A ScubaBoard Staff Message...
this thread has been split off from a side discussion in the Accidents and Incidents forum as it is discussing a totally different dive from the actual incident. Marg, SB Senior Moderator
The difference is between what constitutes foolishness/stupidity and what constitutes a calculated risk.
Today I went cave diving and before taking my rebreather down into the cave (having carried everything else down a long way), oooops, I realised I left the tapperware box with the rebreather Secondary pPO2 monitoring system + the Dive Computer + the Bottom Timer in the garage.
After a bit of pondering, I chose NOT to dive rebreather on Primary only (that was a quick and easy decision), unclipped the rebreather from the sidemount harness/buoyancy system, and went diving, on scooter, sidemount, with no Dive Computer, and no Bottom Timer, in a cave (solo).
Went in 600 meters, then back out 400 meters, then back in 200 meters, then back out 200 meters, then recovered the jump line, then around and about here and there within 250 meters of the entrance,
then went exploring a line the very last bit (leading to a small dry chamber) I never dared to follow before with the rebreather due to size/buoyancy considerations, and then got out (having had more fun than if I had done my otherwise planned exploration rebreather dive for the day).
That was a calculated risk. The cave was known to me. The lines were known. The depths were known. The distances were known. I had trained before to handle a situation with no electronics whatsoever (i.e. total electronic failure). I had never done this actual dive this way before (without Dive Computer/Bottom Timer) and was wondering what could it be that I had not taken into account in my risk assessment, but it turned out that nothing occurred which had not been accounted for and contingencies planned for.
On the other end, to take your minor son who had no prior dive training whatsoever into a cave environment for which you as an adult had no formal training whatsoever, and had no way of knowing what to expect or what not to expect, and how to risk assess the environment, is pure stupidity/foolishness/death-wish (as in the specifics of this sad incident).
You just cannot make a calculated risk (and accept the risks) when you are completely ignorant of the risks you are facing (i.e lacking cave training, the Dad, and any training whatsoever, the son).
Instead, if you know the risks, then you can make a risk assessment (i.e. not being able to know depth/time in my case) and then based on that risk assessment make an informed decision in respect of the risk you are prepared to accept.
