What do we need to be safe divers?

[Foxfish]

Why wouldn't the BSAC incident reports show a high number of complacent or foolhardy experienced divers that wound up in a disaster?

The suggestion was just a hunch. Once divers become comfortable in the water and their diving skills became second nature the likelihood of panic leading to a disaster would be greatly reduced while diving within OW limits. As divers become more experienced they often get more advanced certification taking them out of the 'Basic Scuba Forums' category and into a category where the risks are higher.

 

[Insta-Gator]

A healthy dose of common sense is a good place to start.

 

[tracydr]

Bill,since cold water and ascents seem to be the area that concerns you greatly, have you considered taking GUEs drysuit and REC classes? You have some pretty good teachers right there in your local area to work with you. You could even take some private classes,if that feels more comfortable. I've heard that the REC level and drysuit classes are phenomenal.

 

[nimoh]

The suggestion was just a hunch. Once divers become comfortable in the water and their diving skills became second nature the likelihood of panic leading to a disaster would be greatly reduced while diving within OW limits. As divers become more experienced they often get more advanced certification taking them out of the 'Basic Scuba Forums' category and into a category where the risks are higher.

It may happen that some divers get more experienced and take more risks with their diving, but I don't see anything to support a theory that it happens often. Perhaps these same diver were taking greater risks straight out of OW, before they got more experience or advanced certifications.

--the following has been retracted---
I engage in cave diving and believe that with my training along with the fact that I practice what I have learned and that I stay within my (personal and agency prescribed) limits I am at no more risk than when I was a new OW diver doing 60 foot reef dives.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

it may happen that some divers get more experienced and take more risks with their diving, but i don't see anything to support a theory that it happens often. Perhaps these same diver were taking greater risks straight out of ow, before they got more experience or advanced certifications.

i engage in cave diving and believe that with my training along with the fact that i practice what i have learned and that i stay within my (personal and agency prescribed) limits i am at no more risk than when i was a new ow diver doing 60 foot reef dives.

wow..

 

[DarinJ]

My buddy (my 12-year old son) and I do our buddy check as taught during his OW course this June and then we have a shortened version for our final check before entering the water: "See, Breathe, Float". This gives us one last check that we both have masks on, regs in & BCs inflated enough for surface buoyancy. This way, we have regs in and gear all in place, except fins, when walking into our local lakes just in case one of us stumbles and goes down in the water. I'm guessing it would be just as useful on a boat dive...

 

[Edward3c]

Hi Bill,

A few comments.

What do we need to be safe divers?
What skills, equipment, and habits do we need to be safe divers? I am assuming that we (a) dive with a buddy; (b) stay within the recreational limits; (c) do not engage in deco-required diving (d) do not enter overhead environments.

A – Agree.
B – Depends what you call recreational. A BSAC Sports Diver on Trimix to 50m is recreational diving as far as I’m concerned.
C – Planed deco diving is integral to BSAC training for Sport Diver and above.
D – Nothing wrong in working ones way through a well broken-up wreck, but planned before getting in the water.

Obviously some environments are more challenging than others (cold, dark waters being more challenging than warm, tropical waters). So my proposal is that we need these skills for whichever environment we are attempting to dive in.

Are all these necessary to be a safe diver ? Are these sufficient? What if we have most of them but want to try a new environment?

Here’s my list. I personally think that the most important skill is the last two – also the hardest to learn.

Thanks to Lamont.

Skills
1) Clear mask
2) Remove and switch regs
3) Maintain buoyancy
a) near bottom
b) at safety stop – with / without line to hold or for visual reference
4) Horizontal trim as much as possible
5) Oral inflation at surface while maintaining buoyancy
6) Ability to share gas at bottom or during an ascent
7) Controlled ascent from various depths, also while sharing gas
a) using line or anchor chain
b) with line as a reference
c) no line
8) Ability to launch SMB
a) at surface
b) at depth
9) Ability to assess whether your weighting is appropriate
10) Ability to manage your gas during a dive. Ability to asses what your / your buddy’s gas usage would be before the dive.
11) Remove and replace all hose connections underwater
12) Doff and don rig underwater and at surface
13) Ability to assess if we or a buddy are impaired due to depth (nitrogen narcosis) or other reason
14) Navigation skills commensurate to the environment we plan to dive
15) Ability to assess situation to determine if it’s safe for us to dive with the skill set we possess at the time of our dive
a) gas usage
b) expected depth
c) visibility
d) current
e) boat lines
16) Ability to know when to thumb the dive

No’s 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15 and 16 are all part of normal training and students shouldn’t be signed-off if they don’t demonstrate competence.

No 2. I don’t agree with this as part of normal recreational diving. The greatest likelihood of a reg failing is just after its been flooded, so to remove without reason is inviting an incident.

No 12. Again I don't agree. Why on earth would a recreational dive remove their kit underwater.

No 16. Although I do agree, is a difficult one to teach, but we can lead by example and call a dive if we're not happy. I called one not too long ago because I wasn't dived up to 40m plus.

Equipment
1) A light appropriate for the environment
2) An SMB
3) Whistle, mirror
4) Air alert
5) Buddy communication (wet notes, slate)
6) Computer
7) Compass

No 1 yes.
No 2 sort of, in that I carry a DSMB and throw it up from various depths just to keep in practise.
No 3 No longer carry either.
No 4 A good sales gimmick, the only time I know when someone wanted to use it in anger they had no gas.
No 5 Yes, I carry a wet book.
No 6 Not mandatory, but a useful tool.
No 7 I wouldn't get in the water without one.

Habits
1) Stay within a few feet of your buddy
2) Good buddy checks: tug all hoses, air on?, tank straps OK?
3) Horizontal trim
4) Don’t disturb underwater environment
5) Continually check the compass or other underwater bearings
6) Breathe a few breaths from each reg shortly after entering the water
7) Breathe a few breaths from the primary while looking at the SPG to ensure air is on

No 1 – depends on the conditions, with vis 10m plus I’ve no issue with being 5m from my buddy.
No 2 – Fully support the buddy check, but you start to pull my kit about we won’t dive together.
No 3 – depends on the dive.
No 4 – Agree.
No 5 – Not if I’m using pilotage for navigation.
No 6 – Don’t see the point if you’ve checked your kit properly. Your increasing the possibility of a reg failure every time you remove it from your mouth.
No 7 – Isn’t this part of the buddy check?

Kind regards

 

[nimoh]

wow..

yes I realize it was a bold statement, however to point out training, practice and limits puts it a little bit on topic. A detailed discussion would probably go well off topic


well, I am going to go ahead and retract my previous statement based on a discussion in another thread

 

[billt4sf]

Bill,since cold water and ascents seem to be the area that concerns you greatly, have you considered taking GUEs drysuit and REC classes? You have some pretty good teachers right there in your local area to work with you. You could even take some private classes,if that feels more comfortable. I've heard that the REC level and drysuit classes are phenomenal.

Tracy:

We are planning to take GUE Primer when Beto returns from Mexico. The REC course is for divers just starting out, as I understand it. I didn't know they had a drysuit course, we will look into that.

We were also looking into the UTD courses, but they are far more expensive.

Thanks,

Bill