How much does it bother you?

[TSandM]

I've been reading about the three divers lost in Florida, and then I got the news last night of a diver missing off Monterey. The fellow in California is somebody I "know", in that I've corresponded with him, and for some reason, that's really hitting me hard.

I keep imagining what it would be like to be lost, or stuck, or otherwise in terrible trouble underwater, and how awful and terrifying those last minutes would be.

Am I alone, or do these stories really shake other people up as well?

 

[Toolbox-13]

It is upsetting to me as well my condolences go out to the friends and family of anyone who looses their life in this wonderful sport we all love, but I think of it as when it is your time to go it doesn't matter what you are doing, I would much rather die doing something I Love than dieing in a car crash or some other tragity

 

[Fish_Whisperer]

They "crawl around" in the back of my mind, too. It's a stern reminder that, for all of the fun to be had, the risk is always there, and it's prudent to maintain a healthy respect for what we're doing, regardless of whether we are recreational, technical, or cave divers.

I'm sorry for the loss of your friend.ftroest:

 

[Wayward Son]

This type bothers me not at all. These 3 guys did something I wouldn't do, so I just can't put myself there in any emotional sense.

It's a little different when someone dies during what most of us would consider a "normal" dive, ie open water, not that deep, good conditions, no overhead, etc. Those strike closer to home.

 

[Cacia]

I find that that's the problem with thinking too much about safety.

Once you start to entertain yourself with those thoughts more than thinking about the fun aspects, you are really not in balance.

You are diving to have fun. It's fun because it is a bit dangerous...otherwise we would be playing scrabble. Make it totally safe and what's the point?

I was just saying yesterday on my dive with a few techies and JB, in some pretty rough surface conditions...25 mph wind? "I am going to stop reading about all those accidents". I became obsessed with how one wrong slap of a wave and getting tangled in my gear trying to get it off could make me sink like a big fat mishap...

When I die, I just hope it is glorious and not something stupid, like falling off the boat stuck in my hood with my weight belt around my ankles. I know that when it happens to me, I will be thinking "like THIS??*#!"

JB says when guys get shot, they always swear.

The way that I cope, is that I am not convinced it is really that awful if you can just stay PO'd. There are certain words that really do help. I suggest you stop thinking about how "awful" it will be and replace that tape with some good old fashioned expletives. I'm being serious, it works.

 

[Adobo]

Lynne,

I personally have to come to know and generally accept the risks of our chosen hobby. It is precisely why I choose to execute the dives I do in the fashion that I do. Some might even think of me as overly-cautious in some ways. And with all that, I still have managed 3 very scary experiences in my very short dive career. Go figure.

I do not personally know the diver that is "missing" but he is someone who is very well known in the NorCal dive community. I am praying for his safe return... not only for his sake but for the sake of his loved ones.

 

[do it easy]

I think it's a tragedy whenever someone dies. It makes me think of the tragic possibilities and risk that I assume, and how dying underwater would be a miserable, pain-filled end to an otherwise pleasant life.

I also consider the accident and frame it against the diving that I do. I wonder if I would have made the same choices or made the same dives. I wonder what I would or wouldn't do in that situation.

I'm planning a trip to Mexico in May, and it's actually making me nervous because I'll be vacation diving, in an unfamiliar environment, with or without buddies that I don't know, without gas redundancy (except for the possible instabuddy). Most likely, it will be fine; no one is forcing me to dive. To contrast, I have no reservations about doing 200' dives around here, but only because this is the environment that I trained in and gained experience in. My freshwater experience will help me in Mexico to some degree, but there are some risks that I just don't have experience with, such as currents or large predators.

 

[HBDiveGirl]

I've been reading about the three divers lost in Florida, and then I got the news last night of a diver missing off Monterey. The fellow in California is somebody I "know", in that I've corresponded with him, and for some reason, that's really hitting me hard.

I keep imagining what it would be like to be lost, or stuck, or otherwise in terrible trouble underwater, and how awful and terrifying those last minutes would be.

Am I alone, or do these stories really shake other people up as well?

It's shaking me badly, too, Lynne.

A big part of my last 2 years of learning has been visualization of problem scenarios, recognition of priorities, and choices of best solutions.

These deaths and loses unsettle me badly. These divers had hundreds of hours underwater. They had experience on their side. So I want to know what was missing. What did they not recognize? Or what happened that they didn't have the skills to overcome? What snuck up on them? How could they have perhaps planned better to avoid the unmanageable problem that cost each his or her life?

I can only try to learn and hope to recognize potential problems and head them off.
And keep practicing how to best respond the the most likely actual problems.
I can only do my best and try to learn what I don't yet know.

It unsettles me that some of these divers who died might have been doing the same thing... and lost.

Sometimes unmanageable fit really does hit the shan.

I work hard at paying attention, learning what I can, and respecting limits.

I love diving as much as I've ever loved any activity in my life.
I'll keep diving. I'll get better.

Yeah, it shakes me up.

~~~~~~
Claudette

 

[CBulla]

I don't think bothered by it so much as taking mental notes to stay within my training, use the computer between my ears, and most of all thank others for being a teacher. Without the teachers we all stand to repeat their errors... well, even with teachers we do, but usually under their guidance.

Not long after being certified, I had a dive shop friend die on a dive. I learned about what he was doing and what possibly occured.. The result is it set a mind set with diving that certain risks are not worth taking and to hone my skills as best as I can since I never know when I'll need them.

 

[The Chad]

I agree it's bothersome. Maybe for me it has something to do with the fact that I find diving peaceful and beautiful. Hearing of the mishaps puts peace and beauty on the back burner, and makes you go through the 100's of what ifs