Drowning at Lake Rawlings

[hogair]

I did my open water at Lake Rawlings. I was with three others plus the instructor and it was decided that we would do all four dives in one day to save from having to come back on Sunday.

It was in the mid 90's and I was wearing a 7 mil plus not being in the best condition at 49 it was tough. I had to cut the last dive a little short due to being "wiped out".

 

[openmindOW]

Hogair, what agency (PADI, YMCA, SSI) did you get your Open Water Certification from? Is the Dive Shop you trained with still in operation?

 

[Colliam7]

I knew once I hit the submit button that somebody would burn me down over this post. Thanks NancyLynn for trying to shed some light on what I meant. ... What I wanted from my post was for people not to criticize them for going out and diving together despite their experience level. It would be easy to say they shouldn't have been diving together if they were so new at it.

I agree, that I do not fully understand JimmyC's response. I didn't take your email as suggesting you are in any way an expert, or that you were speculating on the cause of the event, rather it was a personal 'confession' of where and how you started. I think more than a few divers are in the same situation you were, and will hopefully read your post (carefully) and benefit from it. I did pool work in North Carolina during several weeks in October a few years back, and went to FL that December for my OW checkouts on a referral. Glad I did, because my checkouts were in the ocean, and the second day involved boat diving, so I felt I had experienced something well beyond the local quarry. But, I then didn't dive again for 5 months, until the next May, when my buddy (equally inexperienced) and I went to Rawlings on a weekday. We were the only ones there, and we went in the water and went diving, to practice and re-learn some skills. My 5th dive (after the four I did for OW certification) was a real challenge, with 1) weighting issues, and 2) skill issues (primarily, lack of skills long forgotten since my checkouts), and significant anxiety about 1 and 2. But if I hadn't done that, I may have comfortably cruised along into that region that too many newly certified divers end up in, the land of 'Never dove again'. The way that most of us learn after certification is through practice, and usually not with a 'more experienced' diver or dive professional. That may be ideal, but reality is different. Amaxey, thanks for your post. I hope others, inlcuding other newly cetified divrs, will read it.

 

[hogair]

I received my OW through PADI. And yes the Dive Shop is still in operation.

 

[JimmyC]

Amaxey,

I waxed you pretty hard and I apoligze. I won't offer explanations but will admit I was wrong and read your post off of center. If you read my response and you learn to take a few safe steps at a time you'll be fine. PM me if you wish, we can hook up at the lake and work together.

I'm just hard with students because like any other instructor, or diver who has a few dives in, I have had to bring up the "Out of Air Diver" and it grates me that folks do not remember to check their air every 2 -4 minutes. This is just an example whether blame is on the side of the teacher or student is another point.

I have seen instructors give out AOW cards for going 65ft in the quarry and I shake my head. I require students to do 75 - 100 ft to qualify a dive as a deep dive and preferably in the ocean. I stand by the fact that any diver can call a dive for any reason and we will all respect that decision. I believe in the buddy system and I believe in diving in my comfort zone. The fellow that taught me is gone from diving now, but imparted a lot of info on me and it was just plain old fashoned common sense about diving.

I still ask questions and I too am always learning.

I was wrong and let my personal feelings loose on the keyboard, If you dive safely and remember to take it in small steps you'll be fine, ask questions and the seasoned vets will help.

I just FREAKN' hate to see anyone get hurt in this sport and I always pray and hope that new divers in the sport get a great and enthusiastic instructor.

IMHO - I did not become an instructor to makee a ton of money, but rather pass on my knowledge to others to make them good sensible divers what ever level they obtain. I am very passionate about this sport and just want to develop quality divers. I have 2 rules I ask students to adhere to.

1) Dive because YOU want to and NOT because you are doing it to please someone else.
2) Dive in your comfort zone, get the education you need, and remember you have the RIGHT to so no and call any dive at any time for any reason, and above all . . . DIVE SAFE!

 

[Underwater Adventures]

I did my open water at Lake Rawlings. I was with three others plus the instructor and it was decided that we would do all four dives in one day to save from having to come back on Sunday.

It was in the mid 90's and I was wearing a 7 mil plus not being in the best condition at 49 it was tough. I had to cut the last dive a little short due to being "wiped out".

I think I would find a new instructor for any future training...

RSTC guidelines clearly state that only 3 (three) OW dives may be performed in one day! If your instructor did indeed have you make four dives in a day they were in direct violation of not only the RSTC but PADI standards.

...just my suggestion

 

[amaxey]

JimmyC: Thanks. I appreciate your sincerity. I hoped you had only misunderstood my intent, and in that case I certainly understand your reaction and appreciate your feelings on it.

I know that some of the tongue in cheek sarcasm of my post may not have been apparent. I didn't want anyone to take the outrageous story of my initial dive training as bragging. I wanted everyone to see it through the eyes of a complete newbie. I only speak of it now and tell that story because I can still remember what it was like to be brand new with no diving knowledge at all. I have enough experience now to understand how bad it was. I did some scary stuff. At the time, it didn't seem scary, I thought it was normal, but when I look back I am shocked that I didn't get hurt. God help us if others could be taking my same path.

I've since taken OW again, with instructors closer to home. Some fine folks let me do it over with them, mixed in with a group that I was involved with. Long story, but I got to repeat OW again, and with a new agency and instructors. That was a great experience.

I'm a different diver than I was 4 years ago when all this happened.

