Turning the Tables

Aside from losing her buddy toward the end, and surfacing down current from the boat, Janet's dive went smoothly. The dive boat was a couple hundred yards away, and Bill was already about halfway there. Janet started finning her way back and was making good progress against the light current until a sudden, searing pain jolted through her right calf. The cramp radiated into her right foot. Her screams and waving arms went unanswered as she slowly drifted away from the boat. Finally, an unfamiliar face appeared from out of nowhere. As the diver towed her back toward the boat, her anxiety level began to subside. She took her mask off, her regulator out and leaned her head back, trying to relax. Then, without warning, the unknown rescuer shoved her head underwater and held it there. She struggled to break free, to get her head above water, to breathe. But in a matter of seconds, Janet began to drown.

The Divers

Janet was a physically active, healthy diver in her late twenties with nearly 100 logged dives. She and her partner, Bill, made routine dive trips together. Her would-be rescuer, Reggie, was an active dive instructor who had taught diving for more than 10 years with an excellent safety record. Although he didn't teach diving full-time, he tried to teach seven or eight classes per year. Reggie was in his early thirties and of average health. He had long planned to start an exercise program to get back into shape, but he repeatedly putt off these plans because of his busy schedule.

The Dive

After a detailed briefing from the captain, the divers slipped into the water and started their dive swimming into the light current. When Janet reached a little less than a third of her air supply, she signaled Bill, and they turned to swim back to the boat. But when Janet saw a spotted moray eel swimming freely along the top of the reef, she pulled out her camera and took off after it, assuming Bill would follow. When the eel disappeared into the reef, Janet turned back toward her buddy and realized he was gone. She had now breathed her tank to about 1,000 psi, but she was in shallow water and still had plenty of no-decompression time remaining, so she turned and swam back in the opposite direction. After searching for one minute, as she had been taught, she ascended and completed an abbreviated safety stop before surfacing down current about 200 yards away from the boat. Bill had also ascended, and he was about halfway between Janet and the boat. She and Bill exchanged OK signals, and they each began kicking against the mild current.

The Accident

There were other dive boats at the site, and Janet made sure to keep clear of these boats as she swam. With about 100 yards to go, she felt a searing pain in her right calf, radiating down into her right foot. She reached down and pulled her fin, trying to work the cramp out as she had been taught, but the pain would not subside. She was completely unable to kick. Her BC was inflated, the seas were calm, and she still had air, so she continued trying to work the cramp out for several minutes before noticing Bill was back on board the boat and she was farther away than when she started. In fact, she seemed to be quite a distance from any of the surrounding dive boats. She waved her arms several times, signaling that she needed assistance. Next, she blew the whistle attached to her BC, but only a weak gurgling sound came out.

The Rescue

Finally, Reggie, who was assembling his equipment on another dive boat, recognized that Janet was in distress. He quickly donned his mask, fins and snorkel, dived into the water and swam to her. When Reggie got close, he asked Janet's situation and grabbed her tank valve to help tow her back to the nearest dive boat where they would call her boat to pick her up. Janet laid back and tried to help Reggie as best as she could, but the pain in her calf remained debilitating. She pulled off her mask, spit out her regulator and relied on Reggie.

Rescuing the Rescuer

The current was very mild, but Reggie soon found himself barely able to move forward. His breath came in labored gasps, and when he rolled over, trying to find a more comfortable swimming position, he forced Janet's head underwater. She couldn't breathe, and she couldn't get away. Reggie felt Janet struggling, but he could barely keep moving. He knew that if they stopped, they would be in real trouble, so he attempted to keep her moving toward the boat. At this point, Janet couldn't see, she was disoriented and she knew she was close to drowning. Finally, in a full-scale panic, Janet kicked free. Screaming, she turned and climbed onto Reggie, looking for any way to get out of the water. As Reggie was pushed under, he began struggling to get away. Finally, he submerged deep enough that Janet's grip broke and he was able to make a few weak kicks out of the way before resurfacing. Recognizing the drama on the water, another diver grabbed a line and swam to the pair so they could be hauled aboard Reggie's boat. Janet was nearly hysterical, and Reggie was so exhausted he needed help climbing the ladder. Neither diver was injured.

Analysis

Even when divers follow the rules, unexpected things can happen. Bill and Janet had agreed that Janet would lead on this dive, and he would lead on the second, so she assumed he was behind her when she took off after the eel. Bill never saw any indication that Janet was heading in a new direction. He swam forward for just a few seconds before deciding that she must have surfaced with an emergency. Although well-trained and accustomed to following the rules, Janet's assumption that Bill was behind her ultimately cascaded into a more serious problem. And once Janet experienced her leg cramp and began to drift farther from the boat, her inadequate signaling devices made her realize why her instructor encouraged the use of a safety sausage and air-powered sonic alert device.

Reggie was a competent instructor, and had he not lacked the physical stamina to safely carry out this rescue, the story probably would have ended there. However, an instructor is not required to retest and demonstrate physical endurance after his or her initial certification. The industry assumes instructors are professionals and that they will take responsibility for their own fitness. Reggie knew his shortcomings and planned to get himself back in shape, but like so many divers with busy lives outside of diving, he procrastinated, and this procrastination nearly drowned him as well as the diver he meant to save.

Finally, had Janet remembered to leave her mask and regulator in place, Reggie's dunking would have only been inconvenient. Instead, this simple accident became life-threatening.

Leassons for Life

Stay together. The leader is responsible for communicating changes in direction. The follower needs to pay attention and stay close.

Be seen and heard. Carry a brightly colored surface marker bag or safety sausage on every dive, as well as an audible signaling device. Most whistles work adequately, but air-powered sonic alert devices can be heard for miles.

Stay fit. Whether you are a diver or a dive pro, fitness is key to diving safety.

Leave your mask on and regulator in. You never know what may happen, or if you'll need to submerge, so leave your mask and regulator in place until you're onboard the boat.

Dive Pros Lesson for Life
Test yourself. If your regular exercise routine does not include swimming long distances (at least 1,000 yards in fins), you should make it a point to complete your basic instructor/ divemaster swim test, including the long rescue tows, every few months or after any period of inactivity to ensure that you are fit to teach, supervise and rescue other divers.