what is a "SAFE" dive

[Sideband]

"Safe" implies that you perceive an acceptable level of risk. What's acceptable as a level of risk varies widely depending on your skill level, training, equipment, dive conditions, etc. Lots of people on this board consider a 1000 ft technical cave penetration an acceptable level of risk. With my current level of training & experience, I definitely wouldn't! (Maybe someday)

Personally, I equate "safe" with conservative diving practice. If I'm guiding a group of newly certified OW divers on a fun dive, that's going to mean 50 ft or less in a sheltered area with little or no current and a bottom, starting the safety stop with no less than 1000 psi.

Along those lines, on my last dive we were down on a small 30' cabin cruiser in a quarry. The thing is really wide open with no windows or doors and I thought about going in but there was a small voice that said, "not yet". That was dive number 2. I think I kept the dive "safe" by listening to that voice. Thinking back on it I am sure I would have had no problems at all but I'm still glad, and a bit proud, that I chose not to ignore the part of my brain that felt it wasn't the time for that activity and I wasn't ready. I think we mitigate the risks that are a natural part of diving by knowing our limits and planning the dive to match them. Then of course you must dive that plan. The exception being thumbing the dive if you are not comfortable or doing as I did and just signaling that I'm not up to a specific part and continuing the dive minus the trouble spot.

Joe

 

[Don Burke]

what do you consider safe, and how do you come to that conclusion.?

"Safe can only be defined in regard to hazards. If it is going to take five or six substantial screwups to hurt someone, that is a pretty safe dive.

A good landing is one where you walk away.
An excellent landing is one where the aircraft can be reused.

My standards for a safe dive are quite a bit higher than that.

 

[sharkmasterbc]

A safe dive is one that is planned well and then executed w/o deviation, where you and your team come out smiling. The words "safe dive" mean different things to everyone, an open water diver would not consider a wreck penetration at 90ft safe and someone who has 1000 + dives in warm water may not think that a deep dive in a drysuit in the PNW is safe either. It's all relative to your experiance and comfort level, we all have a different level of "acceptable risk" in out heads so safe to me may be very unsafe to you...

 

[DiveTyme]

A "safe" dive depends on your experience and physical ability and the dive conditions. Personally I do not push any of the above to my "limits". A couple of examples: Most quarries around here have school bus sunk. Swimming thru is an overhead enviroment. I understand there is a risk to swim thru, however I know I can make it from one end to the other on one breath if needed and I am comfortable in diving in low vis so to me it is not a big problem. Another example is diving the deep end at Gilboa. I and another diver had never seen the deep side so we filled out the required dive plan and did the dive with no redundant air. As an instructor I was not required to have it. We did a simple dive to 85' and swam along the wall. I have done many wall dives in the Caribbean that were similar conditions. After the dive some of the tech divers on the shore expressed their concerns about us diving the deep end with "recreational" equipment. To me this dive was very simple but I could easily see how someone with poor buoyancy skills could get in trouble on a wall. I belive each of us should weigh our ability against the planned dive, however there is always going to some risk.
Tim

 

[Allen42]

Well,

If I think of "safe" as being the opposite of "dangerous," then no dive is actually safe, right? We can mitigate the danger with training and equipment, but the environment is still dangerous.

If I think of "safe" in terms of injury and mortality statistics, diving is extremely safe. This includes "trust me" diving through guided wreck tours, etc.

What a huge disparity! So, for me, if I feel that I'm not safe, or that I wouldn't be safe, then the dive's over or the plan changes.

For example, I would not venture into a cave. Period. I know given my experience, training, and equipment, that environment isn't safe for me.

However, I would probabaly venture into a cavern area where I could still see the exit, had an unrestricted path to it, and ample gas. I also certainly would swim through the quarry schoolbus, etc. My buddy's experience and comfort with these would also be factors in these dive plans.

 

[d33ps1x]

A safe dive is one that is planned well and then executed w/o deviation, where you and your team come out smiling. The words "safe dive" mean different things to everyone...

\

Then if a safe dive means different things to everyone then it can't possibly be what you said above. It can only mean that to you?

I am confused...

 

[Abyss Divers]

Safe divers are the divers that dive within their limits of training and experience following the system they once learned for their level!

Happy Diving!

 

[eod]

A safe dive is by my definition a dive where you are in control of the dive and feel comfortable diving it. That way if a situation occurs you are in a good mental state to handle the event.

 

[junior diver]

I put that I would rather die diving than a terminal illness. I put this because I would but also because there is no such thing as a safe dive. They're all dangerous just some on a lesser degree.

 

[sea nmf]

Put it into this perspective: What constitutes a "safe" commute to work? What comes to my mind is arriving at work in the same physical condition as I left. We can do everything we have been taught on our part (drive the speed limit, use our turn signals, etc.) but still have a problem.

So the question is, in my mind, how do you plan for a safe dive? Do you do everything you have been taught (self or otherwise) in order to exit in the same condition you entered the water? Or do you do the equivilent of speeding, poor auto maintenance, etc and take risks that are known to contribute to accidents?

Some folks will feel more safe with different equipment (gas mixture, etc.) than others. Some folks drive a hummer or SUV rather than a Ford Focus and feel this gives them an added safety feature, even though both are legal and can do the basic job.