It was a sunny day at South Florida’s Blue Heron Bridge. Two years had passed since I last dived this location, and I was anticipating a simple excursion to look at the local fish. The dive plan was to make a shore entry and allow the current to take me west down the beach.
La zone située juste en face du récif artificiel et du grand pont du parc Phil Foster était bondée, avec de nombreux plongeurs sur le rivage qui attendaient de pouvoir entrer au moment du grand étale. Je me suis dirigé vers l'extrémité opposée, qui était presque vide à l'exception d'un trio de plongeurs dans les eaux peu profondes qui se préparaient à plonger.
While conducting my predive safety checks, I analyzed the site conditions and recognized that the current was deceptive. It did not appear fast in the immediate vicinity, but it was moving strongly under the bridge’s smaller section. As I continued to gear up, the three divers seemed to be having equipment issues. A second-stage regulator was free-flowing, and the group struggled to manage it. I stood patiently on the shore, giving them the courtesy and space to start their dive without feeling crowded or rushed.
After they floated out about 30 feet (9 meters), the diver with the flag rapidly submerged and left his buddies. The two divers remaining on the surface struggled to empty their buoyancy compensators and attempted to fight the positive buoyancy by kicking down. They couldn’t submerge and flailed against the current without utilizing their snorkels or second stages. They were now 30 feet (9 meters) beyond where their buddy had descended and were clearly not going to descend themselves, as they were visibly struggling and in the beginning stages of distress that would soon lead to panic.
J'étais assez sûr qu'ils ne souffraient pas d'un barotraumatisme car aucun des deux plongeurs n'était descendu, et j'ai donc pensé qu'ils pouvaient avoir des crampes ou un mauvais fonctionnement de leur BCD. L'un des plongeurs était un homme d'un certain âge et je craignais qu'il n'effectue le battement de jambes nécessaire pour vaincre le courant. Je suis entré dans l'eau avec deux options en tête : de préférence les ramener en toute sécurité au point d'entrée ou choisir une autre sortie si je ne pouvais pas progresser contre le courant en effectuant un remorquage en surface.
I entered the waist-high water in full kit and called to the nearest diver, who was nearly 60 feet (18 meters) away. He and his buddy were about 45 feet (14 meters) apart and not communicating with each other as they focused on themselves. I asked if they needed any help. The closest diver looked at me, didn’t respond, and continued to kick.
I kicked with the current and quickly got to him. Remaining outside the reach of his flailing arms, I asked if he was OK. He stared back through his mask with wide eyes and didn’t verbally respond. I grabbed his second stage and held it to his face. He started breathing heavily from the regulator. I asked him to turn on his back and said I would help him back to shore. He immediately turned over.
Alors que je me préparais à commencer le remorquage de la bouteille, j'ai vu le second plongeur qui se débattait toujours plus loin. Je lui ai annoncé que je reviendrais l'aider et lui ai dit de s'accrocher à la culée centrale du pont, vers laquelle le courant l'entraînait. Il a répondu verbalement qu'il allait essayer.
Alors que je remorquais le premier plongeur vers les hauts-fonds à contre-courant, j'ai réussi à le calmer et à l'aider à donner des coups de pied. Je l'ai amené dans l'eau jusqu'à la taille, je l'ai fait se lever et je lui ai dit d'attendre là pendant que je récupérais son copain.
The second diver was holding himself in place on the bridge. When I arrived, he assumed the tank-tow position but told me he couldn’t assist with kicking due to exhaustion and cramping. We made some headway against the strong current at the bridge by moving sideways toward the shore, where the current was slightly slower.
J'étais épuisé, mais j'ai réussi à amener le deuxième plongeur à l'endroit où le premier se tenait dans les bas-fonds. Nous avons discuté un peu pendant qu'ils reprenaient leur souffle, et j'ai posé des questions sur le troisième binôme qui n'est jamais venu les chercher. Leur indifférence à l'égard de son inaction indiquait qu'ils ne craignaient pas d'être séparés et qu'ils n'avaient pas prévu ce qu'il fallait faire. Leur plan de plongée se résumait à suivre leur ami avec le drapeau de plongée.
Je leur ai proposé de partager mon drapeau de plongée et de remonter la plage avec eux à la recherche de leur binôme. Après les avoir aidés à vider complètement le gaz de leur gilet, nous nous sommes immergés et avons trouvé leur binôme au premier récif artificiel.
Savoir comment effectuer un remorquage de bouteille est une compétence vitale pour le sauvetage, mais le sauvetage aurait été inutile si les plongeurs avaient simplement respecté trois principes de base de la sécurité en plongée.
En savoir plus sur le site
The divers were unaware of the site conditions, including the possibility of encountering a current. This dive site’s surface conditions are manageable if you avoid a few trouble spots. Doing a site survey and asking at a local dive shop helps identify those areas. The divers strayed too far down the beach and were unaware of the current shifting and concentrating at the small bridge. The descent would have been difficult, but they wouldn’t have gotten swept under the bridge. Once they had floated past the point where the current splits, it was exponentially harder to control the situation.
Connaître ses limites
The first diver had not dived in 20 years and was thankful for the tank tow. It had been four years for the second diver, and while he was also appreciative, he was sure they would have been fine — despite his cramping, fatigue, and inability to assist with the tank tow. I assisted them because I dive frequently, know the site conditions, and have done extensive flow, cave, and river diving. I was aware of my limitations but confident that I could help because of performing similar rescues in the past. A shallow test dive in a controlled environment after some time off is essential for avoiding injury due to skill degradation or gear malfunction.
Avoir un plan de plongée complet
The supposed simplicity of their dive plan gave these divers a false sense of security. A dive plan should have contingencies in place for when things go wrong. The two divers did not know how to react to the current pulling them away because they weren’t aware of the possibility, and they didn’t have a rescue plan or any idea what to do in an adverse situation.
Although divers should always keep their rescue skills fresh, a thorough understanding of the dive site, your and your buddy’s skills and equipment, and a mutually agreed-upon dive plan can help prevent the need for anyone to use them.
© Alert Diver - Q1 2023