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

[BoltSnap]

Dying while diving causing somebody else to jump in to save you and him getting hurt is not so cool. I certainly would not want to suffer OOA, drowning or any of the death causing dive maladies. dying due to drowning or due to fire are the absolute worst type of dying with all of the suffering one has to endure before the lights are out.

I'd rather die in bed while sleeping with no pain and no agony after a long life with lots of diving. Nothing is glamorous or exciting about death IMHO.

 

[down4fun]

Nobody will ever die a hero in diving. There will always be the human need to analyze the death and find fault as to separate ourselves from the possibility of dieing the same way. While we can take steps to make our diving safer there is no way to eliminate the possibility of injury or death. So we are left to decide for ourselves where the line is as far as risk. This comes in many fashions whether it's deciding to dive a certain style ie DIR, solo, rebreather, limit our depth, dive a certain number of times a year to stay current. There are endless variables that we all tweak to a level we consider acceptable. We become passionate about these beliefs because we feel they keep us safe, at least to our accepted level of risk.
Then we add in ways that we justify to ourselves the amount of risk we take. We don't want to live dieing, the drive to the dive is more dangerous than the dive, etc. It's a very personal process and one that very few agree on. And often will change as we progress through our diving career.
I am in the live now category. Having watched my mother die when I was only 20, eaten up by cancer and the chemo endured to treat said cancer. I knew then that I would not save or put things off for when i retire because that day may never come. For whatever reason, I then became a nurse and work in the home health field where I frequently watch my patients make that final transition, listen to their regrets and the things they were glad they did. Sometimes the transition comes quick but sometimes it is way overdue, IMHO. And while i do not hope to die diving, if I do, I will not regret my choices. I have already done things in my diving career that amaze me and will live forever in my memory. I am glad to have taken the risk to get those memories. And it's true no one can know what those final moments are like in a death while diving, i am willing to take the risk as opposed to lying in my bed 87lbs, riddled with cancer and pain that straight morphine doesn't begin to touch, asking my nurse why God won't just let me die.
(stepping off my soapbox, a bit of a passionate subject for me)

 

[Rhone Man]

I can't recall where I first heard this, but I've always liked it:

If I should die whilst diving,
think only this of me:
I died where I was happy,
beneath the clear blue sea.

 

[RockRvr]

Hi gang! Been lurking for a while now. The OP was making a statement that I do see within the diving community...That is a level of hyperbole associated with 'the right way' (not to be confused with DIR although sometime I feel that just the name of the club implies exclusivity/arrogance).

Whoa, now that I've opened the box let me try to explain what behavior I see in this sport that I don't in other "extreme" sports (and what I think the OP was getting at). My whole life I've wanted to dive. From the Cousteau movies growing up, to watching friends dads head out, I knew diving was for me. But alas my life sent me inland, far away from diving locals. I do consider myself to be an 'adventurer'. As a result I've always been drawn to activities that require an extra level of understanding to successfully execute. Execute from a safety perspective, technical perspective and logistics perspective. Those aspects in an activity call to me.

As a result of this calling I've found myself in the Owens Valley in California, launching from Lone Pine launch, with a hang-glider over my head....Soon to be at 16,000', cruising for over 100 miles to Mono-lake. I've also found myself at the head waters of the Colorado river in a kayak heading into Gore Canyon Class V. Or standing at the top of Sandia Crest in New Mexico, wearing a leather racing suit ready to fly down the road on a longboard skate board at 45mph +.

I bring up the above not to brag, but to show that I've been around people that share many of the same values I find in the diving community. That is a zest for life. A connection with the universe that MANY in our world will never experience. Adventure. Living.

The other aspect I see is a certain need to make my behavior conform to a norm, typically developed by the group, or groups, involved in the sport. This leads to many innovative and creative ideas that make that sport easier, more enjoyable, safer and generally better. This can also lead to "group think", which can result in a certain arrogance. If you do not conform you are shunned, ridiculed and generally not accepted.

I witnessed this "group think" behavior in all the above sports I mentioned. Especially in the hang-gliding community. Seems to me that in larger demographics that can create and support larger clubs this happens. When I moved to New Mexico from norther California I was very active in hang-gliding. The Sandia Crest is world class relative to hang-gliding sites. As a result the local club is very protective of the site and unless your rated Advanced you best not even try to fly the site. This is COMPLETELY understandable. The problem is that the same individuals that exibit the behavior necessary to keep noobs from lawn-darting into the side of the Crest exhibit the same behavior at other 'intermediate' sites as well. These guy's would strut around as if they were gods gift to the hang-gliding community. These types know everything about every piece of gear ever made, every site within 1000 mile radius, what 'good' behavior is and isn't, what safe is or isn't...And the worst part is if they don't know you, you will be judged before their crew until deemed acceptable or not. If you accepted all is cool. If your not well....

