AquaWorld

About Me

"Serious Fun" is how the manual describes the PADI Rescue Diver course, and it really was. Here is my yarn about how I got on in the final part of the course.

Its strange how I can never get out of bed in the morning to get to work, but when a dive trip is on I can manage to get up at 4.45am to get on the road. After the previous weekend spent in the classroom and pool, we found ourselves on Babbacombe beach, Torquay on the Saturday of the May Bank-Holiday weekend for the Open Water drills and skills of our Rescue course. The plan was to be there for 9.00 and in the water by 10.00. Funnily, all the students must have been keen as they were there at 8.30 and it was the lead Instructor that was to be last to arrive. A quick mobile call ascertained that he was still north of Exeter so there was nothing to do other than make for a café at the top of the hill for a Diver's Doorstep sausage & egg buttie. Yummie.

The two Instructors called the six of us together and explained we would be in the water several times over the day doing various skills and drills that we had already practiced in the pool the weekend before. There would also be a 'final scenario' were we would put it all together. The other Instructor and the Divemaster grinned as he spoke about this - somehow I got the feeling they knew more than they were saying. The chat petered out as the rain started to get heavier. The Instructors fired down to the beach and into the water as the group followed to do some buoyancy checks. Ken, my buddy for the day and I decided to skip the check as I have an integrated weight belt so it would have meant full kit up. And anyway, Ken and I have 50/70 dives respectively, so were pretty sure of our weight. Our fellow four classmates were all 'warm-water divers' with about 20'ish dives each. Today was also to be their first UK dive and first open water drysuit dive as well. Ken and I exchanged knowing glances as we watched them struggle down the rocks for their very first dip in cold UK waters. As the heavens opened up the rain came pouring down with flashes on lightening and rolls of thunder as we kitted-up. It was all very very surreal, surely we were mad to dive in this!

We ventured along the pier and Ken and I got in first with the Divemaster. The two Instructors took the other two pairs and off we went. First OW skill was to be a underwater search pattern followed by buoyant lifts. Viz was about 3-4m's at best but with nine divers in close proximity the viz soon got very bad. We peeled off from the crowd and then for some reason the Divemater decided to change the routine. So we did the buoyant lifts first. I made for dead and Ken came behind and lifted me to the surface. I watched my Aladdin computer as we ascended. Not a bad ascent, maybe a wee bit fast at the end. Then straight back down for my turn. Got Ken moving quite easily off the 7m bottom but at about 3.5m we started to rise quite quickly and I had to dump quickly to slow us down. I probably over dumped as we stopped and I had to put more air in his jacket to get us going again to lift us to the surface. Job done.

Then it was back to the bottom again for the underwater search. The Divemaster disappeared off with a coloured weight block in the murk whilst we sorted out my reel. On her return, Ken took hold of the line and I reeled out no more than two metres and started the circular search. The viz was now abysmal. I had my mask some 6 inches from the bottom and was struggling to see anything. I found a large rock and placed this as my starting point and off I went on my spin. The noise from the surface was now quite deafening. We heard later that hailstones the size of marbles were pouring down on the water. I ignored it as I was concentrating so much on the search. Three times I whizzed around letting 2 metres of line out each time I came to my marker rock. I was just at the start of the fourth circle when I spotted the weight on the bottom. Ken later said he knew for certain that I'd found the weight as I furiously wound the reel in to get back to him. We might have found the weight but we'd managed to lose the Divemaster in the 0.5m viz. We waited one minute and rose to the surface where everyone was waiting for us. I think the others had abandoned their search for the weight blocks!

Dive-profile of our two lifts and the circular search for the weight-block.

Into the water for the second time for some surface work. Three AOWs who were just down with us for a days diving acted as the three unconscious victims on the surface. We took it in turns to approach, upturn, and give rescue breaths as we towed and dekitted the diver and ourselves. This was bloody knackering. You really do need to get a rhythm up to do this. With one hand on the pocket mask and the other hand undoing his kit and counting the five seconds, One, two, three, prepare, breathe, you certainly are working. By the time I'd got the victim and myself dekitted and in less than 0.5m of water, I was dead! Then it was two breaths and 30 seconds to lift the victim over my back and drag him up the rocks. As I went into the CPR and rescue breaths the Instructor gave me the 'cut' signal and I'd finished - more like I was finished. I'm told that in a real incident the adrenalin starts pumping and you have a lot more strength. You'd need it !

