New diver advice--what are the dangers?

[Skittl1321]

Also, reading through the accident section... Man it seems like somewhere almost every day or every other day someone dies relating to scuba.

I haven't finished my OW yet either... but I really got this same feeling reading the accident section. However, in the grand scheme of things, I think it is actually very very very rare. f you read through the comments many accident write ups are things that happened to the poster 10+ years before they post, they just wanted to share the incident and analyze it for the good of all those on the board. Additionally, many of the diver deaths are related to medical conditions (what do you call it when a golfer dies of a heart attack? A heart attack. Same thing for a scuba diver-> a dive accident).

Reading through the accidents/incidents forum you also get the feeling that every diver gets bent at some point and needs massive chamber treatment. My OW instructor has dove all over the world for decades, and he and the two other instructors said they knew of a SINGLE case where a dive buddy needed chamber treatment, and they all agreed it was due to the divers own stupid decision to ignore his computer.

I think for the most part, if you learn to do it properly, scuba diving can be a safe hobby. There are certainly ways to stretch the limits, but that is well beyond OW diving. It isn't 100% safe, but neither is riding motorcycles, surfing, rock climbing, ice skating, triathlons, etc.


And we were told that being able to see a shark is a -treat- and rare. (I still would probably rather not...)

 

[Colliam7]

And we were told that being able to see a shark is a -treat- and rare. (I still would probably rather not...)

More than a few new divers feel this way. But, after seeing one or more in the water, many people change. They are magnificent creatures.

 

[dishonored]

Thanks for all of the advice guys. I just finished my section one and assessment last night.
It is understood that a shark sighting it rare and a treat.
However, if on the rare occasion I would feel threatened by one getting to close. What should I do?
Stay still and what if it comes real close?
Turn my back and swim away or back pedal away?
Won't have a camera or anything so what do I use to nudge it away??

 

[PsyWulf]

Stay still and relax, or go straight down

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

 

[Skittl1321]

Thanks for all of the advice guys. I just finished my section one and assessment last night.
It is understood that a shark sighting it rare and a treat.
However, if on the rare occasion I would feel threatened by one getting to close. What should I do?
Stay still and what if it comes real close?
Turn my back and swim away or back pedal away?
Won't have a camera or anything so what do I use to nudge it away??

This is actually in the PADI book. You stay still, unless it is demonstrating aggressive behavior and you feel threatened, in which case, you swim away (keeping your eye on the animal, so you may be swimming backwards) on the bottom (if you are at a wall or just in the open, I assume this directive means, 'don't swim up and cross its path')

I wouldn't nudge it at all. That seems like it would just provoke a defensive response and put you in a lot worse scenario.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Or while keeping your eye on it slowly reach down and take out your dive knife. Then stab that guy who was being a pest on the boat and beat fins outta there. Shark will go for the one bleeding.

NOTE: THAT WAS A JOKE. MODS WITH NO SENSE OF HUMOR DO NOT NEED TO DELETE IT AND WHACK MY FINGERS FOR TYPING IT.

Damn shame I even feel the need to say that.

Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalk 2

 

[RJP]

However, if on the rare occasion I would feel threatened by one getting to close. What should I do?

Hopefully, you'll become the kind of slow, smooth, relaxed, calm diver that won't be perceived by a shark (and/or every other marine creature) as the typical flailing menace diver. When I was in Turks & Caicos, we'd be cruising along the wall slowly and would often see sharks coming the other way. The best course of action is to slow down (even more) and hold your line, letting the shark decide which way they want to go. They are curious but skittish, so don't give them anything to suspect that you are being aggressive. (Like suddenly changing directions/depth/motion.)

This big boy below cruised right passed my buddy who was able to calmly turn and snap this photo of the shark and me nose-to-nose. (I'm the one on the right.) The shark passed right by my left shoulder, within 18 inches. Was insanely cool, and exhilirating, but not scary at all. Though, as the Billy Bragg song says "Excitement is merely the beginining of fear..." (Plus, I had been amongst hundreds of schooling hammerheads in Galapagos prior to the T&C trip.)

 

[dishonored]

So when you come into contact with an overly aggressive shark or something of that nature do not attempt to "swim" away or ascend.

 

[Quero]

It sort of depends on what animal you're considering. With sharks, as noted above, they may get confused and attack in the presence of divers spearfishing. They've got poor eyesight, but their sense of smell and their special sonar-like sense are sharp, so if they smell an injured fish and get signals from the struggling fish, they may attack the person holding the weapon with the fish on it by mistake when they really wanted the fish. The easy solution is to stay away from spearos and not to spear. I've heard of people punching a shark hard on the nose. Apparently it's quite sensitive, and they back off for a bit, giving you time to strategize further.

In the case of the titan triggerfish I mentioned above, we actually try to swim away from it, but not up. We take a wide arc around it, calmly swimming, and always keeping an eye on the fish. If it comes near and charges, we put our fins between ourselves and the fish. I have a bite mark in one of my fins from a triggerfish. Those are fish with a really bad attitude. I'm much more afraid of titan triggerfish than I am of any other fish. The only other thing I've seen attack was a spearing mantis shrimp once that speared the finger of a woman on a boat with me. She had set a reef hook and was holding the line, but didn't notice that she was right above the mantis shrimp's hole; it felt threatened and speared her hand. It was a mess, but she wasn't in any mortal danger. So for those sorts of animals, we try to be observant and notice where they are so that we don't disturb them and put ourselves at risk of defensive attack.

 

[RJP]

So when you come into contact with an overly aggressive shark or something of that nature do not attempt to "swim" away or ascend.

Note - my observation/suggestion was based on encountering a typical "just cruising along, minding their own business" shark. Fortunately, I've got no specific experience with "overly aggressive" sharks... so I can't offer any advice as to what to do in those situations.

:d