Dive #134 - Rich Torkington's Dive Log

Our PADI rescue diver training really tired us out.
Videograph by Rich Torkington in Cozumel 2003

Dive Journal: This morning we awaken refreshed and the four of us enjoy the first of many continental breakfasts offered by the Casa del Mar. They prepare a good buffet of fruits, cereals, sausage, bacon, eggs, etc. and serve it beneath a large open air palapa across the street from the water. A nice way to start the diving day.

Today’s plan is to complete our Rescue Diver training, and we grab a taxi to take us to the shore in front of Paradise Shallows. Ron and Christy are both instructing us today with Ron taking the lead. We repeat some skills from yesterday and extend them further to include retrieving an unconscious diver from the bottom, flipping an unconscious diver into a rescue breathing and towing position, and more towing/rescue breathing/gear removal exercises. We also practice, with some hilarity, a variety of methods of carrying an unconscious diver from the water onto the shore, including the fireman’s carry, the packstrap carry, and the saddleback carry. The last one proves to be the most difficult, and even though Ron shows us expertly how to do it, we all end up laughing at our poor attempts.

After about 3 hours of training and skills, we clamber back up onto the beach, get out of our gear, grab some water, and then begin our final “2 scenarios.” Ron and Christy have been referring to these since the course began, and so we’re nervous about meeting this ominous sounding challenge.

For the first scenario, Ron swims a ways off shore, submerges, and then hides a weighted object that will symbolize a victim diver. Next, he returns to our shore, and play-acts that he has been diving and lost his buddy. After collecting what information we can about the incident, it is our job to efficiently organize a search effort, don our gear, and locate the missing “diver.” Janel ends up swimming rapidly out to the last reported sighting with only snorkel gear and begins a surface search pattern, while Linda and I suit up behind her. I especially like using the cool “over the top” method of suiting up that Ron showed me. By the time we’re in up to our waist, Janel has already visually located the “diver” in about 20 feet of water, and so we make a beeline to her location. Thank goodness for Cozumel clarity. We submerge and quickly locate the object, a plastic milk jug full of stones, retrieve it, and begin our swim back to shore. That wasn’t too bad when working as a team.