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and the first responders on shore. Everyone else scanned the surface for any sign of Dave.

Super-bad thoughts were going through my head. “Crap! How could I have lost him? He didn’t show any signs of distress. How did this happen? How will I tell his wife?” “Where the hell is Dave?”

After hours and hours — OK, it was about 10 minutes — Dave surfaced. He was immediately spotted, and lots of yelling ensued. Derek hit the water, his new deputy right behind him. We all held our breath.

Dave signaled OK. Derek and the deputy signaled OK. Exhaling, we reeled all three of them in. Dave appeared to be unhurt, but Capt. Luke had me administer oxygen as a precaution.

Dave explained that his computer put him into

decompression, requiring a 10-minute stop at 10 feet. So he did a drift deco without issues (other than scaring the crap out me and everyone else).

Dave was fine. There was much rejoicing.

Our close call had a happy ending. The response was clearly one that would have been activated in any dive emergency. Everyone onboard was prepared with proper training and obeyed safety protocols, and as a result we were able to act as an efficient and effective team when something went wrong. Not one of us boarded the boat that day thinking we’d have to put our training into action, but when we docked that afternoon, we were sure glad we had it. AD

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When things go wrong, there’s no substitute for good training and proper equipment.

GET TRAINED

Want to learn how to manage an emergency? Complete DAN’s Diving Emergency Management Provider (DEMP) training course to learn basic life support and first aid, the administration of emergency oxygen, how to conduct an on-site neurological examination and how to treat hazardous marine life injuries. To register for an upcoming DEMP course, visit www.DAN.org/training to find a dive center or instructor near you.