Crash dive?

[Bubblesong]

@Bubblesong I sincerely hope you weren't serious about wanting to go to that instructor for CCR or deep training because they challenge themselves to go to 200m and market it. It is bragging rights, nothing more.
.

I will get trained at my LDS here in Boston area, When I have the money, and I don’t Deep for the bragging rights, so no worries. This is more a discussion about evaluating and judging dive training possibilities for the community.

 

[Scott McWilliam]

Thank you for your replies thought and discussion. The issue with the video is the time of it's release. Others besides me found insensitive in the least. As far as I know, Add Helium is Peter and his wife. For Peter to have the Add Helium name tied to a 200-meter dive and up front on his page is indicative of a mindset that makes us all look bad. As a result of the short period of time since the fatality, it can easily be interpreted as a callous disregard for human life in the pursuit of a well-marketed adventure. To what end?

 

[Bubblesong]

Thank you for your replies thought and discussion. The issue with the video is the time of it's release. Others besides me found insensitive in the least. As far as I know, Add Helium is Peter and his wife. For Peter to have the Add Helium name tied to a 200-meter dive and up front on his page is indicative of a mindset that makes us all look bad. As a result of the short period of time since the fatality, it can easily be interpreted as a callous disregard for human life in the pursuit of a well-marketed adventure. To what end?

I did not see the page you are talking about. When I look at AddHelium website I did not see this video. When I google Peter Sotis Dive 200 meters, I get several YouTube/Vimeo videos, that were five years old or reposted recently by a different host, (no doubt trying to ride the notoriety wave to free publicity)
Additional google search turns up Sotis reselling questionable Chinese made plastic tanks and Sotis’ questionable judgement in selling rebreathers and scooters to Libyan terrorist -inked buyers. Plenty of issues to dis on the guy, but when it comes to the video, once it was on the internet, (as of five years ago) it is hard to delete it altogether.

 

[Scott McWilliam]

I agree with you on all of your points. My issues are with the use of the video on the Rebreather world site. This was domain was purchased recently and the resurrected video appeared front and centre. I have mentioned my issues with the impact of the video in light of the recent fatality. As you might suspect there is little room for discussion on this matter on Rebreatherworld. It is in the best interest or recreational sport of diving that issues, like the many that currently surround Add Helium have a place where they can be discussed, and alternative points of view reflected upon. Far to often these discussions are reduced to personal attacks and two interagent parties beating their chests screaming they are right.

To a degree, diving is still by and large self-governing. On a great many contentious issues there will always be diverse points of view, opinions so far to the right you can not agree with them in total and opinions so far to the left that you can not agree with them in total as well. These opinions are important as they make it easier for the majority to find the middle ground. The reasonable point of view and the best course of action. It allows people to make up their own minds according to there conscience.

To a degree, this process has been quashed on the internet. It provides only the illusion of free speech. You are at the mercy of the domain owner and search engines. Run afoul of Google and your website becomes next to unfindable. From a certain point of view, Peter purchased a successful website and a huge potential market for his products and method. I am not sure if the "there is a sucker born every minute" business model" has a place in the sport of diving.

In a way, there is a tremendous degree of frustration and futility in the courts. A young man, also named Peter, woke at 2:30 in the morning to a commotion in his truck parked outside. In an effort to protect his girlfriend he grabbed his shotgun and stepped out into the night. The man breaking into his truck then attacked him and pretended to have a gun. For his efforts, he received a couple of twelve gauge rounds in the chest that were fatal. After two years of floating around in the courts, he was, of course, found not guilty. He lost his house and his savings everything he owned paying for legal fees. There is a high cost to being not guilty in Ontario. He is currently being sued by the family for two million dollars in a related civil action. While we have no way of knowing how Peter's legal problems will work out, the one thing we can be sure of is that there will be no winners. Lawyers will get rich and justice will remain out of reach for all parties concerned.

Thank you again for taking the time to review the matter and your opinions.

