Do you ever break the rules?

[drbill]

One rule/guideline I constantly exceed is the required deco stop. I've done some pretty risky diving in my day and my body isn't 20-something any more. When I have a required deco stop of say 12 minutes, I do twice that. I generally double any required deco (and do multiple stops) as long as my gas supply will allow it.

 

[newmexicodiver]

Guess I do, I got my OW in 2005 along with my son (14 at the time), daughter (16 at the time) and wife. Day after finishing the course, all 4 of us followed the DM (who was also the instructor the previous day) to 100 feet as the dive was briefed (along with the rest of the divers). Was tooo new to really realize what we did at the time. Of course we did it everyday for a week for the first dive each day, typical dive profile on Grand Cayman.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

I've broken and bent a lot of the rules, however one time I broke the rules of cavern/cave diving and came very, very close to bitting me in the ass. Some rules you can bend, but other rules can break you very easily.

 

[Zosimus]

I NEVER EVER EVER.. BREAK THE RULES!!.. Follow everyone of them to the "T". I never even think about bending them...

Hmmm... Please excuse me for a min... I hear thunder and I must take cover from the lighting now. ;P

 

[newmanl]

Hey Bob, this is an interesting thread, lots of philosophy pouring out of stories/experinece in bending or breaking rules.

Having been diving since '78 I've busted a few rules as well - mostly the solo thing because of photography - nobody wants to go that slow! However, in recreational diving (non-tech), I'm of the firm opinion that most dives go well (either following the rules or breaking them) not because everything was planned and executed so well, but because nothing went wrong. Most don't practice emergency procedures often enough, if at all, and most are not wearing/taking the appropriate back-up gear to deal with the more potentially serious situations that can arise.

For me, at the end of the day, when diving on my own (or with friends) I'll bend what I feel can be (like no dive flag), but when on a charter or at a place in the tropics - when in Rome...

Lee

 

[Air One]

There really aren't any 'rules', other than physiological ones, except in France (scuba police).

Excellent !

Oh, you were serious ? :shocked2:

OK, sit down Mike, I'll try to explain, be concentrated, my english is...what it is.

In France there are rules for the dive op, and no rules for you if you dive on your own.
In France, we have no "scuba police", just few jerks in the south who decided to be shown on the TV news ( Hey ! look darling! It's me on the screen ! It's meeeeeeeee!!!!:banana.
The marine cops use to check the computers, dive certs or security items on the boat.
Some of them have a diving certification and probably never use it, so...

 

[Hank49]

What I want to know is "why" ... what causes people to justify breaking the rules? Do they believe the rules are unjustified? Or is it perhaps do they believe they are better divers than their training and experience level would indicate?


... Bob (Grateful Diver)

We've had a few discussions over the years about this Bob.
There are "rules" in diving but there is no penalty, besides personal injury or worse, when you break them...like going to jail for instance.
Some people dive deep on air, spearfish with chum in the water free diving to 80 feet, scuba bounce to 240 feet to shoot a fish on the oil rigs, go out in a small boat when it's small craft warnings... Why? Who knows. Some are just like that.

 

[ligersandtions]

On my fifth dive ever, I followed my instructor (who certified me after my fourth dive) into a wreck in Cozumel. We went inside the wreck and looked around....and while it's in good condition and not silty, it was an overhead environment (and my buoyancy sucked....didn't know it till that dive as the drift dives we did for our first four dives really masked that issue!). I did this dive because I didn't know it was a bad idea and I figured if the instructor thought I could do it, it must be safe. In hindsight, I probably wouldn't have made the dive....not to mention, I don't even find wrecks very interesting anyways.

I also made a dive on 32% before I was certified to do so. I had read up on nitrox (and, as it turns out, found all that reading and research to be much more helpful than the crappy class I ended up taking) so I was fully aware of the repercussions of doing so. I also knew the dive plan and knew I would have to call the dive if I didn't want to make it on 32%, as I had met up with some people while I was out of town. I justified it to myself and do not regret that choice at all.

 

[Tigerman]

...
Have you ever broken rules, or dived beyond your training? If so, under what circumstances, and why?

Repeatedly. Its called solo diving and my certifying agency frown upon it - which is why Ill find an instructor that can do the course and get me the proper card to add to my (small) collection. Problem is that where I live instructors are few and far between.

I also made a dive on 32% before I was certified to do so. I had read up on nitrox (and, as it turns out, found all that reading and research to be much more helpful than the crappy class I ended up taking) so I was fully aware of the repercussions of doing so. I also knew the dive plan and knew I would have to call the dive if I didn't want to make it on 32%, as I had met up with some people while I was out of town. I justified it to myself and do not regret that choice at all.

That is actually (atleast with PADI) not a big issue, depending on the setting. PADI dont require you to have completed the bookwork and final exam before conducting nitrox dives. I actually hadent completed the theory myself either when I did my first three dives on 32% but was doing the knowledge reviews and exam between the dives and after the third. I had however read the book and was with the instructor for the duration of the day and dives though - which rocked as we could just tell the captain to drop us off wherever we wanted and do as we pleased rather than stay with the rest of the divers. I have some pictures of some MASSIVE perfect condition gorgonians from that day since we decided to jump at a very rarely dived spot

 

[mksmith713]

Solo here....but I didn't inhale.