So, what actually KILLS divers?

[James connell]

Uncle Pug once bubbled...

Awhile back a local instructor died after a his inflator stuck open sending him to the surface with a deco obligation unfulfilled. It is only speculation on my part but I can't help but think that disconnecting the inflator hose was not second nature to him.

you've been in cold water before - if he was down long enough to get into deco, he had probably been deep as well your hands can get pretty cold at depth that meens numb and in a 7mm glove it can be pretty darn hard to do hat kind of tasks.
part of the prob is the tendancy of hose makes to use a small nurled section, it's much harder to get a grip on. i try to find inflator hoses with the easiest to grab/work release i can.

it's also one of the skills i practice a lot, more so than any other - it's the most likely equipment failure to occure.

 

[Dive4Life]

You should always make a point to practice certain skills on your dives. While underwater you should be just as comfortable with you gear as if you were on land. Take five minutes out of your dive so that you and your buddy can practice an underwater bailout, donning or just disconnecting equipment underwater. A good saying is that if it can go wrong it will go wrong. This is just a personal philososphy that I practice and will continue to practice for the remainder of my diving life.

 

[GearHead]

What actually KILLS divers??

IMHO, the absolutely best, most effective thing for killing divers can be summed up in one word: PANIC

 

[BlueGirlGoes]

Don't people PANIC because they don't know what is happening or what to do? I'd put most panic down to inadequate training, not knowing what to do in a worst-case scenario....

 

[GearHead]

BlueGirlGoes once bubbled...
Don't people PANIC because they don't know what is happening or what to do? I'd put most panic down to inadequate training, not knowing what to do in a worst-case scenario....

The causes of panic are many and varied, but the result of panic underwater is very often fatal. Once you panic, you lose the ability to problem solve. You switch to "Fight or Flight" mode, neither of which work toward keeping you alive underwater. In my mind, reasons aside: PANIC = DEATH.

 

[totalangel]

BlueGirlGoes once bubbled...

4. Run out of air and panic.

How in the hell does this happen? Do these people not have gauges or what?

I was dumbstuck when I heard this story...

Co-worker of mine just got back from Jamaica where he and his wife did their very first dive. He tells me that when the class entered the ocean, the dive master came around, checked their air, and then put each diver's SPG in the BCD pocket. My reaction was "The DM did what????" :wacko:

Just practice your skills on every dive - especially when you haven't been in the water for awhile. My buddy and I make a habit of running through the basic skills at the beginning of every trip. It doesn't take that long. Practice reinforces the correct behavior.

Based on what I learned from my Rescue class - most divers die because they run out of air and hold their breath on their emergency ascent. So, as most of the others have pointed out - Stop, Think, Breath, Act.

BTW BlueGirlGoes - Mermet Springs is one of the best places fairly close to St. Louis to dive. Visibility isn't always the greatest and it's not the Caribbean, but it's a well-run and very friendly setup. If you haven't tried it, might want to check it out.

TotalAngel :angel: