Running with Scissors

[cloudswinger]

As I am progressing into & through technical diving (including cave), my instructor basically states this,.. "I do not advocate or encourage solo diving, but as a technical diver you should be able to handle any situation that may arise, where you may be forced to be a solo diver" (bad buddy, buddy seperation, incapacitated buddy....).- The "be prepared for any situation" motto. Just this spring when I went to Malaysia, I was basically on my own; part of the group, but no one's buddy,.... the odd man out. There was an even number of us on the boat, but one family of 3 absolutely refused to recognize me as a buddy or that I was really even there. They basically had the attitude of my wife/ husband/ daughter/ father is my buddy & no one else. I was informed of this from the very beginning. Not diving really wasn't an option (it is,... but I had paid good money to see what I saw), so I looked at every dive as a solo dive. I would take note of the environment, dove well within my limits & went throuigh the list of "what if's" that I could encounter out there. I hung close to the group (as there were others who would have been glad to offer assistance, if needed, but did not want another person as a buddy). In the end, I'm glad I wasn't buddied up with this family, as they proved to be very poor divers (reef care, buoyancy control, situational awareness), as they only vacation dive 1-2 times a year. Should I be beaten with a wet noodle for solo diving? I guess that would be in the eye of the beholder. Should newly minted divers be taught to be more self- suffiecent? Yes, I agree with that part, should they be encouraged to solo dive? No, I don't agree. 99.9% are not experienced enough to handle the "what if's" if they should occur. Knowledge & application can be 2 entirely different things. Maybe a bit off topic, but on the fringes of it, non the less.

I wonder if there is a cultural aspect to that family not wanting to break up into pair buddies. It's probably hard for the father to let his daughter or wife be paired up with any stranger.

On the flip side, I've been diving with my husband and another buddy, so basically a threesome. The two of them are both much more experienced then I am, stronger swimmers etc. So they end up either swimming up ahead, although the buddy is into photography, so at least he stops every once in a while. But really, its more like a group of solos than anything really buddy-like.

I teach self defense, and my basic thing is that your brain is your best defense. Stay calm, evaluate the situation, and react appropriately as trained. It takes a lot of training to not just freeze(or panic). This principle applies to everything, driving, child rearing, diving, etc. Really, though, to me the big issue is that you can't teach common sense. People are seriously lacking in self-preservation and common sense. My husband called a dive because the boat dropped us on a reef next to a rock in water that had too much surge, which was pushing us onto the rock. We basically overruled the DM(he was being indecisive, still trying to find the reef for us), and the other couple followed us back to the boat. Now the other couple was less experienced, wife was struggling a bit with bouyancy(the surge was not helping at all, she was literally banging against the rocks, and didn't have the sense to move around the side to not be banging on the rock), but was still hesitant about not following the DM and just heading back to the surface/boat.

I can't really add to the PADI discussion, other than that little insight. Is there any portion that really emphasizes the dangers? I know in my class, we watched a video on some people cave diving when they were not prepared, and it really gave me a lot of insight to the dangers. It didn't really scare, well maybe a little, but just seeing how the decisions they made caused such a bad outcome made a lot of us think about it. Especially since we were relatively near the same area and I'm sure the instructors wanted to make that particular point.

 

[Rec2Tek]

The problem with using General Yeager as an examplar is that while I agree with that particular quote, he was guilty of just the sort of thing that gets solo divers killed, he was willing to endanger the entire program by piloting the X-1 with a broken rib, when he should have asked his backup to take the flight.

The irony of this post is just amazing

 

[speleodiver6]

The irony of this post is just amazing

You have no idea....

Dive safe,

Celia

 

[UCFKnightDiver]

 

[TSandM]

This thread was moved to the back room until Cave Bum's next of kin could be notified of his accident, and is now restored.

 

[LiteHedded]

shame...

 

[Kevin Carlisle]

shame...

Agreed!!