The Master Scuba Diver Challenge!!

So Many Things To Think About... So Little Time! For anyone who has ever said this to themselves or out loud... you are one step closer to becoming a Rescue Diver.  Thursday night was my Rescue class with none other than Virpi Kangas, for any of you who are not aware of who Virpi is, you need to go back to the beginning of my blog and start over again, she is mentioned in almost every blog and is the reason I made it through my Open Water course and one of the ones who got me started on my road to Master Scuba Diver.... in short, she is a very important diver in my life.  Now again, having Virpi as my Rescue instructor has a little irony to it, for any of you who don't know why this is ironic, you probably didn't take my advice from a moment ago to go back and re-read my blog so you could get to know a little more about Virpi.  But for those of you who just like the direct route, those of you who watch Daytona and are left wondering why anyone would drive 500 laps around a course only to end up where they started... read this entry Seals to Emergencies and you will understand why it is interesting that Virpi would be teaching me to rescue people.  So this was a small class, me Virpi and one student whom I had met when we did our EFR class together back in January.  So after short introductions and some chat about diving experience and what we were hoping to achieve through the class we moved on to our chapter reviews... all 5 of them.... plus video.... all leading up to the... dum dum dum...

TEST!!!

The evening went by surprisingly quick, moving through so many questions and discussion points and video clips that your head began to spin... and this is where the title comes in.  You see, to be an effective rescuer you need to be able to make split second decisions and follow through on them while being alert to everything that is going on around you.  When you hear that call for help... you need to start making decisions and answering the internal questions immediately.  You need to figure out are they panicked or just tired, what's wrong, where are they, can you reach them, what if you used a branch or an oar, can you wade in and reach them, can you throw them something, do you have to swim to them, can you use a boat, is a boat available, etc.... the list goes on of internal questions to ask yourself so that you can successfully plan and execute a rescue without getting yourself or anyone else in danger.  So your brain is full of questions (and hopefully answers) and you haven't even started the rescue yet... this is why it takes split second timing, reactions, and thinking.  So once you have decided on your course of action... like Nike said... Just Do It!  Put your action plan in place, delegate responsibilities, coordinate responses, assign tasks.  Then will all the action over, you need to be able to slow your mind down and rethink back through every step of the process so that you can document and report exactly what happened and only what you witnessed and not what others are telling you happened. 

They say that as you move through and complete the Rescue and EFR programs you begin to view yourself and other divers differently.  You start to evaluate and look closer at things you never would have thought about before.  Is that persons gear on right, does it fit right, has it been altered, is that alteration going to be an issue in an emergency or cause an emergency...  It all sits in your head when you look around.  But for me it also hit me personally,  I started to look at my personal health and well being.  I'm not going to be much help if my excessive weight tires me out before I can get to them or get them back.  What if my lack of Cardio or poor swimming is the difference between getting to someone in time and not.... So, it is my new goal, not only to become a Master Scuba Diver this year, but to look the part as well.  When I enrolled in the Master Scuba Diver challenge I read the requirements, complete 5 specialty certifications, 50 dives and become a certified Emergency First Responder and Rescue Diver.  I thought that would be an uphill battle, and on my own it would have been, but with support from home and my dive family I have completed more than the required certifications, more than half the dives, I am EFR certified and, if all goes well, next weekend I will be Rescue Certified as well.  With all that considered I am a little less than 25 dives away from certifying as a Master Scuba Diver.  But when I think Master Scuba Diver, I am left with the image of Gerard Butler in the shape he was in for 300.  

So... all that considered, I am going to create my own "Master Scuba Diver Challenge" and commit to working hard on my own physical fitness so that should I ever be in a situation where I am needed I can perform with maximum efficiency and if I am unable to make a difference then I will know that it was not because of my training or conditioning.  So I guess, long and short, I have only just begun my Master Scuba Diver Challenge and only learned that it is me that needs rescuing as much as anyone I will meet in the water.  Hopefully before long I will be able to proudly accept my certification as a Master Scuba Diver and will somewhat resemble Mr Gerard Butler... without the chest hair, I can't grow chest hair.. but that's another conversation.  This weekend is Boat Diver, should be a whole new adventure, but I'll tell you all about it next week as I prep to write my Rescue exam and complete my dives.