more than the needed reserve we can spend a few minutes in the vicinity of the anchor looking around before we go up.

 

[DevonDiver]

As with so many diving incidents, it seems like the best thing to do is go back and figure out how this could have been prevented. Had you been asking this new buddy for his pressure on a regular basis? When you turned the dive, did everybody share their pressures then? Clearly this person wasn't monitoring his gas carefully enough, but perhaps he could have been encouraged to do so by more experienced companions.

IMHO, unanticipated air-depletion can never be an individual failure (unless solo diving). Monitoring and communicating gas throughout the dive is a team/buddy-pair responsibility. More than one diver has to be negligent in those responsibilities for gas to zero without everyone being aware of the issue in advance.