Just practicing

Saturday was the day for one of the three meetings held by the Derbyshire section of the cave diving group each year. Before each meeting a training event is organised. On this occasion it was a joint rescue practice with the DCRO held at The Rez, an underground reservoir that has been converted into a dive site.

Rolling up at the car park brought the ominous sight of the Rescue truck, the cavers equivalent of the climbers big yellow taxi. Nerves were settled by a cup of tea in the cafe along with the briefing for the days plan which finished with jobs being assigned. Paul got to be casualty in the morning, I got to be dive controller with the roles reversing for the afternoon. Jim volunteered as coms and everybody else took on the job of divers on rescue. The rescue controller, from the DCRO, was Bill. The site had been prepared earlier in the week by JT and Rich. The scenario was an overdue party of two divers who’s planned trip took them caving beyond a sump. The Rez, having two access points and 6 degree water, was playing the part of the sump.


Clive resplendent in his new drysuit.


The other end of the sump as viewed from the starting point. An unusual view to say the least.


Jim taking notes of coms messages.


Paul being strapped into the stretcher for transport through the sump.

Paul departed through the sump and a rescue party organised itself under the guidance of Bill. The scenario went roughly as planned with Paul being found, the other diver suspected missing in the sump (eaten by a shark) and various methods of coms being tried. As the rescue developed teams of divers carried kit through the sump to rescue Paul who was thinking that maybe he had a broken leg and was a little cold. Paul was then strapped to a stretcher, lowered into the water and swum out by the stretcher party before climbing the ladder under his own steam, disproving the broken leg theory.


Some very welcome post dive hot chocolate provided by the Rez. Paul, in the blue suit and woolly hat looks to have two perfectly healthy legs. What was all the fuss about?

After tidying up there was a debrief in the cafe which lasted for longer than a plate of sandwiches. Much was learnt on the day.

A big thank you must go to those who organised and set-up the event, to Bill from the DCRO and particularly to the Rez for providing a great site for our peculiar needs.

Oh, and somehow I missed the changeover time when I should have become the casualty in the 6 degree water with Paul becoming the dive controller on the surface in a nice warm coat, I don’t know how that happened.

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