Oxygen, is it really all that important?

[baitedstorm]

Offroaddiver, that is exactly my point. I had to do something very difficult recently and stand up to my boss, the boat Captain. I found out he had no O2 on the boat so I refused to go out and DM for the day.. I had told him that I would go out and work just that day if he told each and every diver that he had no O2 on the boat and they all agreed it was fine. That never happened!

Well, you can imagine how his response to me was, possibility of losing an entire boat full of money for the day was obviously more important to him then the safety of the divers boarding his vessel.

As for me, I WILL NOT jeopardize divers and their safety NO MATTER WHAT! I'm the first one to call a dive if things look bad, and all to often, I too stand alone.

I applaud you for standing up to that charter boat by demanding the O2 be brought aboard, it was no easy task to listen to the crap from the divers who just want to go out right then and there.

I hated to leave the marina that day, in fact, I was nausea for a good hour afterwards only because I had never in my life walked out on a job like that before. In my heart, I know I did what was right. I don't know if he ever decided to put O2 on the boat, but I'm hear to tell everyone, DO NOT TAKE ANYONES WORD when it comes to safety equipment. You need to see it, analyze it, and make sure that O2 is full. I know for a fact that this captain has told divers that there was O2 on the boat when in fact there was NOT!!! I shutter to think about what could have happened if there had been an emergency.

For all those boat/charter Captains out there, I hope you understand from this poll just how important us divers/paying customers find O2 to be. I know a few of my pervious employers accounts have left him because of him not having the essentials on board. Don't make the same mistake as he has/is.

 

[Divedoggie]

If that bottle of O2 saved one person....ever.....it would be worth it, and therefor should absolutely be a mandantory item on the boat. Especially if that one person was you!

 

[toodive4]

This question has a clear cut answer.

Boats should not operate without O2 onboard - period. However this is not the only concern. There must also be a person onbaord properly trained in its administration.

Properly administering the o2 early on after a diving accident can be critical in limiting the extent of the injury and in maintaining the patient until rescue personnel arrive and to the eventual initiation of treatment at the chamber.

While I have been diving on boats that did not carry o2 onboard, they were land based operators where the dive sites were shallow and the time to port was 15 minutes or less. Even under these optimal conditions it is still in my opinion a critical time lapse that could be the difference between life or death or at minimum debilitating injury vs full recovery.

Ken Barrick

 

[String]

This question has a clear cut answer.

Boats should not operate without O2 onboard - period.

That i agree with.

However this is not the only concern. There must also be a person onbaord properly trained in its administration.

That bit i disagree with. A boat skipper is just that, a taxi to/from the site. I dont expect him to be a diver or trained in other things like this - i simply want him to be good at skippering his boat. Safety equipment is there and i think it should be up to the divers themselves to administer the Oxygen - after all they are the ones doing the diving not the bloke driving the boat.

 

[SDAnderson]

This question has a clear cut answer.

Boats should not operate without O2 onboard - period. However this is not the only concern. There must also be a person onbaord properly trained in its administration.

Properly administering the o2 early on after a diving accident can be critical in limiting the extent of the injury and in maintaining the patient until rescue personnel arrive and to the eventual initiation of treatment at the chamber.

While I have been diving on boats that did not carry o2 onboard, they were land based operators where the dive sites were shallow and the time to port was 15 minutes or less. Even under these optimal conditions it is still in my opinion a critical time lapse that could be the difference between life or death or at minimum debilitating injury vs full recovery.

Ken Barrick

As a general rule, I don't dive if there isn't O2 available and that includes shore diving as well as charter operations. I've never canceled a dive because there wasn't O2 available because part of my dive planning includes First Aid and O2 kits. I like it when the charter has O2, it shows that they're a serious operation and it saves me from having to lug my own emergency tank down to the dock, but I come from the "cover your own butt" school of doing things.

I disagree with String, however. I expect the Captain to know how to operate his engines, radio, GPS and everything else associated with his boat, if he provides O2 I would expect him to know how to administer it.

It's not all that complicated, really. EVERYONE should be trained in First Aid and CPR, all divers should be trained in emergency O2 adminstration and if you don't carry a First Aid kit and an O2 bottle with you, make sure that somebody else is. If the charter tells you that they will provide First Aid and O2 equipment and then they don't, don't cancel the charter. Sink their stinking boat.

 

[dbulmer]

Disagree with you String. The skipper is responsible for all surface based safety and a good skipper has a load of experience that can be called on when things go wrong.

This does not , however, absolve a divers from their personal responsibility. The O2 Administrator has to be there - it could be the skipper or the dive marshall, DO or someone else and I suspect that was the point toodive4 was making.

 

[MikeFerrara]

I'm with reefraff. When I dive I want O2 available but it doesn't have to be the charter who provides it. If they do, it saves me some trouble but I have my own. It is important to know what the charter does provide before you get there so you can plan to have what you need one way or the other. If I was running a charter I would have it. When I was teaching I had it even though response times in those areas are more like 7 minutes and the dive sites often shallow.

 

[DaFireMedic]

Disagree with you String. The skipper is responsible for all surface based safety and a good skipper has a load of experience that can be called on when things go wrong.

This does not , however, absolve a divers from their personal responsibility. The O2 Administrator has to be there - it could be the skipper or the dive marshall, DO or someone else and I suspect that was the point toodive4 was making.

It doesn't have to be the skipper, but someone on the crew needs to know how to administer the O2. You can't depend on the other divers, because there may not be a diver on board that knows how to use it. Everyone should be trained to administer it, but few actually are, and some lack the confidence to step forward and help if a situation did arise. You may be able to administer it to yourself, or you may be in the situation where your level of consciousness is decreased to the point where you cannot self administer it.

Anyway, every boat should have O2 and someone on the crew who is trained to administer it.

 

[BadLatitude]

i carry a 22 cu ft bottle on my personal boat for diving. For a dive charter to not have it blows my mind.

 

[Tom Yerian]

I'm just curious as to how many people feel it's important for a dive charter boat to carry oxygen on board for your trip? Do you assume it's on board or do you ask if it is? If you found out the boat didn't have it, would that influence your decision to use that particular boat?

Hi my name is Capt.Tom, To start with , I am a certified hyperbaric technician,among many other things in the diving world. To spare you the technical details,YES,o2 is vitally important on a dive boat. I would suggest you not dive on a boat that doesn't offer oxygen. You would be ahead of the game if you carried your own. If you do, be properly trained in its use..... Thank you

Capt. TOM