Getting back into scuba after 4 years?

[EastEndDiver]

I know of an operation in grand cayman that took a pair of newly certed divers on a planned 100 ft wall dive. One came back to states in a coffin. I would certainly never let my 14 yr old daughter do an intro outside of a pool. But then I am highly risk averse after having looked at a number of fatalities involving new divers. As well as being consulted by attorneys on some of them. My primary recreational dive agency doesn't allow intro's in open water.

Could you give me a link to this .

 

[Nasser]

My niece did her DSD at 12 years of age on a beautiful house reef here in the Red Sea and was very inspired. The dive conditions were very favorable. Warm water, excellent visibility, no current, and of course an excellent instructor. She just turned 13 this August and completed her OW certification.

So I recommend that you and the dive instructor/guide evaluate the site and dive conditions... and of course her comfort level, then make a decision with her based on that.

As for yourself, I would agree with the others. Hire the dive master and do a skills review and a few check-out dives... take your time and ease back into diving gradually.

 

[EastEndDiver]

So, I’m thinking about maybe doing the discover scuba course with her in Roatan and then signing up for a 2 tank dive in Grand Cayman. They require that you’ve logged a dive in the last 2 years…would the discover scuba on the day before suffice?

I don't think a Dive Operation would take someone with just a DSD to a 100' wall dive.They do check for certs on GC so I think your daughter would NOT be allowed to do such a dive.


What dive op were you considering using on GC?

 

[The Chairman]

I don't think a Dive Operation would take someone with just a DSD to a 100' wall dive.

I don't think the subsequent dive was for his daughter: just him. He wanted to know if taking a DSD would count as a dive so he could go the next day. It should.

 

[dmoore19]

I did my first OW dives in Cozumel. My 6 dives were all 60' or less (short 5 day trip).

I don't know where the poster who said all dives in Roatan were deeper 100' dives got his information. I looked at my logbook and out of the 45 dives on Roatan only 3 were 100', the rest were all 60' or less. The 100' dives were all after we had been diving all week.


A few years back I had a neighbor that had gone to Hawaii on his honeymoon. I had just completed my OW cert and was surprised to hear that he had been on a 100' Discover Scuba dive. I didn't believe him at the time.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Could you give me a link to this .

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/accidents-incidents/283416-diver-death-cayman.html

After this was reported I had the OP and her husband for training with me. They brought the deceased diver's computer profile with them and a copy of the medical examiners report with them. This event was in large part the start of my article writing and subsequent book. This thread was the first thing I posted as a result of this incident : http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/ne...ering-diving/283566-who-responsible-what.html

Following this I wrote my presentation on the failure of the buddy system. Chapters 3 (The Buddy System) and 6 (Trust Me Dives) in my book deal with this subject as well.

It is not widely publicized exactly what diving is. It's billed as fun, sun, and half naked people tooling around on a reef. There is rarely if ever any mention of the dangers in magazines, tour advertisements, resort ads, and even agency propaganda.

What you are doing is entering an alien environment that is normally hostile to human existence without the aid of mechanical devices to keep you alive. We can't breathe water. If you try you will die. In order to keep from dying you need to have the knowledge, skills, and training to operate these devices without the assistance of another person. DM's, guides, and even instructors will not ultimately keep you alive or safe. That is your job. Anyone who says different is a damn fool.

---------- Post added September 21st, 2014 at 11:18 AM ----------

In my OW class a fellow student experienced the same thing on a Discover in Hawaii. Some asshat DM/Guide took her to 90 feet.

I did my first OW dives in Cozumel. My 6 dives were all 60' or less (short 5 day trip).

I don't know where the poster who said all dives in Roatan were deeper 100' dives got his information. I looked at my logbook and out of the 45 dives on Roatan only 3 were 100', the rest were all 60' or less. The 100' dives were all after we had been diving all week.


A few years back I had a neighbor that had gone to Hawaii on his honeymoon. I had just completed my OW cert and was surprised to hear that he had been on a 100' Discover Scuba dive. I didn't believe him at the time.

 

[Doc]

I looked at your OP as it was first posted. Had no idea where to head with an answer. I still don't. but...

Cruise ship divers are all treated with an identical process anywhere in the Caribbean. If Mike Nelson showed up on a cruise ship dive, he would get the same dive site choice and closely watched experience as any other person that came of the ship.

