Northwest Dive Club

I am posting the details of a rescue my buddy and I were part of in case it helps someone else in the future. Luckily this effort was successful and the victim escaped more serious consequences.

Lessons learned (the only reason I am posting this at all):
-Do not hesitate to act if you see something that does not seem right. As a diver you are among the most knowledgeable or aware people on the waterfront. A number of people came up to us after the rescue and said they saw the guy but assumed it was a seal.

-Take a Stress and Rescue course if you have not. It is probably the most important diving course you will ever take. It will make you a better diver and help prevent accidents before they happen.

-Review rescue procedures regularly and with your buddies. Knowing how your buddy will respond will reduce stress during an actual rescue.

-Keep yourself fit and leave something in reserve in case something goes wrong at the end of your dive. There was a very long swim and tow in this situation.

The report:
We were at Redondo gearing up to dive with a camera crew filming a segment for an outdoor show. My buddy and I noticed a swimmer way out past where divers normally are. We assumed it was a diver in trouble and watched for a few minutes to assess the situation. They were on their back and kicking oddly (high knees and floppy feet). We also noticed they were swimming in circles. That's when we decided this wasn't right and we needed to act.

I was in my full SCUBA gear and my buddy was just in his dry suit so he grabbed his fins and mask and swam out quickly. He stopped about 10' away and yelled to the guy but got no response. He moved in closer and was able to establish contact with the victim. He signaled me on the beach with a distress signal.

When I saw the distress signal I asked who had a cell phone and instructed them to call 911. Once I was sure EMS was on the way, and to the correct location, I stripped off my gear ditched my weights and headed out to help.

My buddy had asked the guy some questions and convinced the victim to allow him to "steer" while the man continued kicking. My buddy wrapped his arm around the guy and started towing him in. He was a little over half way in when I met up with him.

I was shocked to see that it wasn't a diver, but a guy in street clothes who was intoxicated and had jumped off the pier. My buddy was doing such a good job that I did not interfere with the tow. After a few more minutes the fire truck came down the hill so I signaled them as we continued to swim.

Once we could touch the bottom, we each grabbed an arm and took him up to the water edge and the waiting firefighters. I was amazed how tight and non-functional his arms and hands were from the cold. It was almost like a seizure.

Apparently he had been in the 52 degree water for 33 minutes (someone had taken a picture when he jumped in).

I am pretty proud of my dive buddy. The rescue was text book and I can't think of anything that could have been improved upon.

It was a fairly simple rescue without complications of dive injury to worry about, but having the confidence of rescue training and a high level of confidence in the people involved in the rescue really helped reduce the stress of the situation.


-Chris

Congrats on a job well done. At that time line he wouldn't have lasted much longer. I'm sure he was near incoherent from hypothermia an lose of heat to the brain.

Nicely done guys.

Dusty2 wrote:Congrats on a job well done. At that time line he wouldn't have lasted much longer. I'm sure he was near incoherent from hypothermia an lose of heat to the brain.

Sounds like he was pretty incoherent to jump off the pier in the first place!

Well done!

Thanks for posting this, Chris. I was the other diver on the scene. My buddy, the original poster of this, did a good job recognizing a swimmer in distress. The man wasn't splashing, yelling for help nor did he seem to be struggling to keep afloat from the distance that we were at but there was something odd by the situation and swimming style.

I was contacted by a fire fighter later who asked some questions and said the procedure was carried out well (and that we stole their thunder ) I'm glad we had both taken a stress and rescue class.

- Jeremy

Props - well done!

Great story.

I was involved in a rescue at Redondo a year or so ago with a kayaker, who had fallen out of his kayak and was unable to get back in. It was similar -- the fellow was asked if he needed help and he said no, but as we watched, we realized he actually did. We went out and one of us towed him in (he had NO exposure protection on at all) and the other brought in the kayak. I think the outcome wouldn't have been good had someone not intervened.

When you see something that isn't right, it's better to go about what you think might be necessary, than to wait and see if it is.

Excellent situational awareness and execution of rescue!

I wonder why he decided to jump in the water to begin with??

Outstanding.

mpspringer wrote:Excellent situational awareness and execution of rescue!

I wonder why he decided to jump in the water to begin with??

That's easy. It looks like a text book case of "Instant Idiot. Just Add Alcohol."

Very well done, guys. Though, from the description, I wonder if he has any clue what you did for him.

Nicely done!!!
Good job!
Kirsten

Great job of rescue and reporting. Did the film crew capture it?

mpspringer wrote:Excellent situational awareness and execution of rescue!

I wonder why he decided to jump in the water to begin with??

He jumped in due to depression and a desire to escape from it. I am sure his actions were fueled by the intoxication. EMS was talking to his girlfriend about getting some help for him.

Hopefully we can keep this thread friendly and respect the victim's struggles that resulted in the need for a rescue.

Thanks,
-Chris

ohopdiver wrote:Great job of rescue and reporting. Did the film crew capture it?

Thanks.

Yes, the camera man picked up his camera after he hung up with 911. He would have footage of the last part of the tow and the hand off to the firefighters.

-Chris

dwashbur wrote:

mpspringer wrote:Excellent situational awareness and execution of rescue!

I wonder why he decided to jump in the water to begin with??

That's easy. It looks like a text book case of "Instant Idiot. Just Add Alcohol."

Very well done, guys. Though, from the description, I wonder if he has any clue what you did for him.

Thanks.

I think he knew what the consequence could be when he jumped in. Credit to him for allowing the rescue and not fighting it. Not sure if he knew how close he came.

-Chris

OK that makes sense. Apologies for the premature conclusion.

Wow, that sounds like a flawless rescue! Great job guys!!

Thanks for sharing. Great write-up.

Thanks for sharing a good job!

To me The Key was that you did something. Not only something; but an intelligent and effective something.

In a couple other venues involving a fairly good sized number of people according to what they said.there was not one person who would attempt to help a person in distress. Didn't matter what the situation was they would make an emergency call and then either watch or go on with what they were doing. The reasons came down to two. First, they were afraid of liability. Some even said during formal classes they had been instructed to not help because of liability issues. Second, fear the emergency might not be real and they would victims in a crime.

I hope you spread what you did far and wide. The world can use many more humanitarians like you two.

Good job!!! Just finished my Rescue Class this weekend and that sounds like a textbook job... Well done