Underwater rescue skills

I once had the great misfortune to get entangled in mono filament fishing net at a depth of 47m on a wreck in Liverpool Bay. As my buddy Geoff disappeared into the darkness ahead of me a claustrophobic cloud of silt arose in the down wash of his fins that enveloped me. My dive computer required ten minutes of decompression stops and was threatening to increase that penalty at an alarming rate for every additional minute that I spent at 47m. Every litre of air in my cylinders - and possibly more was going to be needed to get me to the surface safely. Meanwhile I needed to find my knife.

Nitrogen narcosis was no help either. I dithered as I considered my options and a dark feeling of panic in the pit of my stomach began to well up. At this point I remember closing my eyes and taking one deep breath. The thought that followed was that blind panic was the least useful thing I could allow. With that my focus returned and not for one more moment did I doubt my ability to extract myself from the predicament I was in.

A moment later there was a tap on my shoulder and I looked round to see Geoff's face coming through the murk. I felt elated that help and reassurance was at hand. Geoff's look of determination and clarity of purpose buoyed my confidence no end. He gave me a clear stop signal and cut me free. I finally made it to the surface with about 20 bar remaining in my cylinders.

I learned a few lessons that day, but my determination to remain calm and Geoff's determination to sort my problem out was one that stuck with me.

When things go wrong underwater adrenaline ensures that a few seconds can seem like a lifetime and it is too easy to succumb to panic. Ever since that incident I have had to execute a few rescues of my own and have always remained calm yet absolutely determined to instill confidence and the belief that the outcome will be successful. With good training and practice you can achieve the same.

Underwater rescues can be grouped into two types based on 'casualty'; those that are helpless and those that can help themselves (e.g. out of air situations). In all cases you can instill massive reassurance by taking a secure hold of your buddy and maintaining good eye contact. Two vital skills are alternate air source ascents and controlled buoyant lift.

How to make an alternate air source ascent

1. Use the pre-dive check to discuss a protocol for using each other’s AAS.
2. Make sure that your spare regulator is conspicuous, easily accessible and secure on its clip.
3. Rig your kit so that your AAS will reach your buddy easily and comfortably.
4. Practice locating and delivering your AAS regulator slowly and calmly.
5. As donor of air position yourself in front of your buddy and help them by locating and holding up the regulator that you expect them to use. If your buddy can't easily find the regulator you can guess which one they will be able to see – the one in your mouth!
6. Take charge of the situation, take a secure grip on your buddy's BCD. Make sure you have good eye contact and give a clear 'up' signal.
7. Encourage your buddy to hold onto your BCD as well.
8. Start your ascent and monitor it using your computer or depth gauge.
9. Use buoyancy rather than exertion to keep a steady and controlled ascent rate but don't overdo it with dumping air. You definitely do not want to descend.
10. As soon as you arrive at the surface fully inflate your BCD but keep a determined grip of your buddy until they have either orally inflated their BCD or ditched their weights. You might have to do this for them, especially if their relief on arriving at the surface is premature.

For getting a helpless buddy to the surface the options are:

1. Grab and swim them up.
2. Ditch their weights (and possibly yours) and swim up.
3. Use their BCD or drysuit to do a controlled lift.
4. Use your BCD or drysuit to do the same.

If you think the first option sounds like a last resort; it is! Swimming someone up is strenuous and risky in terms of air consumption and decompression illness. Option 2 – ditching the weights has the one advantage that you will almost certainly arrive at the surface but with a significant risk of there being two casualties on the surface as a result of an uncontrolled ascent. The remaining option, using controlled buoyancy is very effective because it involves little exertion and leaves the rescuer in good condition to deal with their buddy on the surface. However if you have never been taught this before, learn it properly under the guidance of an instructor on a Rescue Diver course. The following tips are a general guide because the precise method will depend on the equipment used.

How to make a controlled buoyant lift

1. Tap your buddy to make sure that they really are unresponsive.
2. Check that there is no entanglement that would prevent the ascent.
3. Take a secure hold of their BCD.
4. Using their inflator, put air into the BCD until both of you begin to ascend.
5. Monitor the ascent and as the rate increases control it by dumping your air first. This will help to ensure that, should you separate, your buddy shouldn't sink.
6. In the latter stages of the ascent control the rate by dumping the air in their BCD (and drysuit).
7. On the surface, fully inflate both BCDs. Ditch weights as well, especially if you have to tow them on the surface.