Oregon woman dies in Washington diving accident

[MXGratefulDiver]

I know I'm not supposed to ever solve a skills problem with a gear solution.

But all these OOAs on 100 foot dives are on Al80s. An 0.80 SAC rate (newbie diver) at 100 feet for 20 minutes nearly drains an Al80. With an HP130 there's another 60+ cu ft of gas left after such a deep profile, while an Al80 only gives you about 10 cu ft for the ascent. It takes some talent to run out an HP130 on a recreational profile.

With more gas you have more room to be stupid clueless newbie divers and survive (and I say that as a stupid, clueless newbie tech diver, who likes to have adequate gas padding so if I mess up I'll still survive).

I've got the same feelings about Wing size as well. My 40# single wing probably has 10-20# more lift than I strictly need, but probably saved me from drowning due to at least one really dumb weighting mistake around dive #20.

I don't see that as solving a skills problem with gear so much as simply choosing appropriate gear for the dive plan.

I'm currently running a Deep Diver specialty class where I've got the students working through the gas consumption numbers on an emergency ascent from 110 fsw (while sharing air). I don't think I'm going to need to explain to them at all why a small cylinder like an AL80 is inappropriate ... their own arithmetic is going to make it obvious ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Rick Murchison]

... a contributing factor could have been narcosis. In other threads about narcosis, I have related a personal story in which I felt perfectly fine but realized I was having a lot of trouble making what should have been a perfectly simple decision...

Good point!
Two of the most common symptoms of narcosis are:
1. A failure to convert information into action - for example, looking at the pressure gauge when you're supposed to but not really digesting what it says and acting on the information, and
2. An inappropriate feeling of well being... "I've got 200 psi??? cool..."
Rick

 

[InTheDrink]

Personally, I don't think that either some courses - and I'm talking about PADI as that is my only experience - and field experience drill into people proper gas management skills. I must admit I have finished several dives on <5 bar and wasn't vaguely bothered by this but now I tend to finish with a lot of gas left (unless diving very shallow).

The lack of consistency of approach from course implementation, instructors, guides, etc. leads to variability which is difficult for novices to get their head around. One instructor/guide might be very conservative, another might be very maverick. This isn't an issue once you've a few dives under your belt and rely more on yourself but at the beginning this randomness is very confusing.

It's also a systemic failure. So something needs to be done on that level. The system doesn't breed consistency or understanding/coherence of proper procedures once newly qualified.

Has anyone ever sued an agency for wrongful death based upon their systems? Maybe not the right thread for this.

Condolences to the family and very good point by earlier posters IMHO to spread your weight around.

 

[Pearldiver07]

I really don't care about 3,000, or 2,500, I check them at 2,000 and then every 500 down to 500, then every 100 on down. I mark the error on the face.

Great idea.

And I've had friends and students accuse me of being obsessive/compulsive in my checking my air gauge. But as is often said: The best way to handle any emergency is to avoid it.

I believe that too many instructors "gloss over" emergency-focused skills, not wanting to be a wet blanket. I always discuss with OW students the dichotomy between us telling them how safe scuba is, then spending almost all of our time talking about emergencies and learning emergency skills. I remind them that with training AND PRACTICE that most emergencies really end up being an annoyance. But if you don't know or remember what to do, an annoyance can easily end up becoming a true emergency.

 

[rleslie]

IMHO the PADI-OW class does not properly prepare divers for much of anything. It should be a "learner's permit". There should be a requirement that the first 10 dives after obtaining the OW be closely supervised by an instructor and the dives should include practicing various emergency situations.

If this was done, we would ALL be safer!! If PADI starts offering rescue with OW as the prerequisite, they will be reducing their organization to a joke.

Just my 2cents.

 

[telemonster]

IMHO the PADI-OW class does not properly prepare divers for much of anything. It should be a "learner's permit". There should be a requirement that the first 10 dives after obtaining the OW be closely supervised by an instructor and the dives should include practicing various emergency situations.

If this was done, we would ALL be safer!! If PADI starts offering rescue with OW as the prerequisite, they will be reducing their organization to a joke.

Just my 2cents.

Every person is different. Some are more comfortable in water. Some are logical in their thought process. Some do research on their own to farther their own education.

 

[scubadude79]

I generally orally inflate my BC just to keep it in mind (and it helps save on air if I plan on going down again). Practice helps doing the skills, and then it becomes instinct in a panic.

 

[edm81363]

There should be a requirement that the first 10 dives after obtaining the OW be closely supervised by an instructor and the dives should include practicing various emergency situations.

Would you have been willing to pay $50-$75 each for those 10 additional dives?

People can always directly hire an Instructor or DM to go with them. We'd love to have the extra income.

When I first got certified, I stuck to shop fun dives that were led by a DM. I always informed them that I was a new diver and every time I got buddied with the DM.

I am scheduling a bunch of fun dives for our shop this year that are right after an OW class ends. That way, new divers can get in a dive in a more controlled setting. And our dive club has a big buddy program that helps new divers get started.

I just don't think the economics or logistics are there to support an additional $500 - $750 in cost and 10 additional Saturdays.

 

[edm81363]

Says who? I find them very helpful. Honestly, I am VERY curious why these silly accidents keep claiming lives. And these folks are pointing out reason after reason. Some I had not even considered, like integrated weights getting trapped.

VERY helpful to me.

Sorry, I should have quoted the original message that irked me;

"I don't think the function of government should be to conduct sporting or recreation programs of any kind."

I didn't feel that this contributed to move the discussion forward. I was hoping that this discussion would be about the incident at hand and possible causes and potential ways to avoid a situation similar to this. I'm still learning the nuances of ScubaBoard, which confuse my tiny little brain sometimes.

:focus:

 

[Apecks]

I must admit I have finished several dives on <5 bar and wasn't vaguely bothered by this but now I tend to finish with a lot of gas left (unless diving very shallow).

It takes 9 - 10 Bar to make my first stage even work :shocked2: