ccr used for rescue/recovery missions.

mountain diver · 27th November 2007, 21:21

looking for your thoughts and or views of the use of ccr for rescue/recovery
missions by your local coast guard agency.
or should this kind of task be left for contractors?
Are there agencies that use equipment other then surface supplied air?

all the best.

Allan_o · 27th November 2007, 21:30

I would say it depends on the situation.

Could you be a bit more specific?

/Allan

mountain diver · 27th November 2007, 22:04

in canada,west coast anyway's they use surface supplied air,for their divers.
this raises some questions about the their ability to provide a a proper rescue
should the need arise.case in point, have aread at this.hence the question I
earlier asked.

Diver missing at sunken ship site off Nanaimo

all the best.

Explorer · 27th November 2007, 22:11

Quote: (Originally Posted by mountain diver)

in canada,west coast anyway's they use surface supplied air,for their divers.

Remember when we were diving on the HMCS Saskatchewan with the RCMP dive team last October, they were a bit jealous with us diving with our rebreathers. Maybe soon one day. It would be a great tool for sure.

OceanOpportunity · 27th November 2007, 23:56

Rebreather's have a time and place. I am a contract scientific/commercial diver fulltime, adn ahve done alot of search/recovery type diving. In general, my experience here is that the situation does not dictate RB's. The dives are generally short. When they are not short, they tend to be in poor conditions, so surface supplied makes sense since you have an unlimited gas supply and you have comms/tether.

More generally speaking, adn this is not a stab at anyone in particular, but in general I question the proficiency levels of public safety/Coast Guard divers.This is not an individuals fault, rather the system not providing funding/opportunities to keep folks up to snuff routinely. I'm of the opinion that Rebreather diving requires a higher level of proficiency than these other modes, which I dont think the system will accomodate. Need I remind us of the USCG incident in the Arctic last year???

Save the more technical stuff for us contractors.

**wedivebc** · 1st December 2007, 04:14

I would say that RBs are very well suited to search missions but maybe not recovery missions.

We found the body today

RonMicjan · 1st December 2007, 04:18

Funny you should ask about this...

Guys, some of you may know that a diver was lost on the Cape Breton last Saturday. Divers allowed back to wreck

Ken Adrian, the owner of Divers Choice Charters in Nanaimo, a friend of Daniel (the lost diver), spoke with the RCMP dive recovery team about allowing a team of cave trained CCR divers continue the search. The RCMP suspended their search late Thursday and the wreck was opened up to recreational divers. The team of Dave Tomblin, Aaron Lackie, Scott Ensor and myself, all using ISC Megalodon CCR's on a 20/20 trimix diluent, made two dives on Friday, the first with a run time of 90 minutes and average depth of 125 feet covered 95% of the area of the wreck aft of the engine room. It was determined from combining the eyewitness reports, the dive computer profile, a written description of the incident from the girlfriend and detailed construction plans of the wreck, that the lost diver couldn’t have made it past the 3 deck high continuous bulkhead that separates the aft section of the ship from the engine room, and so we concentrated our search in this area. After the first dive, we marked off all areas that had been searched by the two teams (of two) and looked at what might have been missed. We surmised that the two rooms forward of the “air lock”, which are cold storage rooms, had not be adequately covered and Scott and I were tasked to cover this area, as well as the storerooms directly below them. This area is 6” to over a foot deep in rust flakes and silt and was an extremely difficult area to maintain visibility in. The team agreed to run full cave protocol for all aspects of the search. Scott tied off the reel at the cut off area of the transom and we ventured into the bowels of the ship. At about minute 15 into the second dive, we reached the cold storage rooms and I waited in the air lock room while Scott explored first the starboard, then the port side rooms. The port side room ceiling had collapsed and getting into the room was like swimming into a lobster trap, with the sheet metal ceiling panels forming a funnel into the room. Scott found the diver about in the center of the room, vertically orientated with his head touching the deck. He made several wraps of line around the divers wrist and locked the line off. By this time the viz in the room had dropped to zero and Scott followed the guide line from the room and informed me of his discovery. We recalled the other two divers and made our ascent. It was agreed that once we located the diver, we would back off and let the RCMP dive team do the recovery, as they had protocols that needed to be followed.

We all made it back safely, which was the number one goal, all divers did their jobs and I for one am very proud of the team members.

We just returned from being debriefed by the RCMP Marine unit, what a great group of dedicated divers, we could all learn a bit from these guys.

Thanks to everyone involved, Ken and Carolyn Adrian of Divers Choice, Marilynn, the manager of The Dive Outfitters, Nanaimo BC, and of course the RCMP dive team.

Mixaddict · 1st December 2007, 04:41

Ron,

Congratulations on a successful conclusion. These situations are always painful, but I'm sure the family members and friends will be forever grateful to the team. Thanks for your work.

Regards,
Randy

decoweenie · 1st December 2007, 04:52

Ron and team,

I am sure the diver's family appreciates able to have closure on their tragedy. And thanks to you and your team for providing that valuable service.

wreckseeker · 1st December 2007, 05:29

A day i will never forget! well done boys,dave ,ron scott!! just glad we could bring a brother home,now many can rest!

27th November 2007, 21:21	#1 (permalink)
mountain diver Silent Lucidity Current Rebreather/s: Megalodon Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: edmonton, ab. Posts: 175	ccr used for rescue/recovery missions. looking for your thoughts and or views of the use of ccr for rescue/recovery missions by your local coast guard agency. or should this kind of task be left for contractors? Are there agencies that use equipment other then surface supplied air? all the best.
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27th November 2007, 21:30	#2 (permalink)
Allan_o New Member Current Rebreather/s: Inspiration Classic Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Copenhagen Denmark Posts: 81	Re: ccr used for rescue/recovery missions. I would say it depends on the situation. Could you be a bit more specific? /Allan
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27th November 2007, 22:04	#3 (permalink)
mountain diver Silent Lucidity Current Rebreather/s: Megalodon Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: edmonton, ab. Posts: 175	Re: ccr used for rescue/recovery missions. in canada,west coast anyway's they use surface supplied air,for their divers. this raises some questions about the their ability to provide a a proper rescue should the need arise.case in point, have aread at this.hence the question I earlier asked. Diver missing at sunken ship site off Nanaimo all the best.
(Offline)

27th November 2007, 22:11	#4 (permalink)
Explorer I will teach you a..... Current Rebreather/s: Evolution Megalodon Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Alberta, Canada Posts: 754	Re: ccr used for rescue/recovery missions. Quote: (Originally Posted by mountain diver) in canada,west coast anyway's they use surface supplied air,for their divers. Remember when we were diving on the HMCS Saskatchewan with the RCMP dive team last October, they were a bit jealous with us diving with our rebreathers. Maybe soon one day. It would be a great tool for sure. __________________ TRAIN WRECKED.....
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27th November 2007, 23:56	#5 (permalink)
OceanOpportunity for a world of water Current Rebreather/s: Other CCR Dolphin Home Build Other Rebreather/s: Not Bought Yet Inspiration Classic Other CCR Dolphin Home Build Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Providence, RI USA Posts: 479	Re: ccr used for rescue/recovery missions. Rebreather's have a time and place. I am a contract scientific/commercial diver fulltime, adn ahve done alot of search/recovery type diving. In general, my experience here is that the situation does not dictate RB's. The dives are generally short. When they are not short, they tend to be in poor conditions, so surface supplied makes sense since you have an unlimited gas supply and you have comms/tether. More generally speaking, adn this is not a stab at anyone in particular, but in general I question the proficiency levels of public safety/Coast Guard divers.This is not an individuals fault, rather the system not providing funding/opportunities to keep folks up to snuff routinely. I'm of the opinion that Rebreather diving requires a higher level of proficiency than these other modes, which I dont think the system will accomodate. Need I remind us of the USCG incident in the Arctic last year??? Save the more technical stuff for us contractors. __________________ Michael Lombardi Oceans of Opportunity www.oceanopportunity.com Elected Director, Society for Human Performance in Extreme Environments MN'07, The Explorers Club Project Manager, Diving a Dream
(Online)

1st December 2007, 04:14	#6 (permalink)
wedivebc FIGJAM Current Rebreather/s: Megalodon Other CCR Other Rebreather/s: Not Bought Yet Inspiration Classic Sport Kiss Other CCR Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Vancouver Island BC Canada Posts: 1,358	Re: ccr used for rescue/recovery missions. I would say that RBs are very well suited to search missions but maybe not recovery missions. We found the body today __________________ Cheers, Dave.... Man is the only animal burdened with the knowledge he will eventually die
(Offline)

