How NOT to exit the sea up a ladder

[Jeremy Bouwman]

they should get a ladder made for divers, the ones with one pole down the middle and steps sticking out the side so you can swing your feet out and around and climb with fins on easily.

 

[H2Andy]

well. .... we get some rough seas out here and have to climb up ladders (nothing like that), and you need to remain submerged as long as possible, take fins off, and hurry up the ladder

you can get bouyant and swim on your back with both arms and legs if you lose your fins, but best to try and hang on to them

also, you gotta hang on to the ladder ... that wave shouldn't have knocked him off, he wasn't paying attention ... and then he let go with one hand to mess with his mask .... game over

my strategy has always been: spend as little time on the ladder as possible and hang on like hell

 

[realdiver7]

Wow! Very rough and dangerous conditions. Get your fins off, keep your reg in your mouth, keep your mask on, pay attention, hang on for dear life, and get up the ladder as fast as possible.

 

[Busdiver]

 

[MantaRey]

Best way out is to not dive in dangerous situations like that to begin with. :no

 

[Gary D.]

they should get a ladder made for divers, the ones with one pole down the middle and steps sticking out the side so you can swing your feet out and around and climb with fins on easily.

Those single pole ladders aren't the best for conditions like that. Those protruding rungs can act like a javelin if you hit them wrong.

We have them on all our boats but they are free swinging to help eliminate the dangers.

Besides he should have come around the back of the ladder. That way when the waves hit they spit him out like French Fries through the rungs and filter out his gear for the scavengers to recover.

Gary D.

 

[String]

Not diving may have been a sensible option, they may not have checked exit before getting in. Malta and Gozo is covered with rock like that (no sand) and ladders.
The reason its not a diving style christmas tree ladder is its designed to be used by swimmers (obviously in calmer conditions).

Taking fins off isnt ideal there - if you get washed away from the ladder you have no propulsion. Holding onto it underwater wasn't possible as the entire ladder was uncovered at the bottom of the surge. In short, it may not have been the worlds best idea to dive there in the first place !

Some of the ladders arent that strong either. Last year trying to climb them in twin steel 12ls and 12l stage you could feel them move and wobble with the weight on them.

One thing though, once you decide on a method, stick to it and do it quickly whatever it is. Hesitating like he did is a disaster waiting to happen.

 

[Fish_Whisperer]

Holy crap!! Agree with String: Scrub the dive. This isn't a military operation. It's (supposed to be) recreation! Man....

I nearly lost fingers going up the ladder, at the end of my first OW cert dive in the Big Water. The surge was pretty heavy, and as I was climbing the ladder, I had my hands on the outsides of the ladder rather than on the rungs. The surge had pushed the ladder away from the back of the boat, but then it SLAMMED it back against the boat and if I wouldn't have had quick reflexes, there's no doubt in my mind that my hands would have been crushed.

I used one of those stringer ladders in Cozumel, and climbed it with my fins on. Not so bad, really... It's just easier to hand the fins up or clip them to snap rings on the cummberbund of my BC, though.

 

[String]

Ive just decided to steal this video and use it in part of the lecture i have to do here tomorrow to trainees on exits.

I think its a perfectly example of (i) why you should leave a regulator in (ii) ALWAYS maintain 3 points of contact NOT take your hand off to fiddle with mask and (iii) survey the exit area before actually diving.

Plus it'll give them a good laugh...

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Not diving may have been a sensible option, they may not have checked exit before getting in.

Yup ... my OW instructor gave me a rule I follow to this day ...

Never get in the water without first making sure you know how you're going to get out ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)