Could/should I do rescue?

[tbone1004]

@outofofficebrb did you read my first posts where I recommended alternative paths and why?
actually for you with what you've said, with BAUE being right there, it may well be worth looking at the GUE Fundies Part 1....

 

[Marie13]

New diver - 37 dives over 3 trips to the Caribbean and finished AOW on most recent trip.

So what's next?
- I'm really good on air - usually using about 1600 pounds on a 60 min dive.
- I'm (reasonably) good on buoyancy although I know there is room for improvement.
- I need work on finning techniques - especially backwards.

I'm reasonably fit but not athletic, not a strong swimmer and I'm pretty small.

Worried that the requirements for rescue might be too physically difficult for me. So where do I go from here?

Do Rescue. I did it last fall. I’m semi in shape (still losing weight), with two bum knees and sciatica in my left hip. It would have been easier if I’d been more in shape. But I did it! I found the backpack carry actually fairly easy. Chair carrying our 300 lb instructor with someone else? Holy crap! I didn’t make it very far!

I’ve got a thread here of my experience. You might look for it.

In other words, if I can do it, anyone can. Oh, and I’m only 5’5”.

 

[Diver0001]

@Diver0001 where can you still find a shop with a 6 week long OW course or rescue course?

Our OW course is still 6 weeks. Always has been... probably always will be.... Aren't yours? You appear to be suggesting that since you don't believe that it exists that it does not. Again, you are mistaken and you are projecting a judgement about the world that is incorrect and inaccurate based on inaccurate jumping to conclusions. I've tried confronting you about this before but you persist in a head-strong manner that becomes very tiring to say the least. Why?

R..

 

[tbone1004]

Our OW course is still 6 weeks. Always has been... probably always will be.... Aren't yours? You appear to be suggesting that since you don't believe that it exists that it does not. Again, you are mistaken and you are projecting a judgement about the world that is incorrect and inaccurate based on inaccurate jumping to conclusions. I've tried confronting you about this before but you persist in a head-strong manner that becomes very tiring to say the least. Why?

R..

ours are 13, but again, exceptions to the rule, mine being university, yours being your focus on OW. In the US, there are a few that are that long, but I am truly not aware of any dive shops that teach that robust of an OW course because in our markets, very few people are willing to pay that much when they can go get certified in two weekends. Am I jaded with the US dive industry, absolutely. In Europe there are a lot of different mentalities thankfully with one of the best IMO being BSAC, but that's not what the agencies/industry as a whole advertise in this country.... It's all about how fast and cheap they can market them and how "everyone" can be a diver. "Become a diver in a long weekend for $300" is all too prevalent with courses taught to the bare minimums

 

[TMHeimer]

Yes. Do Rescue as soon as you are reasonably comfortable diving and with your equipment. I did mine after my 26th dive. I did OK on all the skills and great on a couple. But then I had the knowledge. Rescue courses vary a lot (so I've read here). Mine was not particularly demanding physically, but more so mentally. Study the manual (e learning?) a lot before the course starts. There is about as much to learn there as in the OW manual.
I haven't read all posts due to in the process of moving, but referring to the "It's good vs. it's a joke" running debate--- I feel everyone should take it simply for the knowledge. You could even buy the manual and muddle through it on your own (of course I don't ADVISE that), and you're probably better off than knowing nothing. There are a number of specific skills that all should know-- the proper steps. Dealing with a panicked diver, towing an unconscious diver and removing equipment. Another may be bringing an unconscious diver to the surface (I know, many will say he's probably dead anyway and I don't disagree). Stopping a runaway ascent/descent.
There are of course like with many courses, some obvious stuff that is just logical--like if you're throwing a donut life ring to a diver throw it past him and then pull it back toward him so you don't have to try again. And as I mentioned, I assume courses vary greatly according to the instructor.
How scary is it for two new divers to buddy up and know none of these skills--even IF they know CPR? This was the case with me and my buddy and I assume a majority of others.
Having said all that, I have many times said I do think the very basic rescue skills (at least the several I listed) SHOULD be taught in OW, as opposed the 2-3 tired diver tows and cramp removal in the PADI OW course.
MOST agencies don't have 6 week courses (I assume that's like 2 sessions a week, not meeting daily?). Of course there is not the time to do any meaningful rescue skills in a one weekend pool/one weekend ocean course. As well, some instructors have disagreed with me saying that throwing all this rescue stuff at brand new students is way too much to swallow. I feel every diver should at least have the knowledge from day one. Perhaps a rescue Certification could then come at a later date one way or another.
The PADI system (the only one I know in detail) is that you take the course, do the skills well enough, and receive the certification. That is why I advised the OP to take Rescue when familiarity with diving and equipment beforehand is advisable.
If you have taken a very lengthy OW course that included all the rescue skills (far from today's norm for most divers), of course it would be stupid to spend more money on a rescue course.

 

[dmaziuk]

As a data and analytics geek, I absolutely would like to. How do I do that?

