The worst thing you have ever heard or seen...

[EireDiver606]

The most egregious violation of responsible diving practices I've seen was when a NAUI group from Cape Ann, MA was visiting us in the Florida Keys. We went out with Lady Cyana Divers to Hammerhead Reef. I was buddied with a PADI instructor from Utah. He and descended to 30 or 40 feet under the boat. As we were pausing to check gas and adjust gear, steel 72 scuba tanks began raining down around us. Each tank landed on the coral like a WW II dud bomb. Unlike duds, these cylinders were destructive. The NAUI divers swam down wearing horsecollar BCD's and donned the tanks by kneeling on the bottom. I saw my buddy staring in disbelief with his hands on his head in a display of shock and awe.

Please explain why they did this, if you know. This outrageous feat of destruction is basically illegal. I would have reported them to the police, seriously. Corals take a long time to form...

 

[Cyborg Pirate]

Poor business ethics with a dive shop. Giving the agency and entire dive industry a black eye. For the shops own personal monetary gain

 

[aquacat8]

We were on a Channel Islands three day trip and there was a father and son team. The father had a huge scar across his chest from open heart surgery I guess, and he was overweight, older and out of shape. There came a dive which the son did not want to do, and the father elected to do it solo. Later we saw the father attempting to kelp crawl to the boat. We knew something was wrong because no one kelp crawls if they can swim in under the kelp. He made it most of the way as the dive masters begin entering the water to help him, but he passed out about 10 feet from the boat and I think never regained consciousness. He was helicoptered away and the rest of our trip was ruined as we had to go to San Diego and wait. I just felt awful for the son! Dad died with his fins on, and I respect that, but it was just the way it went down was double plus ungood!

 

[divad]

[QUOTE="rabe, post: 8403623, member: 488026"
Story number two: yesterday on a different boat the dive master in training (repeat it slowly, a dive master in training) said: 'If you are on nitrox, you can stay down longer because you use less air."
He actually said it twice, in two different occasions...
[/QUOTE]

This is true.

 

[Kharon]

Getting off the boat after the morning dive at CCV I overheard a man and lady (presumably married) say "Let's hurry. If we're quick we can get to the bar and down a few before lunch. If we eat fast we could get good and hammered before the afternoon dives."

Both had to be in their 60's. Are you kidding me? And I'm going to be in the water with these two? Yep - they were on the boat and in the water for the afternoon dives. I kept my distance.

 

[divad]

Two sad, real stories of something that made me question about human evolution...

Really....I count three "sad, real stories "....

 

[Landlocked123]

Yup I have seen a guy at a quarry in PA doing borrow a Rebreather from the folks at Hollis. They walked him and his girlfriend through how ti works in 3 minutes. Made sure they had bail out bottles and told them just come up if you see red after you bail out to your open circuit. They said no problem we will stay shallow around 60 feet or so. Also heard an instructor telling a student if you get scared click the red button on the BCD and come up.

 

[rabe]

Really....I count three "sad, real stories "....

?

 

[rabe]

Getting off the boat after the morning dive at CCV I overheard a man and lady (presumably married) say "Let's hurry. If we're quick we can get to the bar and down a few before lunch. If we eat fast we could get good and hammered before the afternoon dives."

Both had to be in their 60's. Are you kidding me? And I'm going to be in the water with these two? Yep - they were on the boat and in the water for the afternoon dives. I kept my distance.

Drunken is the new narcosis

 

[Dirty-Dog]

NOTE: I DO NOT PROMOTE DIVING OFF OF SOMEONE ELSE'S COMPUTER.

Had to put that in all caps in preparation for some folks. You didn't mention what make the computer was. I can see the instructor not being too concerned if he is diving a less conservative computer and the student is diving a Zoop. I don't advocate it, but I can understand it.

It was an Aeris Manta. Not terribly conservative.
And I really think teaching a new diver that it's OK to ignore NDLs and go into even light deco is a terrible precedent.