Dangerous divers, redux

[The Chairman]

I triggered one at the end of the season years ago,

We used to do that to buddies during the dive who were rich enough to own one of those new-fangled BCDs. Some of 'em went up pretty darn quick. We had no idea what an embolism was and luckily we didn't experience any. Now, talk about dangerous!

 

[AfterDark]

I triggered one at the end of the season years ago, they’re filled with dry ice. It took five minutes or more to inflate. I could have drown and be reincarnated in the amount of time it would take for the BCD to inflate and produce enough boyuancy to stay at the surface.

If you need to be buoyant drop your weights or bring something to read, the cartridges are damn slow.

Sounds like you had a defective cartridge to me. I never had that happen to me and I fired two off every a year back in the days of old. I'd replace the cartridges in my grey UTD shorty vest once a year and fire off the old ones. That vest had 2 cartridges. Took seconds to inflate.

Also Rich I change the O rings on my valves once a year at time of VIP.

 

[Snoweman]

False vividness is a phenomenon of the internet. I can't tell you how many times I've been told that I was going to die over the years

One thing on this trip that I thought was funny: My dive buddy has always crapped on me for buying and lugging my own gear. His thing was, if you do the math, it's much cheaper to rent. He's right - on two counts: renting and checked luggage. But, I know no one has puked in my regulator. I know when and where my gear is serviced. Him? He's never had a problem with any rental gear... Until this trip. His depth gauge was off about 40'. He thought he was at about 100' and saw his daughter below him. He went chasing after her. Then, he realized there were folks below her. He checked her gauge, and she was at 90'.

Now, he is looking at buying a computer. Also, he is looking at a BCD and regulators. It's not a problem, until it is a problem. Can it be a problem with your own equipment? Of course! But, I am in control of my equipment and not relying on others to say it is still OK after 300 or more dives on it. Yes, I pulled that number out of my butt, but I know how many days and how many dives my equipment has between services.

 

[ystrout]

Should you have said something to him during the SI? Of course you should have!

You should have chatted with him and got to know him. That's what people do on charter boats. They be friendly and enjoy each other's company.

The guy didn't put any of you in danger. Not one bit. The only thing him steering with his hands does is make HIM go through HIS air faster. You're not obligated to go up with him....

I normally dive my own boat so am only on charters on vacation. But I just got back from the Keys/Jupiter and did 3 charter boats, everyone was super friendly. It made the trip so much better. I don't care that a photographer sunk down and kind of landed on me when we were at 90 feet on a drift dive. We quickly moved apart. I don't care that someone else got in my photo at the Chris of the Abyss statue. I'm sure I made a bunch of mistakes and got in people's way too. Enjoyable people won't get pissed off over it.

Everyone is just there to have fun. Don't take it so personally....

 

[The Chairman]

My dive buddy has always crapped on me for buying and lugging my own gear.

let him crap. Having your own gear allows you to learn faster because you've standardized what you're diving with.

 

[Snoweman]

Should you have said something to him during the SI? Of course you should have!

You should have chatted with him and got to know him. That's what people do on charter boats. They be friendly and enjoy each other's company.

The guy didn't put any of you in danger. Not one bit. The only thing him steering with his hands does is make HIM go through HIS air faster. You're not obligated to go up with him....

I normally dive my own boat so am only on charters on vacation. But I just got back from the Keys/Jupiter and did 3 charter boats, everyone was super friendly. It made the trip so much better. I don't care that a photographer sunk down and kind of landed on me when we were at 90 feet on a drift dive. We quickly moved apart. I don't care that someone else got in my photo at the Chris of the Abyss statue. I'm sure I made a bunch of mistakes and got in people's way too. Enjoyable people won't get pissed off over it.

Everyone is just there to have fun. Don't take it so personally....

I did talk to him. That's how I knew he had dove Coz ten years ago and his most recent dive was ten days before. He thought my fins were odd, and cheap looking.

I was happy that he went up before us, and I was happy to watch him until he made the surface. I, like the DM, was perplexed by his actions getting to the surface.

This guy wanted to be our dive buddy. He kept sticking close to us. Did he injure any of us? No.

Now..., when I was a young one, a neighbor used to take all of us kids to and from school. Years later, we found out she was an alcoholic. Was there a good chance she had been drinking before driving us to or from school? I think so. Was there an incident that happened because of it? Nope. Just because an accident didn't happen doesn't mean the situation wasn't ripe for it. As kids, we had no clue. As an adult diver, I knew to look out for the danger.

Because of the example of a diver friend, her dad had already warned the 13 year old about the dangers of flailing arms. She knew to keep more than arms distance from him.

 

[Snoweman]

let him crap. Having your own gear allows you to learn faster because you've standardized what you're diving with.

He is reluctantly agreeing with me, but I have not used your argument. I think he would tell me he is more diversified.

 

[Snoweman]

I’d have given the DM a blistering earful.

Marie - I am not that confrontational. Hence, the request on how to approach the diver. Had it been the beginning of the dive trip, I would have requested to be put on a different boat. I would not have berated the DM, though.

What I do find curious is the folks calling you out for not knowing all the facts, but not calling out my critics for the same reason. One poster said I was dangerous by my own admission, but didn't ask what mistake I had made.

Yes, we have all been novices. I think I am just graduating from the novice program (contrary to what other posters have thought - Go Globo-Gym!!!). Yet, there's being a novice and then something a little worse by not learning anything while diving. This guy had at least ten years of dive experience (by his own admission), and I can only wonder where he started if he had been improving all those years.

Thank you for your reply.

 

[GlennL]

I have dove with people that I thought were completely ate up. I have dove with people that I thought should really go back and take open water again. But at the end of the day I know I can take care of myself as a diver. So I’m not so much worried about joe shmo endangering myself. I have dove with people that I literally took control of and surfaced them. I have offered advice even though i myself am a rookie. I have even demoted myself to shlepping tsnks for a 70 year old guy who just wanted to relive his youth. I helped him gear up and when we dove I completely focused on helping him. I enjoy diving I want others to enjoy it too. Maybe that’s why I got my DM I don’t know, because I really don’t use the cert. but t I do try to have fun myself and make sure everyone else has fun.
And if you seriously think someone is a legitimate danger, then there are ways to TACTFULLY talk to them without being a douche.
By the way, why is it the DM’s fault the dude is ate up in your opinion? Unless you paid for a tour, having a DM in the water is just to making sure everyone comes up. Do you doubt your abilities as a diver to the point that you feel that you still need “adult supervision”?

 

[Snoweman]

By the way, why is it the DM’s fault the dude is ate up in your opinion? Unless you paid for a tour, having a DM in the water is just to making sure everyone comes up. Do you doubt your abilities as a diver to the point that you feel that you still need “adult supervision”?

Where did I say it was the DM's fault? In one reply I called the DM "completely competent" (or something like that).

I am not sure you read all of my replies to this thread. I don't doubt my abilities. I did worry about the 13 year old with less than 20 dives, though. We would try to maintain a reasonable distance, but the diver in question kept trying to close that distance (less than arms length).