OOA Buddy starts to drag you up by your octo - What would you do?

[Tigerman]

I screwed up and not only stayed with him I attempted to "rescue" him. I interpreted his actions as resulting from the emergency and resulting diminished mental capacity. Of course I later discovered there was no emergency, only his cavalier attitude toward dive planning and responsibility toward his buddy.

To top it off as late as a year later he still didn't understand the gravity of the situation his signals and actions had created.

If you interpreted the situation as an emergency and that he was in need of rescue, Id say you didnt screw up at all, but did what you should do, namely attempt to rescue him. For how long you should try and when you should realize he was a "lost cause" is of course a topic for another discussion tho..

 

[Tigerman]

No, I'm saying that:
A skydiver is on the verge when his main is tangled and he has to cut away for the first time
A race car driver is on the verge when his back end steps out in the rain for the first time
An FMX? rider when he first tries a back flip
A soldier when he hits the ground the first time he is mortared

And remember, we are talking about divers here who have most likely never been in this position before and has probably had less training than any of the persons you described above, except for the skydiving which I used to do.
Adrenaline, as I posted, is pumped into the body when it senses danger and most divers have never and will never be in this situation. The people you described above are in these situations every time they participate in what they do, they have real life practice. They have familiarity with the situation because they have been there before. Try asking them about their state of mind the first time it happened.

Ive been skydiving and with less than 10 jumps my main chute DID get tangle. Of course I did get (even more) adrenaline and what was the first thing I thought? Find the cutaway and deploy the reserve..
Fortunately for me, when I reached for the cutaway the main deployed for some reason, but still.. no panic what so ever.
Another jumper did cut away and his first thought was "DAMN! Wrong color!" He had ordered a different color reserve than the one he got..
Ive also been attacked with knives and bottles, Ive been in shootings and a fair share of other "less than ideal" situations..

And consider this; Adrenaline is intended as a life SAVER, not a killer. Would it be logical for a mammal to deploy a drug that make them panic? No?
So maybe the panic is not caused by adrenaline at all, altho it often corelate with a panic?
Maybe there are other things thats needed in order to panic, just like heat itself aint enough to cause a fire? Is holding a burning match the same as being on the virge of starting a fire?

 

[Diver Dennis]

When you are skydiving, especially as a beginner, you have an AAD which will cut away your main and deploy your reserve should you be unconscious or unable to deploy your reserve, so you do have a second chance.

You make my point when you say that adrenaline is a life saver, a diver who is out of air will think of one thing, getting air. When under the influence of adrenaline, you get tunnel vision, you do whatever it takes to survive and a lot of divers will go where they know the air is. The surface. They will get there as if their life depends on it and I guess it might. Without training or even with training, they want to survive and they know for a fact that they can breathe on the surface. Panic? Maybe not the way you describe it but I would say it is.

I'm not saying all divers would react that way but I'm guessing a lot might.

 

[TSandM]

ArcticDiver, you dived with me. Would you consider me evangelical?

 

[Cheekymonkey]

Skydiving, talk about offtopic

 

[ArcticDiver]

ArcticDiver, you dived with me. Would you consider me evangelical?

Merry Day After Christmas. I hope yours was as good as mine, except (off topic):
My wife and I went to a church for what had been advertised as a "Christmas Cantata". It is a church we had never been to before. But we had heard good things about their musical program so we went. After all, it was Friday before Christmas and -24F and dark and we could use the cheer.

4 1/2 hours after the program started we had seen all the church's groups from the adult men; to the adult women; to the teens; to the little kids; to little, tiny kids; to a rap group; to a two act play. It sure wasn't what we envisioned. But, it was good, if long.

The Pastor asked my wife and I if we had enjoyed ourselves? I replied that we had but after 4 1/2 hours the numbness in my behind was creeping up to interfere with my brain's ability to function. His reply was: "Yes, we have been meaning to get more comfortable chairs".




Oh yes; your question: I thought we'd discussed that when we dove together.

If I remember correctly we overlap a bit on our Hawaii visit. I'd love it if you and your spouse could join me and mine for a libation or maybe even a meal. We can socialze and be thankful together that we both have grounded spouses to keep us from flying away in a blaze of light.

You have my phone number and the hotel where we are staying. I'll look forward to your call.

 

[dmdoss]

give them a good punch right in the old jewels, that usually slows um down enough to get them under control :O J/K