Trusting Your Equipment......

[McLovinIt]

If it's going to change, then she's going to have to change it herself. Last thing I want is to talk her into something and her have a bad experience! I have worked with her as far as bouncing down to 30 or 40 feet or so. She has fun doing what she does, so it's no particular problem. I was just wondering if this is a normal issue or if she's just a little....ODD.

 

[SailNaked]

The record for cave penetrations is over 6 miles., I think if the equipment was not reliable this would be impossible. at a minimum you need to be within swimming distance of your buddy on a single breath of air, and better yet you should be able to swim to your buddy on no air. as a last ditch thing air expands as you go up, so your lungs will too I did it once from 60 ft, (dont do this). and was able to breath out on a single breath all the way to the surface. If you need to know you have a backup handy in less time than you can swim to your buddy then carry a backup.

 

[LeadTurn_SD]

I have a problem trusting my life to equipment, that's what emergency planning and practice is all about.

1+.

There is nothing wrong about thinking about "what-if's" when it comes to diving, and think through how you would handle various problems. Equipment failures, while exceedingly rare with properly cared-for gear, can happen.

But, feeling strong apprehension when below 20 feet sounds more like discomfort with being underwater in the first place, and the fear of equipment failing is just the excuse for the underlying fear. She needs to come to grips with whatever her real fear is.... the equipment thing is not a valid fear.

I think Nemrod's suggestion about free diving is actually a really good one. Most folks with just a little practice can free dive deeper than your friend scuba dives.... if she can get to that level (not hard), then maybe she'll have more confidence knowing that she can get herself to the surface even if her equipment does fail.

Best wishes.

 

[Thalassamania]

The planning and execution for that six mile cave dive was entirely based on the consideration of gear failure emergencies.

 

[tight rope walker]

That's why I believe it is an easier transition for a freediver/snorkeler to become a diver, than say a person who has just walked in off the street.

Atleast sometimes.

 

[DCBC]

A friend of mine has a problem with depth over about 20 feet or so. Just wondering how many people had issues trusting their life support equipment when they first started diving.

Some people are more comfortable in the water than others, but I don't think that this is the problem with many people who feel this way.

There are some sports (like snorkeling) that the snorkeler's envelope is based upon his/her ability to swim underwater and decide when it's right for them to go to the surface. The surface symbolizes "safety." The snorkeler is only dependent on their personal ability.

Enter SCUBA and depth. The person has to make a transition in-that the "surface" does not provide the safety blanket, as it once did. The diver becomes dependent not only on themselves, but their equipment and buddy. Some people have difficulty with this more than others.

I've had students like this. I normally discuss how dependent they are on technology without them often realizing it. The brakes of your car, flying on an airline, are but two examples.

The instructor has to convince the student that safety lies with their training, equipment and buddy. The surface is no longer the holy grail. If your friend can understand and accept this, he shouldn't have a problem once he realizes that he can depend on those things. If not, there's always Bowling.

 

[redacted]

I don't have any "life support equipment". But I do have a bunch of scuba regulators and BCDs, any one of which could fail during a dive with little or no threat to my life.

I trust my equipment because I know how it works, how it is maintained, how it could fail, and how I would deal with any failures. I would really hate for a good dive to be unnecessarily interrupted by an equipment problem and it has never happened in almost 900 dives.

 

[DCBC]

I don't have any "life support equipment". ...I would really hate for a good dive to be unnecessarily interrupted by an equipment problem and it has never happened in almost 900 dives.

It sounds like you are indeed fortunate... Failures do happen, regardless of how well the equipment is maintained, or how well versed you are in its operation.

 

[Thalassamania]

...
Enter SCUBA and depth. The person has to make a transition in-that the "surface" does not provide the safety blanket, as it once did. The diver becomes dependent not only on themselves, but their equipment and buddy. Some people have difficulty with this more than others.

I've had students like this. I normally discuss how dependent they are on technology without them often realizing it. The brakes of your car, flying on an airline, are but two examples.

The instructor has to convince the student that safety lies with their training, equipment and buddy. The surface is no longer the holy grail. If your friend can understand and accept this, he shouldn't have a problem once he realizes that he can depend on those things. If not, there's always Bowling.

Here we part company (likely only a little). At the depth that I'm no longer completely comfortable performing an ESE, while my primary focus remains on my buddy, my secondary focus shifts to self contained bailout methodologies which means a shift in gear selection and emergency plans.

 

[redacted]

It sounds like you are indeed fortunate... Failures do happen, regardless of how well the equipment is maintained, or how well versed you are in its operation.

I have had failures. Just never any that interrupted a dive. When you know your gear, most minor failures can easily be managed so they don't interfere with the dive.