The horrible truth: Dive Operators that cater to Cruise Ship divers are conflicted. The money stream makes it good, the general bungee-jump, carnival ride experience must be closely monitored and is drudgery to the employee drones. It's a living, prolly better than any one I ever made with my certifications. None of these dive-ops would ever say it out loud- they wait until 4pm when you are safely back on board... that's when the stories are told over beers on the front porch at the dive shop in regards to your demonstrated abilities and your neon Speedos. The preceding is also starkly non-PC.

You will not be given a lot of margin for error, you will be tended to, much as one herds cats, this is one of the best training assignments you can give a DM Candidate.

I don’t think Cozumel or Belize would be a good option for me at this stage, so I’m looking primarily at Roatan or Grand Cayman. I contacted the dive shop in Roatan and they said that I could participate in their 2 tank excursion if I hired a private dive master for the day, which seems reasonable to me.

A Private DM at any location, considering your unassailable apprehension, would be a great idea. You could hire a DM on Roatan for $50 for two dives, but when you hook up from a cruise ship, the $ky is the limit.

A private-hired Caribbean island DM should be viewed as a tour guide and a "kind-of" a safety chaperone. They may not have any certification at all, they may have Open Water, very few have a Rescue Diver training, but I think they could get anyone up and on the boat with alacrity.

Just depends on what you tell him that you want. A DM, by definition, has not the skills nor education to correctly and efficiently "teach" any skill. Do not confuse a local DMs diving ability (which is usually 100%) with that different skill set of conveying and teaching skills. Two different dealywhigs.

As a certified diver, you'll be able to determine the instructor's level of competence.

Oky doky. But I'm with Jim Lapenta on this one.

 

[EastEndDiver]

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/accidents-incidents/283416-diver-death-cayman.html

After this was reported I had the OP and her husband for training with me. They brought the deceased diver's computer profile with them and a copy of the medical examiners report with them. This event was in large part the start of my article writing and subsequent book. This thread was the first thing I posted as a result of this incident : http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/ne...ering-diving/283566-who-responsible-what.html

Following this I wrote my presentation on the failure of the buddy system. Chapters 3 (The Buddy System) and 6 (Trust Me Dives) in my book deal with this subject as well.

It is not widely publicized exactly what diving is. It's billed as fun, sun, and half naked people tooling around on a reef. There is rarely if ever any mention of the dangers in magazines, tour advertisements, resort ads, and even agency propaganda.

What you are doing is entering an alien environment that is normally hostile to human existence without the aid of mechanical devices to keep you alive. We can't breathe water. If you try you will die. In order to keep from dying you need to have the knowledge, skills, and training to operate these devices without the assistance of another person. DM's, guides, and even instructors will not ultimately keep you alive or safe. That is your job. Anyone who says different is a damn fool.

---------- Post added September 21st, 2014 at 11:18 AM ----------

In my OW class a fellow student experienced the same thing on a Discover in Hawaii. Some asshat DM/Guide took her to 90 feet.

That is a 100 page thread can you point out where the info on the 14 year old is?

---------- Post added September 21st, 2014 at 11:47 AM ----------

I don't think the subsequent dive was for his daughter: just him. He wanted to know if taking a DSD would count as a dive so he could go the next day. It should.

You're right I mis-read it.

 

[The Chairman]

Some people make a habit out of posting Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt and Distortions (FUDD) whenever they discuss Scuba. Usually, they contrast these with how superior their classes are. Yeah, their classes probably are better, but the chances of an actual injury while doing a DSD or being taught by a kneeling instructor are incredibly minimal. Contrary to their assertions, being taught by some zero to hero or diving with split fins will probably not cause your untimely demise. But damn, it makes for some emotional postings! Break out the popcorn, get ready for the drama because:

:sinq:

You're right I mis-read it.

That's OK. It happens a lot.​

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Never said anything about the deceased being a 14 yr old. Point was two new divers were taken on a planned 100 ft wall dive. It was their second dive after checkouts from a referral issued by a shop in Colorado. There was also a 17 yr old who had not dived in over year on the dive as well. The operation thought it was perfectly ok for one guide/dm to lead them and two other couples on this dive. Age doesn't matter. What does is that you don't tempt fate. You don't let kids do open water try dives. There is an instructor right now who was thrown under the bus by his agency for doing that out west. One of the kids he had on that cluster of a dive died.

That is a 100 page thread can you point out where the info on the 14 year old is?

---------- Post added September 21st, 2014 at 11:47 AM ----------



You're right I mis-read it.