Not an accident/incident: re safety

[InTheDrink]

This may not be the appropriate forum for this but a minuscule thought regarding diving and safety.

This morning I was booked in to do my first dive in Sydney, Australia. Rental kit, new location, no big deal.

Whilst getting ready to go to the dive shop I received some quite troubling news from back home (UK).

I went to get a coffee from the cafe and called the dive shop on the way. I told them I was canning the dive as I’d had bad news and I have a rule about diving after receiving bad news. All good.

I went back to the apartment. I’d forgotten my keys. Been here 3 weeks in and out constantly, used keys several hundred times and this time I forgot the keys - my mind must have been drifting on the news I was absorbing.

This could as easily have been me forgetting to turn my tank on or whatever. Something I never, ever do. Like forgetting my keys.

The lesson obviously is that the best accident and incident is the one foreseen and avoided. If you’re head’s not in the right space, maybe dive another day.

Best,
John

 

[Alaskan Scuba Dude]

Fear is a natural phenomenon, and so is superstition. Everyone reacts different to stress. I went out on a RIB with several UK (Royal Marines) divers and the weather was rough. Everyone was seasick, but a few of us prevailed and had an enjoyable dive.

Go into battle willing death and you shall come out alive.

 

[InTheDrink]

Fear is a natural phenomenon, and so is superstition. Everyone reacts different to stress. I went out on a RIB with several UK (Royal Marines) divers and the weather was rough. Everyone was seasick, but a few of us prevailed and had an enjoyable dive.

Go into battle willing death and you shall come out alive.

Where did I mention fear or superstition?

Fear and superstition had zero rationale in my post

 

[undrwater]

Where did I mention fear or superstition?

Fear and superstition had zero rationale in my post

That poster is likely an artificial intelligence chat bot. It's been posting word salad all over the place. Maybe not so intelligent.

To your post, I wholeheartedly agree! Psychological issues take up a lot of cognitive load.

 

[dsp]

many technical divers also have a rule of "if X things go wrong before the dive, don't dive" because your brain will not be operating at 100% capacity in case you need to react in a very difficult situation. for example, the fin strap broke and you bungied it + the opv on the reg was leaking + some hose blah blah... don't dive that day. for me X=3.

 

[dsp]

That poster is likely an artificial intelligence chat bot. It's been posting word salad all over the place. Maybe not so intelligent.

To your post, I wholeheartedly agree! Psychological issues take up a lot of cognitive load.

that poster was OP i think he is just probably a native english speaker
scratch that i was a moron. sorry undrwater.

 

[InTheDrink]

many technical divers also have a rule of "if X things go wrong before the dive, don't dive" because your brain will not be operating at 100% capacity in case you need to react in a very difficult situation. for example, the fin strap broke and you bungied it + the opv on the reg was leaking + some hose blah blah... don't dive that day. for me X=3.

Yeah same. I’ve an x3 thing too but I’m somewhat flexible on what I count.

 

[lermontov]

I concur with others you made the right call, you were clearly distracted. Theres no doubt things that weigh on our mind can cause us to miss subtle cues that would normally be dealt to with little fuss, and of course it may not be you thats having an issue, it could be others that are needing your assistance and attention.

 

[OTF]

Good post. This lesson is especially important for technical or CCR diving where there is more preparation task loading, and a missed setup step can have drastic consequences.

Checklists are one great way to counter the perils of rushing, stress, and forgetfulness, but even then it's a good lesson to sometimes bag the dive if you're not in the right mental place.

 

[BlueTrin]

that poster was OP i think he is just probably a native english speaker
scratch that i was a moron. sorry undrwater.

You were technically correct