1st December 2007, 04:18	#7 (permalink)
RonMicjan Cap Ron scourge of the NW Current Rebreather/s: Megalodon Dolphin Home Build Other Rebreather/s: Sport Kiss Classic Kiss Dolphin Home Build Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Cape Disapointment, The Graveyard of the Pacific Posts: 1,082	Re: ccr used for rescue/recovery missions. Funny you should ask about this... Guys, some of you may know that a diver was lost on the Cape Breton last Saturday. Divers allowed back to wreck Ken Adrian, the owner of Divers Choice Charters in Nanaimo, a friend of Daniel (the lost diver), spoke with the RCMP dive recovery team about allowing a team of cave trained CCR divers continue the search. The RCMP suspended their search late Thursday and the wreck was opened up to recreational divers. The team of Dave Tomblin, Aaron Lackie, Scott Ensor and myself, all using ISC Megalodon CCR's on a 20/20 trimix diluent, made two dives on Friday, the first with a run time of 90 minutes and average depth of 125 feet covered 95% of the area of the wreck aft of the engine room. It was determined from combining the eyewitness reports, the dive computer profile, a written description of the incident from the girlfriend and detailed construction plans of the wreck, that the lost diver couldn’t have made it past the 3 deck high continuous bulkhead that separates the aft section of the ship from the engine room, and so we concentrated our search in this area. After the first dive, we marked off all areas that had been searched by the two teams (of two) and looked at what might have been missed. We surmised that the two rooms forward of the “air lock”, which are cold storage rooms, had not be adequately covered and Scott and I were tasked to cover this area, as well as the storerooms directly below them. This area is 6” to over a foot deep in rust flakes and silt and was an extremely difficult area to maintain visibility in. The team agreed to run full cave protocol for all aspects of the search. Scott tied off the reel at the cut off area of the transom and we ventured into the bowels of the ship. At about minute 15 into the second dive, we reached the cold storage rooms and I waited in the air lock room while Scott explored first the starboard, then the port side rooms. The port side room ceiling had collapsed and getting into the room was like swimming into a lobster trap, with the sheet metal ceiling panels forming a funnel into the room. Scott found the diver about in the center of the room, vertically orientated with his head touching the deck. He made several wraps of line around the divers wrist and locked the line off. By this time the viz in the room had dropped to zero and Scott followed the guide line from the room and informed me of his discovery. We recalled the other two divers and made our ascent. It was agreed that once we located the diver, we would back off and let the RCMP dive team do the recovery, as they had protocols that needed to be followed. We all made it back safely, which was the number one goal, all divers did their jobs and I for one am very proud of the team members. We just returned from being debriefed by the RCMP Marine unit, what a great group of dedicated divers, we could all learn a bit from these guys. Thanks to everyone involved, Ken and Carolyn Adrian of Divers Choice, Marilynn, the manager of The Dive Outfitters, Nanaimo BC, and of course the RCMP dive team. __________________ Ron "Life is pain princess, anyone who tells you different, is selling something", The Dread Pirate Wesley. www.tmishop.com Diving bits etc.
(Offline)

1st December 2007, 04:41	#8 (permalink)
Mixaddict Always Learning! Current Rebreather/s: Inspiration Vision Evolution Other CCR Dolphin Other Rebreather/s: Inspiration Classic Other CCR Dolphin Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Draper, Utah USA Posts: 426	Re: ccr used for rescue/recovery missions. Ron, Congratulations on a successful conclusion. These situations are always painful, but I'm sure the family members and friends will be forever grateful to the team. Thanks for your work. Regards, Randy __________________ Randy Thornton (MixAddict) Inspiration, Evolution,Hammerhead & Sentinel CCR Instructor
(Offline)

1st December 2007, 04:52	#9 (permalink)
decoweenie Crash Test Dummy Current Rebreather/s: Other CCR Other Rebreather/s: Other CCR Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Cairo Posts: 5,510	Re: ccr used for rescue/recovery missions. Ron and team, I am sure the diver's family appreciates able to have closure on their tragedy. And thanks to you and your team for providing that valuable service.
(Offline)

1st December 2007, 05:29	#10 (permalink)
wreckseeker New Member Current Rebreather/s: Megalodon Other Rebreather/s: Megalodon Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: nanaimo b.c Posts: 37	Re: ccr used for rescue/recovery missions. A day i will never forget! well done boys,dave ,ron scott!! just glad we could bring a brother home,now many can rest!
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