Quote: (Originally Posted by
brockbr)
And to Parker's point, if actually on the surface, not submerged, I'll take advantage of ambient air or OC
there are plenty of folks who have drowned, particularly on OC because they did not have the regulator in their mouth at the surface and for one reason or another lost buoency.
In weighing the potential hazards, I have decided to err on the side of being on the loop till I have a firm footing on the shore or a ladder. I try and remain in the head space that i'm diving, weather on shore or in the water, as long as i'm on the loop... there is no in between for me.
During a rescue where your only escape from a rabid diver may be descending to get out of their reach, you may not have the time to get back on the loop and can all too easily get caught up in the fray.
During my DM training, we were doing rescue drills and my instructor was the victim. In this case he made the drill very realistic. When I approached him without the reg in my mouth he jumped me and I got to see how easy it was to become a victim myself. I took on water and chocked pretty good, in the deep end of a pool... I'll never forget that training experience, sometimes the best way to deal with such a frantic person is to stay on your guard and be prepared to exit, the only way you can, to descend and you never know when someone who seems calm is going to panic. My instructor recommended a lot of caution in this area, even to let a frantic person get warn out and in the mean time to "lure them to safety" by keeping a safe distance (even if that means getting below and in front of them under water) while swimming toward shore/boat.
I'm thinking the same would apply to CCR rescue, no?