| If you're doing this type of dive, and the diver blows ALL his stops with a runaway ascent, then to be honest, he's as good as dead. In water recompression is about the only short term solution that's gonna give him a fighting chance, and there's a whole load of logistics and complications associated with that: Support diver ready to attend, full face mask for gas delivery, diver hydration and a harness system to keep the diver in place in case he passes out or toxes to name a few.
The skipper cannot compromise the safety of the rest of the team in the event of an incident, therefore he can't leave the station (certainly not for long anyway), all he can do is call in for assistance, and do what he can. In water problem are managable with well planned logistics and the skills, ingenuity and equipment of the rest of the team, staged gas, drop tanks etc.
For a lift-off the boat is requested to make headway into the wind, this is so the downdraft from the rotor doesn't blow the hell out of everything on deck. If the boat is unable to move, then I presume they can do a lift-off with the boat stationary, but I'd certainly not want to be on deck! Whether leaving 9 other divers to fend for themselves for a while, is a suitable reason for not being on the move, I don't know, but if I was still on the station, I'd be a bit annoyed if my surface support buggered off - there are 9 other divers that may need the skippers help.
Having a chase boat is a good solution, as one boat can remaing with the station and have the surface support equipment on board, and the main boat can head off with the casualty. Not the easiest or most practical arrangement to plan, but it probably gives the best safety. |