As the day went on we bimbled around more until the Instructor told we had now reached the final scenario were we put all of what we had learnt on the course into practice. Our three AOW victims were now going on a dive. At the end of the dive they would surface, one would descend and the two others would signal for assistance. We as a group were to organise the rescue. Other than this chat, we were now on our own and off he popped to the café for a coffee with the other Instructor and Divemaster. The six of us stood in a huddle wondering who was going to lead. Keen after my successful u/w search, I offered to go into the water and asked who would come with me. Ken swiftly volunteered. One of the other lads was appointed scene manager and everyone else volunteered for the other surface jobs of bubble-spotter, EMS caller, oxygen handler, note-taker etc. As Ken and I checked our kit I noticed I was on 80bar so I changed my tank and prepped up my kit rehearsing in my mind what we were going to do.

Sure enough, the three divers surfaced about 100m out from the shore and one dropped down. The other two gave the distress signal and we were on. The Instructors just watched in silence with coffee in their hands as we went into action. As one of the girls headed for a mobile-phone, the rest of the group headed straight for the water's edge. I held back and donned my scuba on my own, trying to remain composed. As I walked past the café where the Instructors and other divers were watching with grins on their faces, one of the Instructors came up beside me and started getting in my way and poking at my kit and asking what it was for. Our scene manager spotted this and physically pushed him away! As Ken and I stood at the water's edge and masked up, I called for a buddy check. A quick squeeze on the dry-suit & BCD inflates, grabbed the gauge and went for a quick breath. I got half a breath and then nothing. I realised immediately that the Instructor had turned off my air! As I looked at him and muttered a few expletives, Ken realised his air was off as well. The bugger laughed as we were sorted out by our chums.

Search & Rescue dive-profile (25k)

Dive-profile of our search and recovery of the "missing" diver.

It was then straight into the water and off. As we surface swam out getting directions from the shore from our "bubble-watcher" we reached some surface buoys. I could see on the beach that the Divemaster was going for an Oscar nomination as "lost divers distressed girlfriend" and was being reassured by the crew on the beach. One of the two divers on the surface had also now disappeared leaving just one the surface. As we reached the solitary diver he said "they're down here mate" but as I looked to the shore they were signalling for us to keep heading out. I put the guy's line down to another rouse and ignored him. We got a final okay from the shore and we descended to the 7m bottom. It was bleak, viz was 2m at best. I was up for another circular search and handed Ken the line and off I went. I'd completed about 180degrees of the first sweep when I realised my stupid mistake. Those surface buoys wereof course anchored to the bottom with ropes, a circular search with a line was a non-starter. As I stopped to think, Ken though I'd found the diver and fired over to me. I pointed to the buoy lines and Ken gave me a stupid glance, I felt a bit of a prat. So much for Stop, Think, Act. I was so into doing the search pattern I'd failed to look at all the possibilities.

Anyway, we went into an expanding square search adding about two meters to each leg of the search. It wasn't long before we came across two divers. When they spotted us they both headed to the surface. This confused us. Was this to be another rouse on us? I signalled to Ken to go to the surface but he'd spotted a third diver on the bottom motionless. The solitary guy on the surface must have dropped down after us and that's why we'd now got three divers underwater. Confusing or what. I immediately tapped the diver on the arm and he looked up and winked at me. So it was straight around to his rear, knees on the tank, arms into position, grabbed his inflate and off we went to the surface.

On the surface Ken grabbed his weight-belt and handed it to the two other divers on the surface of course, normally we would have just ditched it. Ken got the head end. I got between the divers legs and we went into action. Ken giving rescue breathes, me pushing. Ken was now starting to get tired and I did the counting for him as he un-kitted the diver and I finned hard pushing us towards the beach. Then, Ken's weight-belt suddenly decided to slip down his legs (remember that rushed buddy check) and he had to break-off (in a real incident that wouldn't matter) and I shot round and continued the dekit and rescue breaths and brought the victim into the beach. I decided not to bother with dekitting myself and by the time I reached 1m of water, two lads from the shore came out and lifted the victim onto the beach. As I de-finned and struggled out of the water, the four surface crew were in full CPR and oxygen admin mode. I dekitted as fast as I could and just as I reached the huddle around the victim, the Instructor called a halt. We'd completed the scenario.

So in time honoured fashion, it was off to the pub for the customary drink, completion of training logs and paperwork. We got a rather stiff but friendly talk about continuing to practice all the skills we'd been taught on the course. We then got our certificates along with our PADI Rescue cloth badge. I wonder were I'll put mine?

"Serious fun" - it sure was!

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Page last updated 16 June 1999