1,000 Ways to Die: Is Diving One of Them?

[Trace Malinowski]

As a community, scuba divers are one of the most safety-conscious of sportsman. In some ways this is good because we find creative ways to be safer even in the most extreme environments. Yet, at the same time this attention to safety can really take a toll on the camaraderie within the community because on this very board people are divided by being solo divers, DIR practitioners, vintage equipment divers, public safety divers, etc. People have strong opinions about how they dive and some have strong opinions as to how they believe others should dive too. When someone dies, the community analyzes the accident at best and crucifies those in error at worse. If it's a medical accident, it seems to be much more okay somehow that too many cheeseburgers and French fries took their toll on a dead diver than if that diver died due to pilot error. Yet, some would argue that eating poorly is just as much pilot error as failure to analyze gas or be properly trained for a dive We are all going to die someday. Is dying while diving okay? If so, what circumstances can you die heroically and with dignity underwater? If not, why? In what ways (other than diving-related) can a diver die with the dignity and support of the community? Why do we feel the need to place blame on something or someone? Why do we criticize those in our sport who are willing to take huge risks with their lives when the same sort of athletes in other sports are admired?

 

[daniel f aleman]

Friday night. You drunk there, Trace?

 

[Trace Malinowski]

Friday night. You drunk there, Trace?

Not unless my Mountain Dew was spiked while I carried gear in from my truck. All my gear was frozen solid. 4 sets of doubles practically welded to the bed of my truck and my drysuit made terrible crackling sounds as I pulled it off the tanks.

 

[Hoomi]

Well, a little over two years ago, I watched my Dad waste away with cancer. He never participated in any "risky" sports. The most dangerous thing he did was smoked for some thirty years of his life (he quit between 15 and 20 years ago). Whether that was the cause of his cancer or not is something we'll never know for certain. For about the last year of his life, he sat in his recliner, watching television, until his body and mind had both atrophied so bad that he wasn't even really there any more. For all intents and purposes, he was dead months before his body quit functioning.

What I do know, is that life is dangerous. Sooner or later, our time will be up. I decided, watching my Dad, that I don't want Death to find me sitting placidly in my chair, or lying in my bed, waiting for him. When Death finally catches up to me, I want him to be clutching his bony hand to the front of his robe, feeling like he's going to drop from the exertion of trying to keep up with me. I don't want Death to find me already dying. I want Death to find me living.

If the rest of the world doesn't understand that, and clucks about me doing something "dangerous" like diving, then nuts to them. Let them sit on their couch watching The Learning Channel and living the adventure through someone else. Death can find them in their living rooms, slowly dying in their chairs.

I have a life to live.

 

[ZenDiver.3D]

Is dying while diving okay? If so, what circumstances can you die heroically and with dignity underwater? If not, why? In what ways (other than diving-related) can a diver die with the dignity and support of the community? Why do we feel the need to place blame on something or someone? Why do we criticize those in our sport who are willing to take huge risks with their lives when the same sort of athletes in other sports are admired?

I think dying period, is dying. How can it be okay for the one who's dead?

I think all sports have their accident reviews. The community there will analyze and find reason behind the death. It is our nature to find cause, and if we do, then we can try to put our own mortality off a bit. If we criticize others' choices, yes, we may avoid making the mistakes. But if we find fault with them, then we can say," I would not make That mistake and thus, I won't die. I'm smarter than that."

I personally think it has nothing to do with the other person, and much more to do with us, the living.
Human nature is what it is. And thank goodness, the dead don't mind.

 

[DevonDiver]

There are two 'laws' that kill scuba divers...

Murphy's Law and Darwin's Law.

We can't control Murphy's Law, but we can do a lot about Darwin's Law.

 

[gcbryan]

If not too much booze then too much caffeine

I disagree that ours is a particularly safety conscious sport. The equipment is just fairly reliable.

I don't look at any death as being particularly heroic either. It's just final. I also disagree that too much safety consciousness interferes the the camaraderie...who are you hanging out with

Regarding not paying as much attention to health related deaths as opposed to those where mistakes might have been made...eating or not eating a cheeseburger is never the direct cause of death. I'm sure an active person can eat a cheeseburger with less consequences that a couch potato who eats salad and even the couch potato may outlive someone who is much more active.

By the way, I have no problem with Mountain Dew drinking although Dr. Pepper is the better choice for serious divers.

 

[DevonDiver]

I disagree that ours is a particularly safety conscious sport. The equipment is just fairly reliable.

I think that the scuba community isn't very safety consious... especially when you consider that the vast majority of our 'community' is comprised of the holiday diving, warm-water, rental gear, insta-buddies that we complain about so much.

Many of us on this forum are more heavily involved with the sport (even the extent of joining a scuba discussion forum illustrates that). We tend to associate with like-minded, safety orientated divers can skew our perspective on the community as a whole.

 

[AfterDark]

Trace, dying is not usually a dignified affair. I’d much rather die diving than wasting away in a hospital bed with some stranger wiping my a$$. I for one don’t get any more worked up when someone dies diving then when someone dies in a car accident.

We play in an alien environment that we can’t survive long in without our gear. Don’t get me wrong I’m sadden to see people especially young people die in accidents but death it is the only direction we're all heading.

 

[Crowley]

Deep and introspective...

Some people might say that if they meet Davy Jones then "at least they died doing something they loved". I disagree because for a short while, just as you are panicking and running out of gas, or being eaten by the Kraken, or whatever, you won't be loving it very much at all.

Statistically, diving is a very safe sport whether you hold a resort course beginner's license or you've been through all the GUE training available. Diver error - whether that be because they forgot to open their tank properly, didn't check their gauge or analyse their back gas correctly, ate too many cholesterol pies, ignored their blood pressure problem, tried to join the 100 metre club or whatever method by which they accidentally fed the fish far outweigh the tragic consequences of lax equipment - or compressor - maintenance.

Some diving deaths are unacceptable simply because they could have been prevented by the application of basic common sense. On the other hand, sometimes sharks like to chew on divers and there's not a thing that anybody can do about it.

Me - I'd rather take a long dive off a short tank than have some abusive nurse sitting me on the bedpan but although I have given my life to the Ocean I would rather She didn't claim it for her own. I'm a resort instructor / guide and I teach and dive with conservatism in mind. Some people get their adrenaline rush from diving; I get mine from riding powerful motorcycles at ridiculous speeds (or, I used to, before I swapped my tight leather suit for my tight neoprene garb). I didn't push the limits of my bike, I don't push the limits of my diving and dying underwater for me would indeed be unacceptable, because unless it occurred because I was heroically pulling a diver to safety from the jaws of Davy Jones' Locker, it would not be my fault.

Some people, on the other hand, seem to wish it upon themselves - to borrow and butcher a quote from Buzz Lightyear in Toy Story....

"We're not diving, we're drowning, with STYLE" !

Dive Safe, don't feed the fish.

C.