Deaths at Stoney Cove

[Rick Murchison]

Yes I agree entirely everyone should be able to make their own choices, and indeed should be responsible for their own actions.
But what about people that make irresponsible choices and inadvertantly endanger other well intentioned divers that might try to rescue them.
What about other people that may not receive attention from emergency services as quickly as possible due to them attending divers that caused their own problems through their own irresponsible actions.
Unfortunately your attitude and consideration towards other people here seems blinkered and totally selfish to me. An attitude that regretably nowadays more and more people seem to subscribe to.

I disagree that what String is saying has selfish motives, but that's irrelevant... Selfish shouldn't be illegal. Shunned, discouraged, socially unacceptable, perhaps, but not a government "area of interest." Being selfish - and accepting the consequences - is just part of freedom.
As for "inadvertantly endanger," I'd dare say that you'd be hard pressed to find a diver who endangers a rescuer on purpose. And a competent rescuer ain't going to let him/herself get endangered during a rescue attempt anyway, unless they decide to.
Emergency services must be professional enough to handle those who cry wolf without slacking up on those who are in real trouble. And as most emergency situations are due to "someone causing their own problems through their own irresponsible actions," that has nothing to do with the quality of the rescue attempt at all.
Rick

 

[TSandM]

You start down a very slippery slope, when you start to condemn people for making decisions you believe are unwise, and resulting in them needing emergency services.

I ride horses. Riding horses is intrinsically unsafe, because horses are living things and never completely predictable. I have been injured many times, and have required emergency services. You could argue that people shouldn't be allowed to ride horses (or rock climb, or skydive, or -- gasp -- cave dive) because the risks are too high and they might require rescuing. I don't believe that that kind of thinking has a place in the world. I am willing to pay taxes and insurance fees that allow myself and others to live active lives and take risks. I WISH people would use a little more discretion (riding dirt bikes when deeply intoxicated has consequences that have kept me up all night more times than I like to remember) but overall, I'm glad we are allowed to make mistakes, because I don't want the government drawing the line between reasonable risk taking, and rashness.

 

[jhupka]

what do you teach people to do when they do not wear a weight belt?

What about when there is no loose weight required for that person to stay down?

 

[Rick Murchison]

what do you teach people to do when they do not wear a weight belt?

What about when there is no loose weight required for that person to stay down?

As this discussion has ranged from the bottom to the surface, where? If on the bottom they should be at or near neutral and a gentle displacement upward will establish an ascent all the way to the surface. If on the surface, establish positive buoyancy by the easiest means available - most of the time with the BC.
Rick

 

[phantomrfa]

I have just found this thread ,and would like to say ihave not read all the posts..But haveing been someone how has dived stoney .The Quarry is very cold and dark at the best of times ,it has 3 levels of depth .O.W/AOW/ and tec >under 20,30, 40.my last trip was in feb 09 i counted 6 free flows while i was haveing tanks filled .JUST PLAN DIVES BETTER and stick to your buddy(2 fin kicks and there out of sight ) please dive safe

 

[String]

Stony is an easy site. At most its 35m deep, most of the rest substantially shallower. Its no darker, no colder, no deeper than any other inland dive site - its a bog standard quarry. However, it IS one of the most popular so the number of divers alone mean you'd expect it to have more incidents than elsewhere.