As a child I used to put a bucket over my head with rocks in my pockets in an attempt to breathe beneath swimming pool water. Decades later, I’m in a swimming pool with proper scuba apparatus, breathing underwater. Rescue Diver exercises in the pool took 3 hours straight, with a real living human mannikin as the dummy in need.
Our Instructor and accompanying Dive Master would explain then demonstrate different scenarios which we had to take turns to master. These included what to do if a fellow diver is seen laying face-down on the aquatic floor in an unresponsive state, or how to properly approach a panicked diver on the surface whose instinct is to climb on top of you, and how to haul their arse back onto a boat! Professional Rescue Divers are beefcakes, who can do the Fireman’s Lift and carry you to shore on their shoulders.
After only a one hour break, we were ramping over big oceanic waves in a speedboat. At one point someone fell overboard. This was a planned test. My buddy and I had to quickly act and throw a flotation device in his general direction.
Once we were all submerged, we were given a fair amount of time for sight-seeing (which included seeing a huge Guitar Shark), but we had to keep half an eye on our teachers who would simulate emergency scenarios at any given moment.
It was really awesome experiencing how things might pan out in a real-life situation. The diver in need also left his full body weight at our mercy when taking him to the surface and towing him to the boat while providing emergency breaths. It was a day of serious calorie burning!
The day ended with our final exam / assessment for the Rescue Diver course back in the classroom. Justyna and I diligently quizzed one another beforehand. We both scored 82%
We don’t really know what each of the following days will bring, but we did get to enjoy a little sleep-in the next day before the real test began. Annie seemed to have been given time off, so we had the same heavy human to rescue.
Our final exercise was a full-on scenario where we had to find our missing diver in the ocean. Once you learn where he was last seen, you and your dive buddy stretch out a piece of string and swim across the area. Once the befallen diver is spotted and signaled with a tug on the string, you swim over to check if he/she is responsive. If not, it’s a backwards hug and slow inflate towards the surface.
It’s then emergency breaths, equipment removal, hauling their arse onto the boat (which is not easy!) administer emergency oxygen, and perform CPR until you hit the shore at speed. You then haul said diver onto a stretcher, load him onto a vehicle, and deposit the patient at the emergency zone. It was exhausting, but we did it!
We are now fully-qualified Rescue Divers.
Next: Dive Master Training at Sodwana Begins!
Previously: Coral Divers: Destination Dive Master
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