Fun and Funny

[SeaCat]

Today I went for a bit of diving. Because of the conditions I decided to hit one of my favorite spots. This is a bridge over the Intercoastal Waterway and is protected from things like winds and waves. I planned the timing of the dive for the incoming tide so the water would be nice and clear.

Well my wife and I arrived at the sight and I grabbed my gear. The water looked inviting, nice and clear and the tide was getting ready to change. I suited up and set up my rig with one of my small tanks. A 60 cubic foot tank made in 1964. As I was getting ready we were approached by another diver, a younger guy who asked if he could dive with me because his partner hadn't shown up. Reluctantly I agreed and soon we were heading for the water.

When this young guy saw my gear he snorted. He asked how I could allow myself to be seen using gear like mine while pointing out his nice shiny new gear. Oh I admit he had nice gear. All of the bells, whistles and high tech toys a diver would ever want. Me? I had a basic vest type B.C., ancient regulators and no computer. (Hell my air guage was an older T-Top Guage.)

We hit the water and dropped under. Slowly we moved under the bridge looking and poking with our lights. We had been under for roughly half an hour when he pointed at his gauge and motioned that we had to head back to shore. (I couldn't believe this.) When we made it to shore he was crowing about the dive. He commented about how great the dive had been and how happy he was with his air consumption. He then informed me that I should stop my Cigar Smoking and get into better shape if I planned on diving more.

Okay so this guy was half my age. He was in remarkable shape, buff and tanned. He was diving with the latest in gear, including 120 cubic foot tanks. (Twice he size of mine.) I had to bite my tongue to keep from pointing out that he had surfaced with less than 500 p.s.i. in his tank, and I still had over 1000 p.s.i. in mine.

It was kind of funny, okay it was rolling on the floor funny.

Cat

 

[rgraham666]

Snicker.

One of these days he'll learn it's what you learn after you know it all that really counts.

 

[SeaCat]

LOLOL

Rob you have that right. Unfortunately this guy was emblematic of what are coming out of many of the dive classes.

The dive classes are cutting down on the skills they teach for several reasons. (And you better believe this has been talkd about among divers for the past several years.)

Of course the main reason for deleting these skills from the classes is money. If you make the class too challenging or too dificult then you won't have as many students paying the three hundred dollars for your classes.

In other words if you make your students swim several hundred yards without equipment then they might think the class is too hard. If you make your students dive to the bottom of a pool and put on their gear they might drop the class. If you make the student take off their gear and put it back on underwater they might just drop the class and want their money back. So what if these skills might save their lives in the future. (On one of my first dives in New England I got entangled in fishing line. It wasn't that big of a deal. I just dropped to the bottom and removed my B.C., moved it around in front of me so I could both see it and get to it, and cut away the fishing line. When I was done I put my rig back on and went on with the dive.)

I have dealt with too many new divrs who know jack. They are young, they are buff and they know everything there is to know about diving. It's sad really.

Cat

 

[rgraham666]

I wonder if that will change when a lot of people don't come up from their dives?

 

[AngelofDarkLust]

If you make your students dive to the bottom of a pool and put on their gear they might drop the class. If you make the student take off their gear and put it back on underwater they might just drop the class and want their money back.

Or they might live to dive again the next time... but hell, if they're dead, who's there to complain.

 

[SeaCat]

I wonder if that will change when a lot of people don't come up from their dives?

Most likely not for the dive industry has protcted itself with rankings of divers. Not to mention they have this little thing called death when you screw up underwater.

The most common outcome of someone screwing up is they drown.

Last Thursday we had three divers drown here in south Florida. These were "Experienced" Divers. They were diving on a popular wreck in the Keys. They dove on the wreck and decided to enter the wreck even though they didn't have the most basic of safety equipment. They didn't have extra tanks nor did they have what are called "Dive Reels". (These are reels with a line that can and will guide your way out.) They penetrated the wreck and cashed it in. (Most likely they got disoriented.)

