Deco obligation during Emergency Recall

[RJP]

I guess my question is IF you got into a situation where you had a Deco obligation and there was an Emergency Recall, what would you do?

I would do my deco... probably shaving off the last few minutes depending on the dive. However if I had been exerting myself battling currents, etc - as it seems they were - I would probably finish it out.

Adding more potential victims to divide limited rescue/first aid resources helps no one.

 

[Scott L]

I would do my deco... probably shaving off the last few minutes depending on the dive. However if I had be exerting myself battling currents, etc - as it seems they were - I would probably finish it out.

Adding more potential victims to divide limited rescue/first aid resources helps no one.

It would be 9 minutes of deco with that Suunto computer of yours...

 

[RJP]

It would be 9 minutes of deco with that Suunuto computer of yours...

I'd be following the table I cut on V-Planner... knowing that if I cleared that I could reasonably omit 10-15min of "Suunto Deco"

 

[Sas]

I'd be following the table I cut on V-Planner... knowing that if I cleared that I could reasonably omit 10-15min of "Suunto Deco"

I once used one with my Uwatec computer, just to compare the differences. Up to 22mins of runtime difference on one dive :S

I should try this with an Oceanic. One friend said he bought his Oceanic so he didn't have to do any deco.

 

[Reef_Haven]

Was the deck hand out of line banging on the ladder, if the divers had gone into deco? I agree it was not an emergency. The divers had no idea if there were a true emergency or not.
If the divers truly believed they had 5 minutes of obligation left, should they have asked for O2? or only watched for symptoms?
Obviously they should have surfaced away from the boat as well, when they realized they weren't going to make it back to the mooring before going into deco.

 

[RJP]

Was the deck hand out of line banging on the ladder, if the divers had gone into deco?

How would he know what the divers' deco obligation was?

If the divers truly believed they had 5 minutes of obligation left, should they have asked for O2? or only watched for symptoms?

I'd be on 02 for sure.

 

[Superlyte27]

Unfortunately, most of the boat captains I know in the Keys are not divers. They have no idea about diving. They have little idea what a blown off deco could mean. Fortunately, they have alot of common sense (most of the few I know).

If I were the captain in the Keys (which I am), Unless there was imminent danger (and someone drifting away is not imminent danger) my boat woudn't move. I would not call divers to the surface knowing there was probably deco obligations. I'll pick you up downstream.

If I were a diver in the Keys (which I am), I will not be surfacing with a deco obligation. You can come get me later if there's an imminent danger topside. I'll wait on the mooring ball until you get back.


Good topic.

 

[brucet]

How would you handle this situation?
My buddy and I and 6 others were diving a 100' deep reef, seas were running 3 - 5' with a pretty strong current. The boat was tied up to a mooring ball with tag line. There was no discussion of emergency recall. No guide or DM in the water, the captain and deckhand stayed on board. Each buddy team would be diving seperately, not as a group.
After boarding from our dive we watched the following situation play out.
Two divers surfaced about 2-300 yards down current from the boat and inflated their SMBs. They had overshot the mooring line and spent their safety stop swimming against the current, to try to be within sight of the boat when they surfaced. Apparently neither had a spool to deploy their SMB before surfacing.
The deckhand borrowed one of our SMB's, inflated it and tried to signal back to the two divers who were now floating away, that we had seen them. There was no indication they saw his signal. By that time the 3rd pair had boarded the boat and said the 4th pair had just reached the mooring line.
After 3 or 4 minutes the last pair had still not surfaced and the other pair were out of sight, so the deck hand began banging on the ladder with a lead weight to try to call the divers up. He did this about once minute for the next few minutes, even though someone mentioned they probably were in deco. When they finally surfaced one diver was OOA. They too had missed the mooring line and by the time they had worked their way back to the line, they had gone into deco. They still had a 5 minute obligation when they surfaced.
No oxygen was given, no signs of DCS and the other two divers who drifted away seemed to be in good spirits when picked up.
I guess my question is IF you got into a situation where you had a Deco obligation and there was an Emergency Recall, what would you do?

Absolutely, due the deco. No question.

 

[RJP]

I would not call divers to the surface knowing there was probably deco obligations. I'll pick you up downstream.

I would recall divers in this situation, but the briefing would include a discussion of the boat's recall procedure, highlighting the direction that recall means to return to the boat as soon as your deco obligation allows.

Absent a recall, you'd easily end up with people putzing around on the bottom, folks doing extra time on the line just for something to do, etc. No reason not to recall people if you need to, you just need to tell them what the recall procedure is.

 

[Doc Harry]

Do the full deco, all of it, every minute.

You really can't ask anything else from anyone.

If you're jumping into 3-5 foot seas in a strong current to dive a 100-foot deep wreck, you had better be prepared for exactly such a scenario (drifting away from the boat). Sorry about your luck, but you can't expect other people to cut short their deco because you blew it. You better be dressed warmly, have a lot of signal equipment, and ready to spend some time at sea.