I keep my original C-Card and use it whenever a C-Card is needed. I'm a little ashamed of it, but do it as a reminder to myself not to be complacent. Even though I'll do my 100th dive next week, I won't update my card that says "5 or more logged dives" in hopes that someone will see that and warn me about some possible danger a new diver might not be aware of. It hasn't happened yet, just like "Check ID" rarely works when written on the back of my credit cards, but I'm hopeful.

I think seasoned divers should speak up and not be afraid to see a dive or dive conditions through the eyes of a newbie (at least when in the presence of a newbie). A platrom, 30ft down in dark cold quarry water is scary to a newbie....to a veteran it's the wonderful warm area above the thermocline and it is welcome relief after a long dive.

I have learned that a C-Card isn't a license to dive. It lets me get my tanks filled and get weights at my favorite resort, but doesn't mean I am explicitly qualified to go on any dive I want. I would like other new divers to know that too. It took a couple close calls for me to realize that. It's easy to get in trouble when you don't know what you can't do. That's what happened to me.

I have a wreck card. It has my picture and says I'm a wreck diver. I have a reel, and two lights. The DVD said "Wreck diving is fun and rewarding. yada yada yada" If I was younger and bulletproof, I may think that card was a license to go wreck diving. I can legitimately say "I passed the test and I have the equipment....I'm a certified wreck diver". I'm smart enough to know the bus at lake rawlings is not a "real" wreck, but as a newly minted diver I might think they're all that easy. That's how people sign up for dives they aren't ready for.

The things that almost got me hurt were NOT knowing my limits and believing whatever I was told. If I were an instructor, I would tell students just what you said: Take small steps. Explore your limits, don't push them. I would also caution against taking the advice of a dive professional who doesn't know you or your skills. I let myself be talked into dives because the DM was going to be "my buddy". That didn't make them safe.

In the interest of staying on topic: My intent was to say that my training prepared me for the test but not for diving with a buddy at my same experience level. I know not to fault new divers for getting themselves into trouble because it happend to me, and I had no intent of inviting trouble. Training can be done quickly and human interaction can be minimized with the use of online training and DVDs. That bothers me because a few more hours of time with an instructor and a few more scary war stories from experienced divers would have made me a safer newbie.

Al

 

[Dr Neil]

One thing about the diving community is that when tragedy strikes, it hits very close to home for all of us. The potential for a serious diving accident is only one wrong move away for any diver.

Lake Rawlings is a great training facility. My son & I were certified 10 years ago at Rawlings. We did our first 30 dives at Rawlings. I felt very safe diving there with a teenage dive buddy because the quarry provided a sense of security. We had to start diving somewhere to gain experience and Rawlings provided a familiar body of water. I am assuming that the divers in this instance chose to dive Rawling for this very reason.

Was the drowning the direct result of improper or insufficient training? Perhaps.
Could the accident been avoided? Again, perhaps.

By analyzing the accident, the diving community can learn how to reduce the chance of it happening again.

However, the diving industry has changed dramatically over the past few years. Just watching instructors at Rawlings, it's not hard to pickout the thorough instructor versus the hurry-up get it over with quick processor of uncertified divers.

Most student divers don't know the difference when they sign-up for their OW class.

It becomes painfully obvious when one goes to a busy place like Rawlings. You see one class where the instructor not only does OW skills on a platform, the class actually leaves the platform and completes a "regular" dive. While another class with an instructor representing the same certifying agency surface swims to a platform, decends to the platform, runs the class through the skills, ascends to the surface, and maybe snorkles back to the entry point.

So which group of students had the better instruction? One cannot judge conclusively based upon a casual observation.

The primary key is what the newly certified diver does after the required certification dives. The recent incident at Lake Rawlings had a tragic ending, but at least the divers involved were attempting to gain experience at a place where dive conditions are generally good and well within the level of difficulty of the novice diver.

I hope the spirit of the diver who lost her life stays a Rawlings and looks out for all of us who choose to dive there.

 

[clymber]

I did my open water at Lake Rawlings. I was with three others plus the instructor and it was decided that we would do all four dives in one day to save from having to come back on Sunday.

It was in the mid 90's and I was wearing a 7 mil plus not being in the best condition at 49 it was tough. I had to cut the last dive a little short due to being "wiped out".

Hogair, when was this? I took an AOW with a Richmond dive shop about six weeks ago, and had the same experience. We did four dives in one day, and each dive was about 5-10 minutes long. The class was an absolute joke as far as PADI standards go. (Minimum 20 minutes or 50cf air consumed per dive, no more than three dives in a day, etc).

I reported my concerns to PADI who wanted me to provide them info on the instructor. To avoid rocking the boat, I didn't provide PADI with the instructor number, but instead talked to the local dive shop directly. The local dive shop promised me that they would correct the problem, and let me redo all the dives, so I let it go. If this is the same dive shop and they're still doing this, I think I might have to rethink that.

 

[hogair]

It was July 2007.

You know, I read the book and watched the video and did my class time and passed the written test and not knowing better did the four dives in one day. Granted, it put me to the test but I did it. I proved the instructor from St. Maarten wrong that I probably couldn't get through it because of my "life experiences".

My only regret is that the last dive which should have been the most enjoyable dive since all the skills were over and all we had to do was to swim around and enjoy scuba, but I was just too tired and it lasted only about 10 minutes. The previous three dives were solid 30 minute dives but must remember that we had a few ascents and descents mixed in for skills and to discuss upcoming skills.

I will add though, with it passing dive I look forward to the next and each one is more enjoyable than the last.

I'll send you a personal message on the other information.

Hogair