No Joke

[txgoose]

Thank you Trace! Don’t regret the post. I come here to brag about my family and to read from people with a lot more experience than myself. One is fun, one can potentially get me back to the surface when I might not have otherwise. (See now the thread can digress about how horrible a diver I am to ever get in a situation where I couldn’t reach the surface. Then _I_ can regret a post. )

 

[Charles2]

I'm glad you have faith in me, Pete! The offender believed the same. He wasn't trying to harm me. He had confidence in my ability to handle a closed post and assumed it would just be a funny joke. I was more perplexed by the breach of etiquette. We are taught not to touch anyone else's gear. Had I found it shut in the water, I would have just opened it. The only scenarios I could imagine the prank posing a legitimate threat would be some sort of rapid rescue or having to donate a reg on the way down. Unlikely, but messing around with other people's equipment and air supply has long been considered a giant faux pas. It's almost an unheard of breach of conduct. The diver just needs to learn that there is a time and a place for practical jokes.

For those who think the guy should be harmed or banned from participating in the sport, I was invited out by a friend who is a captain for a competing dive shop. I spent two days having an absolutely awesome time on a boat that I used to patron quite frequently before I started working for the shop I am currently teaching at. Sure. My friend could kick him off the boat, but then the diver would never have a mentor who can get him squared away. I would rather see him on my buddy's boat, learning from my friend who is a great guy, great captain, and diver. He's the third generation of a legendary diving family here in the 1000 Islands and nobody better for the prankster to learn from and perhaps grow into a diver who will become more thoughtful and responsible. We certainly aren't experts in mental illness, but I don't think the culprit is crazy. He's very well-educated academically, but not from the USA and I think his problem is that he's just young, dumb, and full of ... surprises.

@Trace Malinowski - Characterizing this prank as "No joke" is very appropriate. Your response is even better. It brings to mind the following quotation from Maj. Gen. John M. Schofield to the graduating class of West Point: "The discipline which makes the soldiers of a free country reliable in battle is not to be gained by harsh or tyrannical treatment. On the contrary, such treatment is far more likely to destroy than to make an army. It is possible to impart instruction and give commands in such a manner and such a tone of voice as to inspire in the soldier no feeling but an intense desire to obey, while the opposite manner and tone of voice cannot fail to excite strong resentment and a desire to disobey. The one mode or other of dealing with subordinates springs from a corresponding spirit in the breast of the commander. He who feels the respect which is due to others, cannot fail to inspire in them respect for himself, while he who feels, and hence manifests disrespect towards others, especially his subordinates, cannot fail to inspire hatred against himself. "

Let's hope this episode turns this young diver into "one of the best".

 

[caruso]

Dude it's not a "fluctuation myth" and duh of course the spg needle won't fluctuate if the valve is full open, that's the whole POINT of doing it. If the valve is closed, the spg needle will drop when the diver takes a breath off their regulator during the predive check. That's how you confirm your valve is in fact, OPEN. It's a REALLY simple concept.

It's not that simple really. Turns out the valve was opened just enough to make it seem like it was open on the boat, when it was actually just cracked open. So, because he was relying on just the SPG to confirm it, he had to do a CESA...Buddy fail notwithstanding.

My post that you quoted was referring to the test to determine if your valve is open versus closed, not open " a little bit". Not even understanding how or why somebody would open their valve a little bit and then just leave it there, unless they've got ADD and they're in the process of starting to open the valve and then say, a dolphin swims by and they focus on the pretty dolphin then turn back to their dive computer and set it for the correct Nitrox blend forgetting all about their tank with the partially opened valve.

 

[caruso]

Maybe somebody should get on the boat with Mr. Prankster, and while he's busy screwing with someone else's gear, add about 20 lbs of weight to his BCD, while swapping it onto an empty tank.

 

[tursiops]

My post that you quoted was referring to the test to determine if your valve is open versus closed, not open " a little bit". Not even understanding how or why somebody would open their valve a little bit and then just leave it there, unless they've got ADD and they're in the process of starting to open the valve and then say, a dolphin swims by and they focus on the pretty dolphin then turn back to their dive computer and set it for the correct Nitrox blend forgetting all about their tank with the partially opened valve.

It really doesn't matter HOW a valve gets opened only a little (although three common reasons are below), but rather that just looking at the SPG is NOT a sufficient test.

Common reasons:
1. Cracked open to see the tank pressure, and then left there.
2. Thought to be closed, but not quite.
3. The traditional and now discredited "open it all the way and back a little" done backwards to an already open tank.

 

[tursiops]

Maybe somebody should get on the boat with Mr. Prankster, and while he's busy screwing with someone else's gear, add about 20 lbs of weight to his BCD, while swapping it onto an empty tank.

I guess this is fun to write, but I'd advise against doing it. It would be hard to explain in court....

 

[Wookie]

It really doesn't matter HOW a valve gets opened only a little (although two common reasons are below), but rather that just looking at the SPG is NOT a sufficient test.

Common reasons:
1. Cracked open to see the tank pressure, and then left there.
2. Thought to be closed, but not quite.
3. The traditional and now discredited "open it all the way and back a little" done backwards to an already open tank.

It is not discredited. It is a rule improperly applied to some scuba valves. But if anyone remembers when the original Genesis valves came out, the ones with the green seats, that would get stuck on the back seat, it was critical not to leave the valve on the backseat when using it.

 

[tursiops]

It is not discredited. It is a rule improperly applied to some scuba valves. But if anyone remembers when the original Genesis valves came out, the ones with the green seats, that would get stuck on the back seat, it was critical not to leave the valve on the backseat when using it.

I haven't seen one of those in 20 years.

 

[Wookie]

I haven't seen one of those in 20 years.

That's about exactly right.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

I haven't read all the comments, but I commend Trace on keeping his cool, allowing the Captain handle it, and try to educate this guy so that his behavior changes and doesn't actually kill anyone in the future.

I don't know how I'd react, as I didn't react once when solo diving off a boat, got entangled, saw a couple divers from the same boat who took off when I signaled for help. One said "I wanted nothing to do with it". I was chill. Captain took care of it. Would I have been justified for yelling? Yeah, but then it would have escalated quite likely. But breaking out into a brawl on a boat is never the best idea. I just accept responsibility that I always have to be able to take care of myself period, whether I'm solo or with a team (as I can get separated from a team - telling me "don't do that" isn't helpful as I've seen it happen to DIR folks).

Same with pre-equipment checks. What if someone turned off my cylinders in an attempt to ensure nothing was leaking as a result of the purge button being pressed accidentally? No harm was intended. Not his business. But checking gear right before going in isn't optional.

Honestly, I have no idea how I'd react to someone doing this as a joke. I'd like to come up with a way to explain the potential severity of their actions so that their behavior changes. Not a simple task.