Check dives, private DMs, and local/shop policies

[bpotkin]

drrich2,

I see your point, however a diver in need of rescue may also put others in harms way.

Also a dive operation is similiar to a flight center in respect to accidents may negatively

influence public opinion.

 

[mstevens]

pilot who screws up is liable to run into another plane, crash into a building, etc..., and may have passengers.

Are you speaking as a pilot? The analogy sounds very apt to me.

When I was flying (as a high school student) and in the region in which I flew, I don't believe there was EVER a situation in which there was any significant degree of risk that I'd hit anything other than the ground, and the maximum capacity of any aircraft I was ever certified to fly was 2.

My former-pilot wife and I have many times commented on the similarities between diving and flying.

 

[drrich2]

I'm not a pilot, and not all that familiar with the flying patterns of private air craft owners. That said, there are so many people in the U.S. today, even in rural areas (and I have spent a lot of time in such), that while I agree a plummeting plane would most likely not land on a person, it certainly could.

The one private craft pilot I knew of having a wreck (plane stalled & dropped like a rock) had his girl friend as a passenger, but they didn't land on anybody. Both got badly banged up, but made it back in time to graduate a program we were in with the rest of us. Still amazes me.

Richard.

 

[Bob DBF]

Belize's Blue Hole is precisely the site I had in mind when I asked that question (after reading countless posts/ threads about it here).


Do new divers end up diving the Blue Hole because:


a) the diver insists that they want to go, even though the op knows they really shouldn't; or
b) the diver doesn't really mind where they dive and the op reassures them that it's all good


? 'a' is what I meant by actual demand (they're really going to lose customers if they don't take them). 'b' is what I meant by 'perceived' demand (the op thinks they'll lose customers, in reality the diver would still be quite happy if they didn't dive that site).

Now add in

c) OW training, as I have seen it, produces divers who believe that DM's and Instructors will keep them safe because they are figures of authority. They have not been trained to evaluate, plan, and execute a dive of their own so they do not have the experience of saying no to a DM or instructor, even if it is called for, and of course "It's a dive of a lifetime".


Bob
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A man's got to know his limitations.
Harry Callahan

 

[xyrandomyx]

Now add in

c) OW training, as I have seen it, produces divers who believe that DM's and Instructors will keep them safe because they are figures of authority. They have not been trained to evaluate, plan, and execute a dive of their own so they do not have the experience of saying no to a DM or instructor, even if it is called for, and of course "It's a dive of a lifetime".


Bob
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A man's got to know his limitations.
Harry Callahan

Well, yes. That's how situation 'b' ends up happening: if the diver trusted their own assessment instead of just trusting the DM or instructor, they'd decline the dive in spite of the op's reassurances.

On the other hand, situation 'a' is a case where respecting the authority figure might be in the diver's best interest. If you're a relatively new diver and an operator advises against your doing a dive, it's probably wise to think hard about whether your own assessment of its difficulty and your skills are correct.