AD 2016 Q1

RESEARCH, EDUCATION & MEDICINE
SKILLS IN ACTION
When a diver from another vessel began to
experience serious symptoms, Capt. Josh
Livingston did not hesitate to provide quick
assistance using his oxygen unit and his boat.
Prepared
to Act
OXYGEN, A WILLINGNESS
TO USE IT AND A FAST
BOAT SAVE THE DAY
By Savannah Vasquez
The day started
just like any
other for
Capt. Josh
Livingston of
the DreadKnot,
a dive and fishing charter boat
out of Destin, Fla. Livingston
and three guests had set out into
the waters of the Gulf of Mexico
with one plan: to freedive and
pole-spear some red snapper on
day one of the snapper season in
federal waters.
After the group had tried one
artificial reef spot without success,
Livingston moved to a new
location 20 miles offshore, where
he noticed another group of divers.
“We were over the Belize
Queen tugboat about 1,000 feet
away from where they were on
the Odyssey paddlewheeler,”
Livingston said. “When we pulled
up I saw their dive flag.”
But before Livingston and
his guests had the chance to
submerge, a mayday call came
over the radio.
“I turned up the volume and
heard the exchange and the
coordinates; I looked at my
plotter and realized the diver
in distress was from that boat,”
Livingston said. The radio chatter
seemed to suggest decompression
sickness (DCS).
As a divemaster and certified
emergency first responder,
ERIC DOUGLAS
62 | WINTER 2016