Rescue Diver Course

Chapter 1

Safe Diving and the Diver

Topics in this Chapter:
 The Self-Reliant Diver
 Awareness
 Preparing for the Dive
 Dive Planning
 Buddy Check
 Out-of-Air Emergencies
 Limited Visibility
 The Self-Reliant Diver
What is meant by the term “self-reliant” ?
The ability to look after all your problems underwater
without assistance from your buddy
 The Self-Reliant Diver
Critical elements in developing self-reliance
• Understand your equipment
• Take personal responsibility
• Develop self-awareness skills
• Become more aware of your surroundings
• Plan for contingencies
• Learn to handle your own emergencies
 The Self-Reliant Diver
Through training and experience, all divers
should strive for self-reliance
• First, you should be able to take care of yourself in
most situations
• Then, you will be better prepared to assist another
diver with any problems that arise
 Awareness
Self awareness
• How cold or tired are you ?
• How are you and your equipment working together,
as a system ?
• What is your remaining air supply ?
• What is your current depth ?
• What is your remaining NDL ?
 Awareness
Global awareness
• Orientation and sense of direction
• Recognize and evade entanglement hazards
• Judge distance from bottom, and avoid stirring up
silt
• Stay in sync with buddy, without getting in the way
• Instinctively pick the best navigational clues
 Preparing for the Dive
Physical preparation
• Appropriate level of physical fitness for typical diving
activities
• Rescue scenarios often will require an increased
physical effort
 Preparing for the Dive
Mental preparation
• Evaluate conditions, in terms of personal
experience and training
• Mentally “walk” through the planned dive
with your buddy
• Anticipate possible problems, and identify
appropriate responses
 Preparing for the Dive
Equipment preparation
• Appropriate annual servicing of scuba gear
• Personal pre-dive inspection of all items
 Regulator system
 Buoyancy compensator
 Personal dive computer and gauges
 Exposure protection
 Accessory items, required for a particular dive
 Lights, reels, lift bags
 Surface floats and flags, signaling devices
 Cutting tools
 Dive Planning
Detailed plan, agreed upon by all buddies
• Objective: intent and nature of this dive
• Maximum depth and time limits
• Safety stop
• Adequate air supplies
• Route to follow, including entry and exit points
• Hand signals
Diving Hand Signals
 Buddy Check
Should be performed before every dive
• Are BC straps and buckles fastened ?
• Is air on, and is tank full ?
• Are all hoses properly routed ?
• Alternate air source: type, location, use ?
• Is mask sealed, and are straps secure ?
• Is weight system release accessible ?
• Is dive knife or tool in place ?
 Buddy Check
Continued . . .
• Have hand signals been reviewed ?
• Has dive plan been reviewed ?
• Have contingency plans been reviewed ?
 Out-of-Air Emergencies
Buddy Dependent Options
Alternate air source / octopus regulator
• Diver signals “out of air” and “share air”
• Donor passes octopus and/or receiver reaches
for octopus
• Each grasps other’s BC strap with right hand
• Maintain eye contact, ascend together
• Vent air from BC during ascent with left hand
• Establish positive buoyancy at surface
 Out-of-Air Emergencies
Buddy Dependent Options
Special note: inflator-integrated alternate
regulators
• Donor must pass primary regulator, while
switching to alternate
• Otherwise, follow same procedure as with
octopus regulator
 Out-of-Air Emergencies
Buddy Dependent Options
Buddy breathing
• Diver signals “out of air” and “share air”
• Donor takes a breath, before passing second stage
• Each diver takes two breaths, on alternating basis
• Each diver exhales slightly while without regulator
• One hand used to grasp buddy’s BC strap, and
other hand to pass regulator (do not cover purge)
• Maintain eye contact, ascend together
• Vent air from BC during ascent
• Establish positive buoyancy at surface
 Out-of-Air Emergencies
Buddy Independent Options
Redundant air supplies
• Pony bottle, with separate regulator system
• Self-contained units, such as Spare Air ®
 Out-of-Air Emergencies
Buddy Independent Options
Direct emergency ascent
• Considering the time required for some of the other
options, a direct ascent might make more sense
with less risk to either diver
• Procedures
– Basically ascend normally, while exhaling slightly
– Be ready to discard weights, if necessary, during
ascent
– Decreasing ambient pressure may allow an
additional breath
 Limited Visibility
Avoid buddy separation
• Stay within arm’s reach of each other
• When appropriate, use a buddy line
 Limited Visibility
Lost buddy search
• Stop, immediately look around
• Ascend a little, and look for buddy’s bubbles
• Back-track a little, to see if buddy stopped
• Search only for about one minute
• If you can’t locate buddy, ascend to surface
• If buddy does not appear after several minutes,
summon assistance
 Limited Visibility
Navigation skills
• Especially important in poor visibility
• May be required in rescue searches
• Techniques
• Visualize your dive plan
• Visualize your environment
• Superimpose both images
• Calculate your progress
• Plot your position on the dive plan
• Use natural and instrument aids
 Summary
Elements of safe diving
• Self-Reliance, through training and experience
• Awareness: personal and global
• Proper preparation
• Proper dive planning
• Pre-dive buddy check