 

[Superlyte27]

A couple of things....
Peter has owned the Rebreather World website for almost a decade. I remember when he bought it because I was banned almost immediately.

Secondly, Peter is well insured. The cost of the lawsuit won't touch him at all. However, the perception of society because of the lawsuit will be felt. And that'll cost him some money. But, Pete bounced back from being a felon. He'll bounce back from this too. It's just the type of guy he is.

 

[Scott McWilliam]

He will bounce back only for a time. If his losses are high enough and frequent enough no one will insure him regardless of what kind of premium he pays.

 

[Superlyte27]

I own an insurance company.

His losses won't even be policy limits.

 

[Scott McWilliam]

Perhaps you are correct. But with the greatest of respect you do not own the courts. How would a three-hundred million dollar judgement effect those policy limits? Many of the comments posted seem to suggest a pattern of behavior that will lead to future actions and court appearances. Past behavior is considered during sentencing. Also, part of the action alleges rebranding of equipment. What if, perhaps not in this action but the next he is charged criminally? The discussion is perhaps becoming too speculative. I think all we can do is use whatever peer pressure we can muster as his friends and try to get him to dial it back a little, while voicing opinions and discussion that make sure new recruits for the Add Helium dive team know exactly what they are getting into.

 

[fullytek]

Ok so a few fun facts about this accadent.
.No one on this thread including my self were present during the accadent or the trining leading up to robs death.

.scott is not currently up to date on any modern ccr . Procedures have changed and technology has evolved so his expertise on this matter is questionable at best.

.Scott is not and was not involved in the training or administration of robs certifications.


I do agree with scott (I know) that the timing of release of how to dive to 200 meters is in poor taste at best and also may be called into evadence in an effort to establish a pattern or attatude toward aggressive dives.

I have also seen an exert from a shearwater download that my or my not be from robs rebreather. This 2 minute graph shows a po2 in a range that would support life but also low enough that some other gas was present in the loop. I am not going to publicly speculate what those gases or gas might be.
I also question if the download is actually from robs machine and wonder about the rest of the time line . Again only I have only seen 2 min of what was a 45 min dive??

I dont have a dog in the fight . I dont know rob or Peter but I caution any one in the dive industry from pushing to hard in attempt to bury Peter and add helium as the result of this litagation my set precedent that will drive up inshurance premiums and limit post course interaction between students and instructors.

I also feel that instructors teaching at a technical level must be involved in diving well beyond the level they are teaching at.

Far too many tech instructors are only tech diving when they are on the clock.

 

[rddvet]

Ok so a few fun facts about this accadent.
.No one on this thread including my self were present during the accadent or the trining leading up to robs death.

.scott is not currently up to date on any modern ccr . Procedures have changed and technology has evolved so his expertise on this matter is questionable at best.

.Scott is not and was not involved in the training or administration of robs certifications.


I do agree with scott (I know) that the timing of release of how to dive to 200 meters is in poor taste at best and also may be called into evadence in an effort to establish a pattern or attatude toward aggressive dives.

I have also seen an exert from a shearwater down load that my or my not be from robs rebreather. This 2 minute graph shows a po2 in a range that would support life but also low enough that some other gas was present in the loop. I am not going to publicly speculate what those gases or gas might be.
I also question if the download is actually from robs machine and wonder about the rest of the time line . Again only I have only seen 2 min of what was a 45 min dive??

I dont have a dog in the fight . I dont know rob or Peter but I caution any one in the dive industry from pushing to hard in attempt to bury Peter and add helium as the result of this litagation my set precedent that will drive up inshurance premiums and limit post course interaction between students and instructors.

I also feel that instructors teaching at a technical level must be involved in diving well beyond the level they are teaching at.

Far to many tech instructors are only tech diving when they are on the clock.

Holy hell that was hard to read because of all of the improper spelling. Please run your posts through a spell checker. Hell I think there's one built into SB