The story we got from the diver was that he and his partner had been down deep on a tech dive and had turned around because his partners computer had a battery failure. Their max depth is still a mystery to me but the number 200 had been mentioned a few times. The only solid number I did hear was that his suit inflation valve had stuck open at 100 feet and that is where he came up from. He had been able on the way up to get the hose unhooked but too late. Once he was on shore multiple people offered him O2 but he refused. He even had his own AL40 of O2 but didn't use it. After another 30 minutes or so his partner finally surfaces after completing his deco. They then proceed to have their own debriefing after which the diver was breathing his own bottle of O2.
I have critiqued my own actions and found room for improvement. First, I should have gone out sooner when my gut was telling me he was in trouble. Second, I was not geared up properly when I did go out to help. I swam out in my drysuit and rock boots. No fins, mask or hood. Had he needed to be towed to shore I would have been very ineffective. There was a second diver ready to enter the water just as we got his situation rectified but with more surface current it would have been too late.
There were several other people from this board that were there and helped with this incident. Please feel free to correct the details or add to the critique of the response.
Matt Regan.
P.S. I believe this diver could have opened his own neck seal much sooner and by pushing his own feet down while doing it righted himself in just a minute or two. I am going to practice recovering from this position the next time I am in the water. He was in doubles with two stage rigged AL40s'.
with water and drink it, not snort the powder directly from the packet, right? 
" - Spatman
