Hungover Diver

[Kim]

I'm going on a Similan liveaboard next March. I know they have alchohol on board - great, I like a couple of drinks in the evening when I'm on holiday! It's very clear from the operators though that if you do drink too much at night - and are rough the next day - you won't dive! It'll be interesting to see if anyone on the boat pushes the line - and what happens to them! I'll get back to you......

 

[DORSETBOY]

Hi Kim, are you going on Kingfisher? I know they had such a policy but I guess it's prob best practice, when we were on the boat some people had the odd beer or two in the evening but deff no more than that as it was maid clear from the start that any one drinking any more would be stopped from diving.

 

[Kim]

No - it's the Viking (of the Orient). I'm going with a group from Japan (ex-pats mostly). I think quite a few of them are GUE/DIR divers though so I don't suppose we'll have too many problems! It'll probably be a bit different from my last Asia trip in Malaysia. That had quite a large party content, with the DM's and Instructors hitting the O2 in the morning!! (Well, maybe not all of them - but I did see that happen! )

 

[Tresj2]

Back to the important part of this thread: the Clint Eastwood movies.

The question to this hungover guy should have been: "Punk...the question here is....do you feel lucky today?"



Gurt
-----------------------
www.divestart.com - Where and when to find your favorite critter!

 

[DandyDon]

Back to the important part of this thread: the Clint Eastwood movies.

The question to this hungover guy should have been: "Punk...the question here is....do you feel lucky today?"

:laughing: :lol: :rofl:​

 

[STOGEY]

This is just the topic,

I was talking to my dive instructor a couple of weeks ago about diving in Cosumel. I stated that I partake in a site called Scubaboard.com and I've read alot about getting a hit of the bends, and how many people get a hit in Cosumel. My instructor stated the reason why there are alot of cases in Cosumel and there are because there are alot of people like your friend who party all night, then they go diving and get a hit. That of course brings up the stats about how dangerous it is to dive in Cosumel.

I like to have a beer or two but I'd rather dive, so if I'm gonna dive the next day I'll cut my drinking very short.

 

[Kim]

So basically it comes down to - don't DD - oops, I meant D&D.

 

[Keysdrifter454]

I went diving on a charter in Oahu where one of the divers stated that he was drinking the night before the early dive. It was apparent that he was hungover he had the shakes real bad and was sweating profusely. Others thought that he was very nervous. I asked him if he was nervous and he stated no that he was partying last night. It turns out that he is an AOW with many dives under his belt. My question is: Should the DM have let him dive? When/if the dive should be called off by someone else. Since he signed a "waiver" is it not the concern of the dive charter operator? Just wondering... he looked bad....

I'm hungover all the time when I dive on vacation.

How hungover I am is something only I can decide.

I'm probably a more capable diver when I'm hungover and sleepless than a lot of people are on their best game.

Do you forbid people to dive when they're seasick, and may be in much worse physiological condition?

Or if they have a cold?

Or asthma or diabetes?

What if they're pemenantly physically impared?

How do we know who's properly hydrated?

DIR doesn't allow physically impared diving, what's your view on that?

You certainly have the right not to dive with that person, but it's no one's business but their own whether they dive or not.

Now, drunk or drugged up is a different sitiuation.

But be careful setting parameters on who or when or where people can dive, because it establishes a precedent.

What will you say when someone imparts such will on -you-?

 

[Northeastwrecks]

I'm hungover all the time when I dive on vacation.

How hungover I am is something only I can decide.

I'm probably a more capable diver when I'm hungover and sleepless than a lot of people are on their best game.

Hello, Popeye.... Nice troll.

Doubtful. You are still impaired by alcohol, dehydration and lack of sleep.

As for the rest of your questions, if I'm running the charter:

Do you forbid people to dive when they're seasick, and may be in much worse physiological condition?

Yes, if they cannot execute the dive safely. However, since seasickness can clear up once the diver is in the water, I might suggest that divers with mild, or even moderate, symptoms get in the water and see if they recover enough to dive.

Or if they have a cold?

Yes, if they can't clear or are presenting with symptoms such that they cannot execute the dive safely.

Or asthma or diabetes?

Only if they are presenting symptoms such that they cannot execute the dive safely. After all, if they are certified, one can certainly hope that they disclosed their condition to their doctor and obtained the necessary approvals.

What if they're pemenantly physically impared?

Same as for asthma or diabetes.

How do we know who's properly hydrated?

I don't. That's why my charters are limited to people with functioning brain stems.

DIR doesn't allow physically impared diving, what's your view on that?

Your statement is incorrect and irrelevant. If a person can execute the required skills to standard and meets the other criteria, then they can receive a GUE certification. I'm also fairly certain that all of the GUE instructors with whom I've taken classes would work with such a diver to help them perform to standard.

While I'm sure that there are medical conditions that would preclude issuing a GUE cert., I'm equally sure that a physical impairment is not a per se disqualification.

You certainly have the right not to dive with that person, but it's no one's business but their own whether they dive or not.

My charters, my license, my rules.

Moreover, since I don't like performing rescues, on charters that are not mine, if someone is impaired, whether due to a hangover or otherwise, I'm going to mention this to the person in charge of the trip and the captain. Its their decision whether to allow the person to dive.

Now, drunk or drugged up is a different sitiuation.

Not really. There are measurable amounts of alcohol in the blood when a person is hungover.

Even if there were not, the question is whether an impaired person should dive. A hungover person is impaired. Once again, my charter, my license, my rules.

But be careful setting parameters on who or when or where people can dive, because it establishes a precedent.

That's a precedent I'm more than happy to live with. If any of my divers showed up hungover, it would be the last charter they took with me.

What will you say when someone imparts such will on -you-?

Since I don't dive while sick, drunk, hungover or otherwise impaired, I'm not overly worried.

 

[Mako Mark]

I'm hungover all the time when I dive on vacation.

How hungover I am is something only I can decide.

I'm probably a more capable diver when I'm hungover and sleepless than a lot of people are on their best game.

Do you forbid people to dive when they're seasick, and may be in much worse physiological condition?



Or asthma or diabetes?

What if they're pemenantly physically impared?

Drifter, I dont want to accuse you of trolling, but try to not start so many fights dude.

Here is how I would answer yor questions...

seasick divers: usually dont want to dive, but often improve when the jump in the water due to weightlessness and the coolness of the water.

Or if they have a cold?: can they equalize or not, that is the question..

Or asthma or diabetes?: need doctors advice and perhaps special attention. I know diabetics and asthmatics who dive and neither group actually have a statistically higher incidence of morbidity or mortality while diving

What if they're pemenantly physically impared? disabled divers are often very competent, often have specialized helper dive buddies, use adaptive techniques and normal prudence.

As far as being hungover, are you impared, if you are, then you probably shouldnt dive, if you are dehydrated, then you should rehydrate yourself before diving as dehydration is one of the great contributing factors to DCS, as is lack of concentration and exceeding depth limits (such as in the cozumel example stated earlier in the thread).

Those are how I would confront the above situations, but as I am on the operations side of the coin, we would usually prefer to have a dissapointed customer, than an injured one.. I hope you can understand that side of it KeysDrifter..