You work it out from tank size and start/end pressure and dive time. Or take the easy way out and buy an AI computer: that'll log it at whatever its logging frequency is -- as opposed to just getting an average over the entire dive.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Even though I do teach some rescue skills in the OW class, all that's covered in the actual rescue course is not. There just isn't time. Rescue is the first course I recommend after open water. The YMCA and now SEI only require ten dives after the initial cert to take it. Other agencies require more dives or an advanced class of some type.

I do disagree with this because of the way resorts and dive ops view an advanced card in some cases.
That card is used to grant access to sites and dives that the course likely did not prepare the diver for if it was one of the "experience this type of dive" courses.

A good rescue class will be as much, if not more, about preventing accidents as it will actually dealing with them. Most actual dive rescues normally do not require great buoyancy, trim, navigation skills, or paramedic level CPR/FA skills. Most rescue tows do not involve rescue breathing on the surface due to the fact that unless you really practice it regularly, like an instructor gets to do, you're going to screw it up and just delay getting to actual help.

The average "Rescue Diver" I normally run into hasn't practiced one skill from their class since they took it. That might have been years ago. Yet they still brag about being a "rescue diver." No, you have a card, but you are not a rescue diver.
The other sad fact is that in a number of accidents, it's not going to be a rescue. It'll be a recovery. One that may be carried out by other divers or by professional recovery teams. Rescue Diver is not what too many people who put it off think it is. It's not public safety diving, it's not bringing the dead back to life, and it's not usually going to involve helicopters lifting a victim on a stokes to get them on board.

It is more often going to be towing an out of shape guy to shore who got overtired, helping someone with a cramp, or dealing with an overheated or chilled diver. You might do CPR in very rare cases. You might administer O2. More than likely dive pros on scene, the boat crew, resort staff, or EMS will do most of the heavy lifting.

What you are most likely to do though as a recreational "rescue diver" is prevent an accident from happening. By noticing those things that could lead to an accident. Divers with things out of place. Divers out of sorts getting ready to go in the water who shouldn't. Gear issues that could lead to an accident. Errors in judgment that could lead to someone getting into a situation they are not ready for. A good rescue course will cover that in detail.

The in water stuff will challenge you and push your limits if the instructor is doing their job. They will also tell you when you should step back and let pro's handle the situation. They will throw scenarios at you that you've not been briefed on just to help you see how you react to the unexpected. IMO every diver should take a rescue class or even workshop on rescue skills if one is offered in your area. At least on the basics. Like hands only CPR being able to do something is better than having to look back and see that you didn't do anything.

A rescue class will give you the confidence and some skills that will allow you to try. Sometimes trying is enough to be able to sleep at night even when things turned out tragically.

 

[TMHeimer]

Jim, I agree with all you say and admit, that while I was an active DM I did practise the rescue skills, all I do now is review the manual. Lazy, I guess, but at least I still know the routines. Good to get your post--haven't heard from you in quite a while.
Yeah, all the preventative stuff is another big reason to take Rescue--unless you got it in OW.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Yesterday, I witnessed an actual rescue attempt (but not of a diver) at Vortex Spring, FL. My wife and I had just finished a dive, gotten out of our gear, and sat down at a picnic table. A Rescue instructor and his class saw us and introduced themselves. After chatting a few minutes about how they would be doing an underwater search and yelling "PIZZA PIZZA" and all that good Rescue class stuff, they entered the water in the divers' area. They were still on the surface when I heard someone off in the swimming area yell what sounded like "HELP." My wife and I turned and saw someone on shore waving their arms. The Rescue class were looking that way, too. I think all of us wondered for a second whether this was some kind of exercise. But it was real. The Rescue class exited the water and walked to the swimmer's area--a separate pond from the divers' area. Another diver who was a retired EMT joined them. The Rescue instructor took control, initiated a search, and they found the victim on the bottom within a minute. Unfortunately, the victim had been underwater around 10 minutes. Once they had the victim on land, they administered CPR and oxygen, with the Rescue students and the retired EMT taking turns doing chest compressions. It was absolutely textbook from what I recall is taught in the Rescue class. EMS took about 20 minutes to arrive, but they apparently determined the victim was beyond resuscitation by the time they had the defibrillator attached. Circumstances could not have been more in the victim's favor: a Rescue class, all geared up, having prepared to do an underwater search ....

I would have posted this in the Accidents and Incidents forum, but the victim was not a diver.

 

[drbill]

Back in the 60s when I got certified, rescue was part of my "OW" course (LA County). I recertified as a rescue diver thru PADI much later. I think the skills taught in a good rescue course are important (even though I dive solo 90-95% of the time).

Funny thing is that when I recertified, after towing my victim back to shore and "reviving" him I swam back out to the float where I had left his BCD/tank. On the way a woman cried out for help and I ended up giving her a tired swimmer's tow back to the exit point whereupon a guy came out of nowhere and said he'd take over. I asked who he was and he replied "her buddy." Nice of him to stick with her (yeah, right). At first I thought some of my instructor friends had set that up but it turned out to be a real "rescue."