Cat

 

[rgraham666]

Most likely not for the dive industry has protcted itself with rankings of divers. Not to mention they have this little thing called death when you screw up underwater.

The most common outcome of someone screwing up is they drown.

Last Thursday we had three divers drown here in south Florida. These were "Experienced" Divers. They were diving on a popular wreck in the Keys. They dove on the wreck and decided to enter the wreck even though they didn't have the most basic of safety equipment. They didn't have extra tanks nor did they have what are called "Dive Reels". (These are reels with a line that can and will guide your way out.) They penetrated the wreck and cashed it in. (Most likely they got disoriented.)

Cat

In the words of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, "Does the word 'duh' have any meaning to you?"

Now flashing on Robert A. Heinlein. "There's only one capital crime. The sentence is death and it is carried out immediately and without mercy."

 

[SeaCat]

Or they might live to dive again the next time... but hell, if they're dead, who's there to complain.

Indeed, they might live to dive again. If they do then they might have learned something. (We can only hope.)

Te problem with this is th whole lawsuit industry. When a diver dies then their family starts looking for culprits. They research the dive boats first as these are the people who took the diver out. They don't question if the diver had pushed his/her limits. They don't worry about the diver maybe having chosen to dive in conditions they weren't trained for. They are just looking for someone to punish.

A good example is a dive I took last year. This was a dive I had been on several times. We were diving on a sunken Oil Rig off Boynton Beach. The bottom was at 138 feet an the area is known for it's currents. One of the guys on the boat claimed he was experienced. He had several dives below 130 feet. He didn't mention that all of these dives were in quarries with no currents. We hit the water and started down the John Line. He started having problems right away. He couldn't get his bearings while dealing with the current but he pushed on. When we reached the rig a couple of divers including myself watched him. We had seen him fighting to get down and now we watched him fighting to keep in control. He was right on the edge. One of the other divers checked this guys air and saw he was getting low. we grabbed him and told him we were takng him up. We did so by starting up the John Line. He lst his grip, he didn't know how to handle his straps. He got blown off so we let go and stayed with him. We got him to the surface and inflated our Tubes. The boat came fo us even as he was freaking out. When we got into the boat he was already threatening to sue the boat owner for getting him into a situation he couldn't handle.

This diver couldn't admit that he had decided to go way beyond what he was used to.

Cat

 

[rgraham666]

Indeed, they might live to dive again. If they do then they might have learned something. (We can only hope.)

Te problem with this is th whole lawsuit industry. When a diver dies then their family starts looking for culprits. They research the dive boats first as these are the people who took the diver out. They don't question if the diver had pushed his/her limits. They don't worry about the diver maybe having chosen to dive in conditions they weren't trained for. They are just looking for someone to punish.

A good example is a dive I took last year. This was a dive I had been on several times. We were diving on a sunken Oil Rig off Boynton Beach. The bottom was at 138 feet an the area is known for it's currents. One of the guys on the boat claimed he was experienced. He had several dives below 130 feet. He didn't mention that all of these dives were in quarries with no currents. We hit the water and started down the John Line. He started having problems right away. He couldn't get his bearings while dealing with the current but he pushed on. When we reached the rig a couple of divers including myself watched him. We had seen him fighting to get down and now we watched him fighting to keep in control. He was right on the edge. One of the other divers checked this guys air and saw he was getting low. we grabbed him and told him we were takng him up. We did so by starting up the John Line. He lst his grip, he didn't know how to handle his straps. He got blown off so we let go and stayed with him. We got him to the surface and inflated our Tubes. The boat came fo us even as he was freaking out. When we got into the boat he was already threatening to sue the boat owner for getting him into a situation he couldn't handle.

This diver couldn't admit that he had decided to go way beyond what he was used to.

Cat

Well, personal responsibility is a frowned upon concept in our society.