I honestly haven't been around divers all that long, but for now I've been exposed to some AWESOME folks. Folks that dive for fun. Love the sport so much that they go out of their way to help a noob that may not be 100% sure about their gear, the site or themselves. Then there is the arrogant who must be heard, seen and known. The ones that will exclaim at the top of their lungs on a dive boat coming in that it was the worst dive they've ever had, the worst captain, worst DM, too many noob etc. I do think these guy's are justifying their outbursts based on what their dive paradigm is. Theirs is the right way and everyone else is wrong. Therefore they have a bad time. If a mistake is made, and someone get's hurt, they are the first to blurt out the reasons, with an underlying "I told you so" tone to their "analysis". I often wonder why these guy's dive in the first place.

Dang...Nice first post! :blinking:

 

[Jax]

Dang...Nice first post! :blinking:

I agree! Welcome to ScubaBoard.

 

[Mike Boswell]

Death be not proud, though some have callèd thee
Mighty and dreadfull, for, thou art not so,
For, those, whom thou think'st, thou dost overthrow,
Die not, poore death, nor yet canst thou kill me.
From rest and sleepe, which but thy pictures bee,
Much pleasure, then from thee, much more must flow,
And soonest our best men with thee doe goe,
Rest of their bones, and soules deliverie.
Thou art slave to Fate, Chance, kings, and desperate men,
And dost with poyson, warre, and sicknesse dwell,
And poppie, or charmes can make us sleepe as well,
And better than thy stroake; why swell'st thou then;
One short sleepe past, wee wake eternally,
And death shall be no more, death, thou shalt die.


Holy Sonnet X - John Donne.

 

[TSandM]

I think one's attitude toward death changes with age. Young people don't tend to think about it much -- they certainly don't live with its imminent presence. People around them rarely die. They are willing to take profligate risks with their safety, because they've often never suffered serious injury or disability, or seen anyone who has at close hand. When I was a teenager, I drove an F-250 pickup truck as though it was a Ferrari, and when I think about what I did, I shudder. I did not fully understand the implications of my actions, either in terms of the real risk to me (or the other people on the road with me), or in terms of the life-changing consequences of major injury.

As you get older, you learn these things, and you also, I believe, begin to prize the days you have, because at some point it becomes real that they are finite. At that point, the loss of healthy young people due to bad decision making or excessive risk-taking becomes extremely repugnant.

I have no issues at all with people at the top of their game who choose to push envelopes. It is sad when they die and cut productive lives short (like Wes Skiles) but they made INFORMED choices, and often did what they could to reduce the unavoidable risks of exploration or whatever edge they were walking. I would far rather see Bob Hoover spiral into the ground during an aerobatic maneuver, than learn he had passed away in an Alzheimer's facility. But he's old.

Losing the young to foolish risk taking, inadequate preparation, or bad decision-making is a tragedy, still. There's no heroism in that.

 

[Misa]

TsandM, the frontal lobe of the brain, the one responsible for risky behaviors isnt mature until the age of 25 and for others a bit later. Most of the car accidents (done all over the world) caused by increased speed are done by dudes betwen 18-25y old and this is one example of why people between 18-25y old are able to do risky stuff easily

 

[kanonfodr]

TsandM, the frontal lobe of the brain, the one responsible for risky behaviors isnt mature until the age of 25 and for others a bit later. Most of the car accidents (done all over the world) caused by increased speed are done by dudes betwen 18-25y old and this is one example of why people between 18-25y old are able to do risky stuff easily

In some folks that frontal lobe doesn't develop until much later. If at all.

Back to death and diving, I can't think of too many scenarios where one could be a hero while diving recreationally. You can certainly do heroic acts to save others, but then I question what put you into that situation. To hijack a phrase from aviation: Superior Divers use their superior judgement to keep them out of places that require their superior skills. If I gave you the tank off my back and told you to swim out of the cave and save yourself, that would be a heroic act. But getting into a cave in a single tank, losing a line and causing a siltout; all without proper training, is pretty dumb.

Peace,
Greg

 

[Walter]

Trace, your post makes me think of what I've placed in the inside cover of my log book.

Diving accidents happen and sometimes they result in someone’s death.

Most diving accidents are the result of human error.

We can lessen our chances of making the same mistakes if we are prepared for them.

Often we are better prepared when we learn of mistakes others have made.

I know that someday I will die. I know that my death could be the result of a diving accident.

If it is, then it will probably because I made a mistake.

Everyone makes mistakes. The fact that I made a mistake, in no way diminishes me. It is far from my first mistake. I can admit to my mistakes. If it was my mistake that caused my death, then that’s merely a part of life. It’s OK for my friends and family to admit I made a mistake that killed me.

Discuss the accident, learn from it, speculate about it, and if that’s where it belongs, throw the blame squarely on my shoulders. It’s highly unlikely the blame should rest in any other place. Use it to learn and help other divers be safe. Don’t change or omit names to protect the innocent. Be open, be forthcoming with details.

Rejoice in my life, honor me as a person, a person who was not perfect, but who touched you in spite of and perhaps, in some ways, because of my imperfections.

Rejoice that my death may serve to help keep someone safe.

Oh, and don’t say I “passed” “left us” or any other indirect way of referring to my death. Tell people I “died.” Death is natural, death is expected, death is necessary.