But, Blue Sparkle, one of the discussants here recently started a thread asking whether we should stop teaching air-sharing and CESA altogether, as a way to stop indicating to new divers that running out of air was acceptable.
Okay, I did not see that thread, so I was only talking about what I was reading in this thread. That's an interesting concept (although it seems there are a number of things that could lead one to want to share air besides poor planning: bad gas in one buddy's tank, or other malfunctions or problems).
Discussing whether and at what point one should drop weights in an underwater gas emergency is like pondering the arrangement of the deck chairs on the Titanic -- the action that needed to be taken, needed to be taken a long time before.
Absolutely. I completely agree with you that sound planning is of the utmost importance, and I sure hope I will not find myself in such an emergency.
I guess maybe I have a different impression of the point of A & I threads? And mine may not be the preferred one - it's only recently that I have enough experience to even *think* about contributing so I'm not an old hand at them. Since this incident was two OW divers in OW, it's something I'm more likely to chime in on than, say, a cave accident.
So, what I thought were valid uses for A & I threads:
1) Discussing what actually happened (as far as we know the facts)
2) Discussing what we think might have happened (using what we do know).
3) Discussing how said event might have been prevented in the first place.
4) Discussing what we might do (or they "could" have done) once we found ourselves in that end situation (regardless of the fact that we plan our dives to avoid such).
To me, all of the above could result in learning something in regards to diving.
I do not know, and neither does anyone else at this point, what happened to these two young men. I DO know some of the instructors involved in the group that taught them, and I know beyond a doubt that their education was not rushed or glossed over.
That would be my public assumption too, until I knew otherwise. I don't believe I have said anything that even intimated that their instruction was poor (?) (In fact, early on -- before we even know there was a fatality for sure -- I read a post in another thread from one of the boys' instructors, and that person sounded like a conscientious, capable sort; so I came into this thread "assuming" that they had had good, solid, instruction).
But somehow, they still managed to end up underwater without enough gas to survive. I think our time, and the time of our readers, would be better spent speculating on how this could have been prevented, rather than splitting hairs on what the best, last ditch survival strategy in this circumstance would be.
Okay, well as I mentioned above, I thought the goals for the A & I thread were broader, as indicated in my four points above. But if they are not, and I'm continuing a discussion improperly, I will certainly stop. I have no desire to "mess up" an SB thread. My apologies if I did.
Blue Sparkle
