I had the pleasure (not) of performing a Rescue Dive last Saturday. I had a friends daughter coming to the area and wanted to Dive. I asked the usual Q's about experience etc.. She told me she had an open water and had been diving for 5yrs. She said it was primarily in lakes and had only done 1 beach dive. So, I thought Venice beach would be a good choice...I should have stopped the dive when I noticed her having troubles donning her gear. We continued nonetheless; got in the water and proceeded swimming the some 100yrds out to the site. My friend who was with me and I gave the signal to dive and proceeded down to the bottom. As I looked up I noticed the friends daughter wasn't descending, so I resurfaced and asked what was up..She told me that she didn't have enough weight...Apparently she thought the dive shop who rented her the gear didn't know what they were doing as she only used 1/2 the wieght she was given. We then decided to return to shore and get more weight (I needed the exercise anyhow). My friend and I began swimming inshore noticing that she was coming. I began making hand motion for her to come on, but she wasn't budging. She kept looking up at us then placing her head back in the water. My freind went to her to get her attention when out of the blue she latched on to him with a death grip. So now I have my frined struggling to get away and her total frozen. I dropped my gear (flag, bag etc..) and swam to them...Pryed my friend from her arms then forceably flipped her on to her back, inflating her BC rendering her into submission. I asked what was going on and she said that she couldn't move. She didn't know how to sink in the water and get on her back. She was totally frozen swimming in circles. Great right?? I had to tow her (tired diver tow) back to shore. Its funny in a way too that I was just looking into getting my rescue diver cert the other day..I think I'll move ahead with that now.. Moral of the story....Come on...can you dive? Do you know what your doing? Or will I have to resuce you?
Are you sure you know what your doing?
- Thread starter rayoto
- Start date
I have seen similar things. Diving for five years might only mean 10 dives. I know my daughter thinks she knows how to dive too, but she is wearing 20lbs (she is five feet nine and 135 lbs) in a skin. She too has been diving for 5 years and has maybe 25 dives. Certified does not necessarily mean qualified. (I have never been diving with her)
Well people would be insulted if they think they are qualified and are asked to do water skills. As an OWSI one learns to guage peoples comfort level with diving by watching them put on their equipment and by noticing how much weight they are wearing. And the next clue is watching how they go down. If either of these is other than automatic and if they don't show adequate skills, they need to be baby sat while diving. It can be subtle babysitting but never the less assume there will be a problem.
che25
New member
I know that "death grip"! It's not funny, it can kill/injure the rescuer as well.
In the 1980's I logged more than 150 dives, mostly around the Central Calif. Coast. On one incident a buddy lost air supply @ 100' while spear fishing and diving off a boat. He forgot all his training and bolted for the surface, even though it would of been very easy to "buddy breath". Luckily, he did do a proper emergency ascent and all was well. However, that was the longest swim to the surface thinking I would have an injured diver on my hands. He was a very experienced diver!
Another time I received the "death grip" while lifeguarding from a 13 year old, luckily, I was twice his weight and was able to subdue him and tow him back to shore.
These things happen in water sports. It is a reminder small accidents and oversights can escalate into tragedies in the blink of an eye.
Since keeping a reef tank, I've been yearning to return to scuba diving. However, I won't do so until I've had re-certification training and I will only dive with a buddy that is experienced and can keep a cool head.
Good job on the rescue.
In the 1980's I logged more than 150 dives, mostly around the Central Calif. Coast. On one incident a buddy lost air supply @ 100' while spear fishing and diving off a boat. He forgot all his training and bolted for the surface, even though it would of been very easy to "buddy breath". Luckily, he did do a proper emergency ascent and all was well. However, that was the longest swim to the surface thinking I would have an injured diver on my hands. He was a very experienced diver!
Another time I received the "death grip" while lifeguarding from a 13 year old, luckily, I was twice his weight and was able to subdue him and tow him back to shore.
These things happen in water sports. It is a reminder small accidents and oversights can escalate into tragedies in the blink of an eye.
Since keeping a reef tank, I've been yearning to return to scuba diving. However, I won't do so until I've had re-certification training and I will only dive with a buddy that is experienced and can keep a cool head.
Good job on the rescue.
it is better to anticipate and prevent rather than try and solve. Bad things happen under water especially if the diver is nervous or uncomfortable with conditions. Diving in warm water with no current is so very different than diving colder water with current. One must be trained for the circumstances not just for the water skills required for certification.
twoodall
New member
Words of wisdom right there!
The more you dive the more comfortable you become, but the kind of environment you dive in can add false confidence. Say you have made 50 dives in a quarry/spring, don't you think there are things to consider before stepping off a charter boat in 100' of water. My point is, divers should always be learning, through practice, additional training, writings from different sources. They should also be experiencing, given the opportunity, different dive environments with in their training levels. As in sports you can't get better if you don't practice or challenge yourself. If I hadn't made a couple of gulf dives with an instructor in the early stages of my diving experience, I would have been very hesitant to dive in the gulf/ocean. The level of confidence gained from their presence has shaped my diving.
Actually, the more you dive, the more intuitive diving becomes. Which is both a good thing and a bad thing. The good is that issues that are wrong won't feel right and you know to check things immediately; and as you totally relax in the water, you consume much less air. Secondary benefit, however, is you are less likely to panic when something does go wrong. The bad is that you are not expecting problems like an inexperienced diver is. Diving is inherently safe despite it being risky if you keep your head in the game and know how to solve problems under water. Best single piece of advice that I could give would probably be make sure your equipment is well maintained.
twoodall
New member
The one item I always recommend new divers to buy is a regulator and to keep it maintained, that way you/they know when and by whom it was serviced, adding confidence in equipment and peace of mind under water.
You can reduce the risk of something happening underwater by keeping your gear clean and maintained properly, thus being able to relax and be of help when the need arises.
twoodall
New member
Your advice and information is great snorvich. Like most things, to be good at it you have to practice/participate. From that comes knowledge, skill, and confidence. Seems to me you post from experience and that is the most valuable asset. A rating doesn't necessarily prove anything!
