Tec Diving Records

Hi,

I'm new on this board and have been wondering about some questions pertaining scuba diving records.

Do you have any idea who is the youngest diver who went up to 100m deep?

Also, are there many OW instructors under 20 years old?

Munchingrocks:

Hi,

I'm new on this board and have been wondering about some questions pertaining scuba diving records.

Do you have any idea who is the youngest diver who went up to 100m deep?

Also, are there many OW instructors under 20 years old?

Click to expand...

The problem with positing personal bests is it ignores the mission that created the circumstance, and it invites impatient [young] divers to head down beyond their [knowledge] skills and ability.

You may discover the respondents find more satisfaction in knowing a dive was properly planned and executed within the accepted tolerances and standards of the diving community versus just some record setting dive you happened to survive.

The idea with Tec diving is to set safety trends, not ego-fueled records, to be an ambassador, not a daredevil, and to contribute to the community.

As far as the depth for a 20 year old instructor, you'd have to go deeper than 100m for that record. I would have to check an exact age to confirm, but I'm almost certain there was a recent dive by someone in that age range in the Caribbean that pushed beyond the 100m threshold, and who knows how many have done it who aren't talking about it.

Munchingrocks:

...Do you have any idea who is the youngest diver who went up to 100m deep? Also, are there many OW instructors under 20 years old?

Click to expand...

I don't know the answer to this, but I wouldn't think that this would be a big deal. When I was 18, I was a certified Instructor and while working (first diving job) did my deepest dive (on air) in a Cave at 280' (South Bight Blue Holes, Andros). The only big deal about that was that I survived the dive, so that made me happy (we were charting the cave system and it needed to be done). The thought wasn't in my mind that any depth record was ever age related.

Everyone dives for their own reasons, but setting records seem to involve too much danger and ego. These don't usually mix very well together and often results in tragedy.

I know of a commercial diver, who spent his 20th birthday in saturation at around 230 metres... he survived! LOL

Regarding instructors under 20... Can I assume the OP means open-water instructors?

I think the minimum age is 18 years with most sport agencies... one could look up the numbers I guess, but my guess would be that over the years since, say 1960, there have been thousands... and some of them survive to be much, much older too.

As others have suggested, the problem with depth records is that they lure people to do such dives without the proper training and equipment. Let's take your 100m dive as an example. It is possible to take a decent-sized tank of gas, blast down to that depth, and come right back up. The skill to do that lies within pretty much anyone who is a newly certified diver. There is even a good chance you will live to tell the tale and get your name listed in whatever record book exists for such things.

making a truly safe dive to 100m, with proper equipment, gas, and the the skill needed to deal with any emergency that might arise during the dive is another issue whatsoever. It does not require skill; it simply requires a rash disregard for personal safety. People who get the training for such dives usually aren't driven to set records like that, and they usually see them as pretty foolish.

The problem with records is that once an individual is obsessed with attaining one, they overlook their own safety and survival. The issue is whether one will notice the obsession before it is too late. This holds true across the board, not just diving, the more dangerous the record the higher the body count.

The irony is that the record doesn't count if you don't survive.




Bob
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Holds no records, but has been diving for 49 years.