Do You Know When To Call (Thumb) a Dive?

[ajduplessis]

We have a very simple rule:

Any Diver can thumb a dive at any point without any explanation required. No one is allowed to even ask, unless the diver in question would like to share why.

 

[Jax]

Sometimes it isn't that easy to decide what is the right thing to do.

My cave class was an example of that to me. My first dive of class was in ginnie and it went less than smooth. I spent the whole dive giving my instructor the "I'm feeling iffy" sign. But kept pushing on to meet our planned turn point. It was a very unsettling dive and I should have thumbed it early on and stood by that decision, but I didnt. The next 4 days were long, hard, grueling days and for our final dive we returned to ginnie. As i geared up in the early morning I was physically and emotionally exhausted. I began to tear up at the picnic table as I am putting on my rebreather. My s/o asks whats wrong and I say I don't want to do this dive. He is 100% supportive and says then don't do it. But i argue back that i need to do this dive, not only to finish the class with an out of state instructor, but to know that I can finish and that I can dive ginnie comfortably in ccr. My ego didn't want me to be a quitter. I vent to another cave buddy who is as supportive as my s/o dont do it if you dont want to. In the end I made the dive and it was the right thing to do. My weight issues had been fixed, my skills were better and the dive went smooth and comfortable. And I came out feeling like i had really accomplished something. Some will disagree with my decision. But to me it was like getting back on a horse after you have been thrown. It's the best way i know to defeat the fear.

So the line of when to thumb a dive is not always black and white. However...acceptance of that decision once made by whomever is always 100%. I have had my s/o thumb a penetration dive on a wreck. Was I disappointed, absolutely. But the rule is there for a reason and i respect that and we turned the dive. The wreck will be there another day.

I disagree!!! YOU made the decision -- therefore, you drew the line and it was the right decision. Your teammates were supportive. You shared your concerns . . . . Sounds like an A-#1 way to run a dive. :cool3:

It's the wrong decision when you do it in spite of your feelings and to accommodate others.

 

[Jax]

I guess the flip side to this whole play it safe conversation is. How are you gonna learn to handle difficult situations if you don't deal with difficult situations. I think you guys use the phrase "task loading"

And that expressed attitude may cause a buddy to not thumb, when s/he should. The diver must know when s/he is ready to handle whatever is coming, and not be told to "deal with the difficult situation."

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I guess the flip side to this whole play it safe conversation is. How are you gonna learn to handle difficult situations if you don't deal with difficult situations. I think you guys use the phrase "task loading"

I think those are really two different things ... learning task loading should happen under controlled conditions ... whether it's in a class, or with a mentor ... it should be something you plan to do, and the criteria for doing it should be discussed and understood in advance of the dive. In this case, you may be stressing about the effort and/or results of the dive, but you've accepted that the payoff is worth the effort and have made a conscious decision to go ahead.

Calling off a dive in progress is typically due to something unplanned, whether it's a circumstance/situation inherent to the dive or because you just aren't bringing your "A" game that day. It's a response to that little voice inside your head telling you that the payoff ain't worth the potential cost.

Listen to that little voice ... it's trying to keep you from hurting yourself ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[paulw]

We have a very simple rule:

Any Diver can thumb a dive at any point without any explanation required. No one is allowed to even ask, unless the diver in question would like to share why.

I agree 100% , that is the way my buddies and I dive. No worries, there is always the next dive.

 

[Jax]

We have a very simple rule:

Any Diver can thumb a dive at any point without any explanation required. No one is allowed to even ask, unless the diver in question would like to share why.

Maybe it's just me, but that makes me a little uncomfortable. Sometimes it takes the concerned buddy to overcome the state of denial of DCS or heart attack.

 

[fisheater]

Maybe it's just me, but that makes me a little uncomfortable. Sometimes it takes the concerned buddy to overcome the state of denial of DCS or heart attack.

My thoughts exactly.

I had a dive buddy call a dive early into the surface swim. He'd been breathing heavily (& understandably) after we had schlepped our cold water gear down a difficult access "trail" and he only recovered a bit when we geared up. He turned back to the rocky shore after only about 25 yards. I ended up having to struggle to keep his head above water when he got caught in the shallows with one fin on.

After I got him out of the water, out of his gear and on a log to relax, I asked a lot of questions about how he was feeling, his current meds, his medical care and treatments. I was very concerned that he was or would have a cardiac event there at the bottom of the steep, rocky cove.

I would not have simply watched without asking questions, in order to figure out how bed to help him (and to prepare for how I would react if things got worse).


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[TSandM]

Sometimes it isn't that easy to decide what is the right thing to do. ... dont do it if you dont want to. In the end I made the dive and it was the right thing to do. .. And I came out feeling like i had really accomplished something.

Sometimes pushing on is the wrong thing to do . . . I wish I had had the gumption to call things during my C2 class, where I was exhausted and progressively demoralized as the week went on. Classes, I think, may simply be THE hardest place to make the "no go" decision, because you have paid for them and often don't have the option of finishing up at a later time.

There's another aspect to this whole issue, too, and that is the well-meaning buddy who tries to reassure someone that "It will be fine." Or who simply plans a dive at the edge of someone else's envelope, and doesn't think about or ask about that. I had that experience in Mexico this spring, where I had two buddies. We planned a dive with which I, as the sort of "middle experience" diver felt entirely comfortable, but as we were exiting, I started thinking about the third person, and that had I been that person, I would not have felt good about doing that dive with the experience they had. The two of us who had been there should have scaled back (the person who was less experienced should also have objected to the dive plan, IMO) but we didn't think of it. It's easy to keep less experienced divers out of trouble -- just say YOU have a problem with the dive plan!

Eventually, one does need to stretch limits a bit to grow. But you do that on days when you're feeling good and are up for a challenge. You don't do it when the idea seems daunting.

 

[rongoodman]

I thumbed an entire Trimix class back in the spring--lost the airfare, class deposit, car rental, and motel fees. I've spent the last several months wondering if I didn't really misunderstand the situation and things weren't as goofy as I perceived them to be at the time, but I kept hearing Lynn's and Ed Hayes' voices in my head had something gone wrong, saying "Why didn't you just walk away?", so I did. (Which is strange when you think about, since I've never actually met Lynn, and have no idea how her voice sounds .)

 

[cloudflint]

I thumbed an entire Trimix class back in the spring--lost the airfare, class deposit, car rental, and motel fees. I've spent the last several months wondering if I didn't really misunderstand the situation and things weren't as goofy as I perceived them to be at the time, but I kept hearing Lynn's and Ed Hayes' voices in my head had something gone wrong, saying "Why didn't you just walk away?", so I did. (Which is strange when you think about, since I've never actually met Lynn, and have no idea how her voice sounds .)

I know the feeling, you start thinking back and wondering if things where really as bad as you thought. You look back at your log entry for the dive and wonder if what you wrote was really what happened or if you just perceived things wrong in the heat of the moment. You look back on the dive and wonder why you aborted when you are now sure you could have handled the situation fine and resolved it if only you did X.

For me it all comes back to "would I rather be sitting at home wishing I hadnt aborted or lying in a hospital bed wishing I had."