We might stop diving.
Im not sure why I am writing this. But if you want to comment, please read it through, and be respectful.
We love diving! Yet the death of Quero really bothers me. I am her age. I talked with her on SB! Maybe she made some mistakes, did some things she shouldnt have yet who among us has not made mistakes? And its not just her others have died repeat: DIED, as in ITS OVER while diving. There was a Russian couple experienced divers both of whom died at Pt. Lobos a few months ago. I love diving! But Im not ready to die, and there are plenty of great things to do in this world besides dive. (Like those things you do with dive buddies after you come out. Like hiking. Like observing wildlife nature in any form. Like music. Like family.
. )
We might at least stop cold water diving. I do love it, though. I really enjoyed the dives I had recently with dive buddy Kim. Those were great days! Also quite a few with my wife, and the experiences have brought us closer together. Thats a plus. And being a diver has given me more motivation to stay in shape thats another big plus.
We talked about it. New rule: we need to have at least 10 feet visibility for all our dives. Period. Were planning to at least take the GUE Primer course first, then decide. Maybe well feel more comfortable then. But plenty of experienced divers have died repeat: DIED!
Yeah, it could be that those deaths, maybe even Queros, were due to medical issues. But a medical issue on land is one thing and a medical issue under 50 feet of water thats entirely different. Or maybe they were due to dive events that they couldnt handle. We have certainly had our share of them (I have written about several on these boards). So when does one get enough experience that dive events dont happen any more? Realistically, never though their frequency should go down. Yet experienced divers still succumb, as we can see on SB every week.
The dive industry shares some of the blame. The industry as a whole continues to claim its a safe sport. But really, we do not know how safe diving is in part because we dont know how many dives have been taken. Not even that basic information is available. (I wonder why? The cynical part of me has an answer
) At a minimum, LDSs could count the number of fills as a pretty close approximation of the number of dives. Also, it is clear to me that the vast majority of dive operators operate in a You should be OK mode no significant check on skills required for a dive. Too often, there is not realistic information about the skills required for a dive from the operator. We have certainly fell victim to this mentality on more than one occasion.
There is no data that tells us what the incremental risk of diving is. I can find my risk of a heart attack based on may age (5.2% over the next 10 years) but I cannot find the incremental risk of suffering death from the 5% chance because I am underwater (I suspect it is nearly 100%). And I cannot find the incremental risk of having a heart attack or other medical events due to the various challenges of the sport.
And, as has been well-documented on these boards, the certification requirements are in drastic need of repair. Good courses depend too much on the instructor, and the certifications awarded do not relate to the skills required for the dives offered by the industry (case in point: AOW). And usually, no one fails a cert course (except Fundies as far as I know). I am a teacher myself I know what happens when you have a system where no one fails!
Maybe were just not the type of people for diving. We sure tried we bought nearly all of our own equipment. We took several training courses. We did a number of pool dives to develop our skills. Im OK with mechanical things, but its not my favorite thing to be doing in my free time. Emily is much less interested in taking care of the equipment. And physically, were OK, but neither of us is really the athlete type. Meaning that maybe we have more events than the average good diver simply because our mind-body coordination isnt anything special (one way or the other). We are probably more prone to panic than the average good diver. Age plays into that, too. Were not 35 any more. I am being honest about my limitations.
Maybe, instead of diving, Ill take up the euphonium. I love diving! I would miss it. But for how long?
These are my thoughts. If you reply, please be respectful. There are a lot of insults flying about on SB one reason I dont post much any more.
Thanks for reading this far.
- Bill
) My enthusiasm waxed and waned, but I always enjoyed it. 
