Self control.

[Zagnut]

.. by looking her up and down, there's NO way you can know if her weight is a result of poor self control. It could be her metabolism or some other physical factor that she has little or no control over...or it may be that she does in fact have poor self control...there's just no way to tell merely by glancing at her. Her weight says little about her skills or experience as a diver. There are people who are over their ideal body weight and are in good shape and are good divers. She may be a better diver than you... you just never know until you dig a little deeper and find out more about her skills and experience as a diver. You won't get that info by looking her over from across the boat. You can't really make a judgement call on her ability to be a decent dive buddy based soley on her appearance.

You said in your post you weren't judging anybody..but that's exactly what you are doing. You have made your decision not to dive with her without even finding anything out about her. Your decision was made entirely on her appearance..that IS "judging" her. Ultimately, you need to be comfortable with your buddy. If your not, then I recommend diving with someone else...but don't try to rationalize your pregudice aginst her weight with us.

 

[wetvet]

The real question is...."can the fat lady sing?"
Personally, I'm happy to dive with weak divers....the diving we do is usually not "limit pushing" stuff, and I can imagine how I would feel if someone on my dive boat died. Would definitely throw a wrench in the rest of the vacation.
I would rather be in a position to help someone who was more likely to need it. The only person who can get me into irreversible trouble is me. (again....low impact diving)
Im used to diving with students....some of who are VERY weak. I almost never dive in deco, and never yet in truly overhead environs....that is about to change, and I think I will be very careful who I dive with when I start (Just got my twins set up, ready to nitrox em ). Until then, though, I am always happy to dive with the fattest, smokinest, athsmaest, diabetic, neurotic, hungover arrogent divers on the boat. Just an opinion from another perspective.

Wetvet

 

[Rick Murchison]

Rick Inman once bubbled...
I would not like myself or my wife to buddy with her.
What do you think? I expect some defensive responses.

I think she shouldn't buddy with you. As for your wife, that's up to your wife.
Rick

 

[metridium]

Rick Inman wrote...
I respect this overweight lady for persuing her dreams, but if I am totally honest, I would not like myself or my wife to buddy with her.
What do you think?

Dive with whomever you're comfortable with, and don't dive in uncomfortable situations. Determining who and what those are is up to you alone. Anyone else's approval or disapproval is irrelevant.

As for your wife, I agree with Rick that it's her decision.

 

[leadweight]

Fat people have no self control, according to Rick Inman, so they should not participate in scuba diving.

This is the lamest thing I have ever heard on this board.

There, you have been flamed.

 

[jonnythan]

leadweight once bubbled...
Fat people have no self control, according to Rick Inman, so they should not participate in scuba diving.

This is the lamest thing I have ever heard on this board.

There, you have been flamed.

I was trying to think of a way to say exactly that without completely bashing ol Rick.

I couldn't.

 

[mars2u]

Rick Inman once bubbled...

If a person does not have the self control to take care of themselves, do I really want to dive with them as a buddy?... If they're so out of control that they're 100 pounds overweight are they really safe for themselves and others to dive?
... but if I am totally honest, I would not like myself or my wife to buddy with her.
What do you think? I expect some defensive responses.

Man...talk about not making friends...whew

I'm not going to even go there. I'm hoping that you are being misunderstood and you did not express yourself they way that you intended. I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt... I HOPE you were misunderstood and your intentions were not to offend.

On the other hand...you might want to consider creating another account and not use this one anymore.

 

[Northeastwrecks]

nt

 

[WreckWriter]

leadweight once bubbled...
Fat people have no self control, according to Rick Inman, so they should not participate in scuba diving.

This is the lamest thing I have ever heard on this board.

There, you have been flamed.

Is that REALLY the lamest thing you've heard? Lamer than DIL?

I think you took Rick a bit out of context or at least bought more than he was trying to sell.

However, let me interject my own ever popular opinion.....

There's a big difference between being a few pounds overweight and being fat. Folks who belong to the first category can certainly be good divers and can be persons who are in excellent physical shape, strong, and have good endurance.

Persons in the second category are a different story. Fat, to my mind, is the same as obese or grossly overweight. If someone is 5'5" and weighs 200 lbs (or any ratio similar), they have no business diving or participating in any activity in which the safety of another person is dependent upon their physical prowess.

I dived with quite a few "fat people", I've met exactly ONE who was a good and safe diver in my opinion. And yes, my experience has shown me that a very large percentage of fat people do not have glandular problems, they just eat too much.

Flame away, you're just pissing yourself off.

WW

 

[runvus4]

While I can see how an overweight person may have caused you to start the train of thought, my personal gauge is not the weight/size of a person, but a quick judge of their fitness and ability. Sure you can't really judge a person's fitness/ability very well in a few minutes or by just viewing their physical stature, but there are some signs you can keep an eye out for, say for example if they need excessive assistance with their gear, if they get excessively winded bringing everything of the car to the boat, etc.