Master2008
New
This is a really old thread, but when I googled CSSP Terrell, TX, this thread came up and I just want to add my two cents worth....
The sad thing is that, besides the fact that a man who was a father, husband, son and maybe brother, passed away tragically, is that there have been people who under these kinds of situations have been found guilty of foul play. It's a horrible truth, but it does happen. I think maybe some folks were thinking about those times and simply posted here before considering the full impact.
No one really knows what happens except the people involved, and God. I'm not saying there was any foul play in this scenario and my heart goes out to the woman who lost her husband in these circumstances. To have to make the decision to leave or go is heart breaking. One day not long after we became certified, my husband went into Cisco, the "shark" at CSSP. I did not know it was possible to swim through and while he was inside, it started making a terrible noise. I was terrified he got stuck inside the thing and was attempting to get out, making noise as a way to ask for help. I was beside myself. I was signaling to my other diving buddies asking them what to do and while I think my panic was obvious to them, they knew Cisco was a "swim through." When my husband came out of that thing, I literally drug him to the surface and bleeped at him so loudly, they heard me at the other end of the lake. The whole time I was in a state of panic and I thought to myself, do I stay or do I go???? What should I do? No one had a flashlight because we were diving during the day and both me and my husband were wreck certified, so he never should have entered Cisco without a flashlight - a point I reminded him of. But I guess what I'm trying to say here is two-fold:
1.) as adults, we must understand that scuba diving can be life threatening and we must take all precautions seriously. while this is supposed to be a fun activity, we cannot be leisurely in our attitudes. taking every precaution to ensure a healthy and happy outcome is an absolute must. diving at CSSP without supervision after only 5 dives is probably not out of the question, but as a diver, you have to ask yourself, how comfortable am I doing this alone? if you have fears, you are not ready to go it alone. listen to your heart or gut or whatever driving force is inside you... it knows best.
2.) instructors need to impress upon their students the seriousness of this activity and strongly encourage more training before diving alone. especially in open "blue" waters. the focus of the classes tends to be on how much fun it is, and it is, but there is another side to it that for some folks, needs to be driven home.
If the man in this article died of a heart attack, it would have happened at some point, sooner or later. Hopefully, he was enjoying himself and doing something he loved when it happened.
I don't mean to fault anyone for their actions as I too have paniced when diving. Jumped off a liveaboard without my air hooked up to my bcd and nearly sank! Took me several minutes of panic to get my head together and think it through, all the while gulping ocean water and kicking frantically as my weights were pulling me down. Once I got safely back on board and calmed down, I replayed the scenario in my mind and realized I had made a stupid mistake. It could have been the death of me, but I learned an important lesson that day... keep my wits about me. No matter what, panic is not the answer. I guess that's why they use the "overload" method when training students to become instructors... gotta think everything through.
Anyway, that's all I wanted to say.
But I DO agree that this raises questions about how "qualified" divers are to go out on there own.
The sad thing is that, besides the fact that a man who was a father, husband, son and maybe brother, passed away tragically, is that there have been people who under these kinds of situations have been found guilty of foul play. It's a horrible truth, but it does happen. I think maybe some folks were thinking about those times and simply posted here before considering the full impact.
No one really knows what happens except the people involved, and God. I'm not saying there was any foul play in this scenario and my heart goes out to the woman who lost her husband in these circumstances. To have to make the decision to leave or go is heart breaking. One day not long after we became certified, my husband went into Cisco, the "shark" at CSSP. I did not know it was possible to swim through and while he was inside, it started making a terrible noise. I was terrified he got stuck inside the thing and was attempting to get out, making noise as a way to ask for help. I was beside myself. I was signaling to my other diving buddies asking them what to do and while I think my panic was obvious to them, they knew Cisco was a "swim through." When my husband came out of that thing, I literally drug him to the surface and bleeped at him so loudly, they heard me at the other end of the lake. The whole time I was in a state of panic and I thought to myself, do I stay or do I go???? What should I do? No one had a flashlight because we were diving during the day and both me and my husband were wreck certified, so he never should have entered Cisco without a flashlight - a point I reminded him of. But I guess what I'm trying to say here is two-fold:
1.) as adults, we must understand that scuba diving can be life threatening and we must take all precautions seriously. while this is supposed to be a fun activity, we cannot be leisurely in our attitudes. taking every precaution to ensure a healthy and happy outcome is an absolute must. diving at CSSP without supervision after only 5 dives is probably not out of the question, but as a diver, you have to ask yourself, how comfortable am I doing this alone? if you have fears, you are not ready to go it alone. listen to your heart or gut or whatever driving force is inside you... it knows best.
2.) instructors need to impress upon their students the seriousness of this activity and strongly encourage more training before diving alone. especially in open "blue" waters. the focus of the classes tends to be on how much fun it is, and it is, but there is another side to it that for some folks, needs to be driven home.
If the man in this article died of a heart attack, it would have happened at some point, sooner or later. Hopefully, he was enjoying himself and doing something he loved when it happened.
I don't mean to fault anyone for their actions as I too have paniced when diving. Jumped off a liveaboard without my air hooked up to my bcd and nearly sank! Took me several minutes of panic to get my head together and think it through, all the while gulping ocean water and kicking frantically as my weights were pulling me down. Once I got safely back on board and calmed down, I replayed the scenario in my mind and realized I had made a stupid mistake. It could have been the death of me, but I learned an important lesson that day... keep my wits about me. No matter what, panic is not the answer. I guess that's why they use the "overload" method when training students to become instructors... gotta think everything through.
Anyway, that's all I wanted to say.
But I DO agree that this raises questions about how "qualified" divers are to go out on there own.
