October 25 - Thailand: Koh Tao
Rescue Diver Course - Day #3
We woke up and had breakfast, and then met our fellow rescue divers at 9:30 for our FINAL EXAM. Didn't study at all. I figure if I can't remember to give 15 CPR compressions and two breaths every 1/4 minute then I shouldn't be certified.
Funny though, the final exam turned out to be an informal group effort. Ela, Mirielle and Alberto had questions about parts of the exam because English isn't their first language. After a while, Jon, Paul and I would answer like this: "Hazard means danger. The answer is C. What did you get for #26?" In the end, we each completed our own exam, but for those questions we weren't sure about we would discuss amongst the group. 45 minutes later, Flav came back and we graded our own exams. Of course, we all passed with flying colors.
After that, we discussed the drill for the afternoon. We were going to split into two teams and do an entire emergency scenario - missing diver, unconscious on the bottom, navigation search and rescue, and rescue breathing with a tow to the boat. As each team had 3 members, one person would be the "manager" from the boat.
So we broke for lunch. Jon and I went to some restaurant down the lane to try their Pad Thai. It didn't taste like Pad Thai, but it was still pretty good.
Then we went back to the room to chill out for a while, and headed down to the shore at 12:30. Jon and I decided to do the 400 meter swim out to the boat today, so we gave our backpack to Thomas and told him we'd see him on the boat. The current was pretty strong, and we had to kick harder because the surf wanted us to go North instead of West. But we made the swim in better time than yesterday - we each trimmed a minute off our scores!
Dive #1: Full Rescue Scenario
We went to Twin Peaks dive site for our dive scenario, and Flav briefed us on our skills including the steps the "manager" on the boat had to take. Paul, Jon and I RPS'ed (Rock-Paper-Scissored) to determine who had to stay on the boat. I lost, so I was the "manager". Then Thomas and Otie (another Dive Master) went into the water to hide somewhere on the reef. Five minutes later, Flav came up saying "Pizza! Pizza! I lost my dive buddy!" So we (I) had to determine when, where, how long, and how deep the whole situation happened, and then I sent out Jon and Paul for search and rescue. While they swam to the victim site and submerged, I had to assign rescue tasks to "people" (really, air tanks) on the boat such as: radio for help, prepare oxygen, snorkler searchers, binocular lookouts, and note-takers.
After that, my job was to wait for the rescuers to get back with the victim. It took a while. We were under instructions to search for 1/2 hour and then give up (in tropical waters, the victim would be dead by then and the rescuers low on air), and they had been gone for about 15 minutes. Soon after, I saw their bubbles come up and they emerged about 30 meters from the boat. They had found him! So they began the long tow to the boat and do rescue breathing.
As they got closer, I got a better look at them. Thomas, our assigned "victim" is bald. The victim they were towing had long black hair - and was Otie! This means that they had picked up the victim from the other team! I said, "Guys! You have the wrong victim!" To which they replied, "Yeah. But he was a victim so we brought him in!" Of course, this means that the other team was conducting a fruitless search for Otie somewhere on the bottom. But Jon and Paul completed the rescue anyway, and were exhausted by the time they got Otie to the boat. We pulled Otie to the deck and continued rescue breathing and started CPR, and the drill was finished. But Flav couldn't decide if this counted as a successful rescue. Theoretically, if an unconscious diver is found then he should definitely be saved. But this was a drill and our team didn't save our victim. So we waited until the other team - Alberto and Ella - came up.
After another 10 minutes, they finally emerged - with Thomas!! It was classic! They had to have done a HUGE search pattern to get to his spot from where they descended, but they did great. Ella wasn't happy about having to do so much swimming, but in the end all was fine and we all passed with flying colors.
Dive #2: Fun Dive at White Rock
Depth: 18 meters
Bottom Time: 39 minutes
Visibility: 15 meters
Our next dive was a fun dive, and we were left to go out all on our own. Jon and I submerged and used compasses to find the reef. There, we ran into (not literally) Otie who motioned to us to follow him because he knows the reef very well. So he gave us the grand tour and we had a lovely time. We saw a very large and colorful trigger fish. Trigger fish are very territorial and have big ugly teeth. So we kept our distance but enjoyed looking at it. When it was time to go back, we were completely turned around but Otie knew where to go. I wonder when we'll get to the point that these reefs will become like a second home. I assume that will be pretty soon in the next week and I can't wait for it.
When the boat got back to the mooring, Jon and I jumped in and did the 400 meter swim back to shore. I was pretty tired and so my score didn't improve from yesterday. Jon, however, cruised back to the shore in no time and wiped 1.25 minutes off his score.
Pledges Again
On shore, we helped clean up and store the equipment and met Kate who would be our Dive Master instructor. She gave us a tour of the facilities and the equipment room because we're expected to help out. Basically, DMT (Dive Masters in Training) are like pledges in a fraternity. We're given all the dirty work and are expected to be around from the beginning of the dive until the last piece of equipment is cleaned and put away. There is even a DMT hazing ritual at the end of certification that involves a snorkel with a plastic bottle attached to the other end. Basically, this is the scuba version of a beer bong. Something to look forward to.
We have 3 chapters of Knowledge Reviews (chapter summaries) to do tonight before we go to bed. So there will be no Rescue Diver Celebration for us. We went to dinner at the same place we had lunch, and played with two little puppies there. Then we went back to the room and did homework until bedtime. It's an early morning for us tomorrow!