Student drowns in scuba class off Pompano

[CBulla]

PhotoTJ once bubbled...


Every time!

And as you stated earlier, not the faintest inkling about scuba. I've seen a lot of stories written by someone not familiar with the material write a story on it and stick it on the AP newswire to "be the first one" to break it out. The real story will be out in a few days when someone knowlegable writes about it.

 

[Dyno Bill]

Its tragic when we hear about losses of this nature. This is a sport that we as a community have come to love, or we wouldnt put ourselfs through all the work and stress involved to persue it. Talking about assistants, when I was in the DM program the dive shop that I was training through did a lot of classes in the divers park in Avalon on Catalina Island. There were a lot of instructors there without an abundance of help. I was shared, almost passed around between several classes, I had a lp 95 in shallow water as is expected for OW classes and just stayed wet for 2 or three class sessions at a time. Got out and got a fill and wet again. Its hard to get help when pay isnt included in the process. As for the unfortunate woman, no one has even considered the possibility that she may have had some kind of medical event like a stroke and just lapsed into state of unconciousness. I'm not saying that thats what happened but it is a possibility. We as the diving community wont know until the coroners report is made public. Gods speed to those touched by this tragedy.
Bill....Dive Safe

 

[cornfed]

Dyno Bill once bubbled...
As for the unfortunate woman, no one has even considered the possibility that she may have had some kind of medical event like a stroke and just lapsed into state of unconciousness. I'm not saying that thats what happened but it is a possibility. We as the diving community wont know until the coroners report is made public.

No one considered it because it wouldn't change anything.

Cornfed

 

[BIGSAGE136]

My prayers for everyone involved in this. This is a sad event, period. But what can be learned? Lets hear from some pros on
what must be done with this as a learning experience. How about some info to newbies who are about to sign up for this wonderful sport? Lets all make a move to have that life count for something important in the only way we can.

Its friday. Here's blowing bubbles at yous, and safe diving this weekend!

 

[learn-scuba]

GQMedic once bubbled...
It was mentioned in the thread about certified training assistants and such. One Instructor said there is no way they would take 6 students out with just the instructor.

I feel compelled to speak up here.
<snip>

Me too. SSI standard permit me up to 7 students without a DM, 1 DM for 8 or 9 and two for 10 -- I might be off by one or two on that as I don't "use" the standard because I prefer to keep my class sizes to 6 as a maximum as anything more than that tends to turn into a bit of a fustercluck.

Most of the time I am taking students into open water checkout dives with 80-100' of vis, so I'm not as concerned about being able to see them. For me it's all about control, not location. As GQ points out... it's all about detailed pre-dive briefing and making it perfectly clear to the students about what is expected of them. They also know that if someone has a problem and has to surface, then the buddy must surface right with them and the entire class must buddy up and do a controlled ascent. Students enter the water in pairs in front of me swimming side by side either holding hands or a guide line. They know where to go and what to do when they get there and they know exactly what skills we're going to do and what they are to do i nthe event of a problem (even lost buddy).

Like GQ notes... not everyone has the luxury of a long list of volunteers willing to babysit students for free. In this case instructors just have to be aware of potential risks and manage them through careful, detailed and intelligent planning and briefing.