You are certainly off base with regards to your assumptions about TSandM's post. She is one of the most helpful, insightful, and newbie-friendly mods on the board, and I'm sure that she wasn't virtually clucking at you.
I WAS making assumptions about her post, admittedly, but not about her as a person. I'm sure she is lovely, and I didn't mean to imply otherwise. Sorry if it came off that way.
The point is that a "vacation diver" - in this case someone who almost injured themselves after returning to diving after a decade long break with no refresher course and using poor techniques - can definitely be a source for fretting by experienced divers who interact with them. This may be in person (as with an instabuddy on a dive trip) or here on the board. Sorry if you felt that this was meant as a pejorative term.
Really not meaning to play around in semantics, but how exactly is that not pejorative? Pejorative means "a belittling term, meant to express distaste." Isn't that pretty much exactly what it is? As you define it,
"a "vacation diver" - in this case someone who almost injured themselves after returning to diving after a decade long break with no refresher course and using poor techniques - can definitely be a source for fretting by experienced divers who interact with them." I mean, I'm not disagreeing that I was an idiot, but had I taken a refresher course, planned my dive better, and been more smart about it, would I not still be a vacation diver or would I cease to deserve that term? There's nothing I could've done at this point about being away for ten years (and I don't regret it--I had other priorities that were valid).
Don't take this personally, but you seem insightful enough to understand that diving requires a commitment to ongoing skills maintenance and situational awareness, in order to be done safely. A bit different from riding a bike (or a Vespa), in my opinion.
Actually, in that respect it is not one whit different from riding a motorcycle.
I'm not taking this personally, genuinely. I hope I have demonstrated that by readily admitting to my copious faults. What I'm objecting to is not how I have been characterized personally, but I felt (and frankly, at this writing still feel) that the idea that an occasional diver somehow isn't expected to be safe or responsible is a bit objectionable. Because I wasn't in this circumstance doesn't mean we can't be. I think if we dive at our experience level we
should be just as safe as someone who dives daily but to their much higher experience level. If we aren't, that's an individual problem, not a problem of how frequently we choose to dive, no? Otherwise, I may as well give it up if I can't be as safe as any other human. The idea of "vacation divers" seems to put me in a group of "people who use poor techniques," and I'm hoping that this is a group I can exit out of without having to depend on diving all the time to do so. Because frankly, I love diving and all, but it is not possible for me to do it all the time.
I'm not sure what your objection to the post was, but not keeping up one's skills for a period of years and then going into open water can certainly preclude one from safely enjoying diving.
I have not communicated well if you a) don't get my objection and b) think I disagree with that statement. My apologies for my failings in this regard.
---------- Post added January 6th, 2013 at 11:22 PM ----------
Yes, all I was trying to say was that, if you dive regularly, you are more likely to remember all the things you want to think about on a dive, whether that's how to control your buoyancy, or making a safety stop. When you are out of the water for long periods, you lose stuff.
I recently did a cave diving trip to Mexico, and I hadn't been there in a year. I was appalled and embarrassed at how bad my line running skills were, because I hadn't practiced them. I realized I should have done a couple of warmup dives at home, to bring all those things back to the front of my mind.
For your trip, a refresher course, or a local dive or two, would have reminded you of stuff, I think.
I fully agree and will not make that mistake again, I assure you! I'm not quite sure how I was this silly.
I should've done a refresher course and in fact, I had signed up to do one this last summer, as we originally planned this trip for late July. It's a long and personal story but for (transient, unrelated) medical reasons I wasn't able to scuba dive at all this summer, even in a pool, and we had to cancel the trip at that time and didn't know when or if we would be able to reschedule it. As it happened, we were able to go over New Year's, and planning things just got kind of dumb. Isn't that always how things like this happen!
---------- Post added January 6th, 2013 at 11:31 PM ----------
I re-read your story 3 times, and the only thing I can guarantee you did wrong was surfacing alone, which I think is your most serious and most potentially dangerous mistake you made.
Interesting. I thought that was odd too but the dive company, who I thought in every respect (though I obviously have limited knowledge) was excellent, seemed to think nothing of sending people up on their own. Your response makes me think I was right in thinking that was weird.
We don't know if you ascended too quickly, you had no computer to guide you and you didn't mention using bubble speeds to gauge yourself or not.
I pulled myself up the mooring line and tried to go hand over hand slowly. But the mooring line started at 40' and frankly, I just don't remember how I did it before 40' and also don't remember how far up the mooring line I started (maybe five feet from the anchor? Ten?). I don't know, it's totally indefensible.
Missing the safety stop wasn't a big deal as they are optional on no deco dives and just an extra margin of safety.
The biggest problem was a major mistake in splitting from your buddy. That was your biggest risk I took out of everything you described. Of everything you described that would be the number 1 thing I would see you change. Number two would be to either buy a dive computer or at least do dive planning prior to your consulting tables.
In hind site, when your hubby got certified, that would have been a great time to have joined him in the pool for a refresher.
That was the plan, but it turned out to be impossible. What happened was, I found out I was (surprisingly) pregnant at the time of his OW classes and so wasn't able to do the pool work. He elected to finish the class anyway in the idea that at some point we would go on a diving vacation, and ultimately, I ended up miscarrying and we were able to go on the trip after all in late December. I apologize if that was TMI or triggering for anyone but I wasn't sure how else to say it!
If you guys don't dive for years again, I'd suggest strongly doing some pool time before your next dives.
Um, YEAH!
At least.
Glad you're okay, and it sounds like you got shaken up enough over this for it to be a wake up call, hopefully it will be and your next experience will be less stressful.
