Bahamas: Missing Female Diver

[Amazz]

I was very ready to tear them a new one. However......being into customer service......I didn't want to SCREAM at two people who paid a ricidulous amount of money for rental gear and fees for tanks and two dives. I also didn't want to yell at them in front of other customers and possibly ruin their trip. I pulled them aside and put it very delicately. I was sooooo pissed but played it as best as I could. I said that I was extremely concerned that he breathed his tank down to 300 psi at such a depth, that buddies need to stick together and follow the dm lead no matter what, if it doesn't feel right you need to abort the dive and your buddy needs to follow and understand, blah blah. Since there were two divemasters I "allowed" them to make a second dive. It was discussed with the capt. He was willing to bench them. I knew the second dive was much easier. I was on him like a leech. Interestingly, throughout the entire dive he was using his point and shoot and never once looked at his pressure guage. I definitely noticed and monitored if for him by looking over his shoulder. Unbelievable. I think there is also the danger of divemasters getting too familiar with the diving and forgetting that water can kill. What seems like ordinary drift diving and 80 ft. can be extremely dangerous for those diving after their initial dives on the 30 ft. Key's reefs, like Molasses.

 

[Amazz]

There is no excuse for this. I don't know where the divemaster was, but what about personal responsibility? They took a class and learned the rules. Should a divemaster be obligated to sink below recreational limits to rescue these divers who obviously had no regard for established rules or personal safely? 143 feet isn't so wicked, but what if it had been a little deeper. Sorry, I don't go that deep. Kudos to the fellow diver who saved them. Yes, he did save them. They just don't realize it.

 

[Web Monkey]

Nope....what am I supposed to say to my students? Hi, I know that you can get your scuba certification anywhere else in a weekend, but I want you to really know what you are doing before I dump you in 80 ft. of water in a 3 knot current.

That would work nicely.

Terry

 

[scubadada]

Are we ever going to get the facts concerning this catastrophe? This is one of the longest threads I've ever kept up with.

Good diving, Craig

 

[jkaterenchuk]

before I dump you in 80 ft. of water in a 3 knot current. :-(

Have you ever dumped anyone in a 3 knot current? Ever been in one yourself? I would think not....if someone took new divers into a 3 knot current they would need to be held criminally responsible and I do not think their training agency and insurance provider would be backing them up on that one.

John


I just reread my post and by using Amazz as a quote it reads differently then I meant. I was not directly saying that Amazz would do this or has not been in a 3 kt current rather I was posing the question more generic to anyone in a DM or Instructor position.

 

[DocIndyDiver]

If they want to dive and have health issues they are going to lie on that medical statement. Isn't really just like another liability release?

In that Bahama video, OMG are those two just kids? And to think PADI is certifieing 10 year olds.

Not to open a bag of worms but, what is a good PSI to leave a 100ft...1250? on a good day.

 

[DocIndyDiver]

Are we ever going to get the facts concerning this catastrophe? This is one of the longest threads I've ever kept up with.

Be patient it's like having the FAA investigate a plane crash on Bahama time.

Interviews were not even done before parties left the island.

By the way the cause of death will be drowning they always are.

 

[DocIndyDiver]

Have you ever dumped anyone in a 3 knot current? Ever been in one yourself? I would think not....if someone took new divers into a 3 knot current they would need to be held criminally responsible and I do not think their training agency and insurance provider would be backing them up on that one.

Happens all the time here on the south east coast of Florida "that's how we do it." (there's always current there)
The problem arises when we have new divers that have never jumped off a boat into real open water. They were certified in a spring, quarry or under a bridge. The worst conditions I dove in were my OW class in 4-6+ft. seas. All skills were done even at the surface. It was PADI! but, years ago. In my opinion if your teaching near the ocean get them in the ocean.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

Have you ever dumped anyone in a 3 knot current? Ever been in one yourself? I would think not....if someone took new divers into a 3 knot current they would need to be held criminally responsible and I do not think their training agency and insurance provider would be backing them up on that one.

John

Are you challeging the veracity of her statement?... 3 kts is not uncommon there. I've dived in over 4 kts in that area.


Edit: he beat me to it...

 

[Amazz]

I used this statement as a reference if I were to ever become an instructor and bring students on a dive in Jupiter where currents are frequently unpredictable. No, I would never dump students into a current like that. I'm not an instructor and will never be. Have I ever been diving in a 3 knot current? Yes, a few times. Once at Wolf, once in Fiji, and a few times at Hole in the Wall. It's nasty and nobody should do it. I don't know if it was exactly 3 knots at Hole in the Wall but pretty damn near close from calculations from the captain as far as where we dropped in and where we were picked up and the time involved.

Actually, our divemaster in Galapagos told us our current was pushing 5 knots at Wolf that day. He said it was about the worst he had ever seen. I can't believe there aren't more accidents there. It was freaky. We barely saw the schooling hammerheads because we were flying through them!