10 yr old Wreck Diver

[fire_diver]

OMG what a great statement Mike Rowe wrote !!!!

Here's just a snippet of his response to safety conscious mother that pulled the "You could lose an eye!" phrase we've all heard, but you HAVE to read the whole thing:

"I realize that may sound controversial but it's the truth and not nearly as inflammatory as what I'm going to say next.

Ready?

Of all the platitudes automatically embraced in the workplace — and there are many — there is none more pervasive, erroneous, overused and dangerous than "Safety First!" in my opinion. I have heard this slogan countless times. I have seen it emblazoned on banners, T-shirts and hats. I have sat through mandatory briefings, slideshows and presentations designed to "protect me from the hazards at hand." And I have listened as safety officers and foremen have run down list after list of OSHA requirements, all apparently construed to remind me that nothing is more important to the employer than my own well-being.
What a load of unmitigated nonsense.
In the 120+ jobs I have seen thus far, I can tell you with certainty, that safety, while always a major consideration, is never the priority.
Never.
Never, ever.
Not even once.
Is it important? Of course. But is it more important than getting the job done? No. Not even close. Making money is more important than safety — always — and it's very dangerous, in my opinion, to ignore that. When we start to believe that someone else is more concerned about our own safety than we are, we become complacent and then we get careless. When a business tells you that they are more concerned with your safety than anything else, beware. They are not being honest. They are hedging their own bets and following the advice of lawyers hired to protect them from lawsuits arising from accidents.

When are we too reckless? When are we overly cautious? Opinions will vary about where safety should rank on society's list of desirable conditions. But one thing seems certain — safety has never been first, at home or at work. And the current effort to make it so is way out of balance.
And that, ironically, is dangerous.
Mike

Absolutely nothing in this statement has ANY bearing on taking a 10 year child into an overhead environment during heavy current while scuba diving.

A 10 year old child does not possess the cognitive ability to undestand the risks involved, and from the video, this particular child does not possess the required diving skills. The non-stop hand sculling is proof that his "skills" are not even close to being ingrained.

 

[Killer&Griller]

Having watched the ENTIRE video, I will give a few viewpoints on what I perceived.

You know that you can eliminate one the biggest issues you have from readers by just buying the kid a stool, right? PLEASE BUY HIM A STOOL or mount a fold down footrest for him to stand on.

I liked the fact that he dives with you, congrats.

If the video was smooth, ( I video in current also ) I would have poked you about not watching him well enough and spending too much time focusing on the filming.

The wreck did presume to be more of a pass thru type environment as a whole compared to say a cave. Not justifying just stating.

I might caution about making sure the jew fish push out before proceeding to the end without a exit for yourself . As you know and other board members may not, they will "bark" at you and it can be loud and disorientating if there was a silt out. (A silt out could be created by the fish, not necessarily the divers.) Only saying this because of his age and the fact that I don't know the extent of his experience level.

Mola, it didn't drag him that I could see so I don't think it was a grab. Come on, if the contact from his hand or if his spg did in-fact touch the fish, it didn't react in a manner of discomfort. A sunfish and produce a short burst of almost 30 mph.

There was a good current. It was noticeable on the approach to the wreck and also when the kid was swimming to the sunfish for the 2nd time and didn't make it. Look at his hair, it is waving pretty good.

I believe that the guidelines that are set by organizations are just that and may have exceptions when it comes to age on occasion. Then again, just because he can't get the "card" doesn't mean that he can't learn does it if he shows the aptitude? There might have been a little more "dad" present and a little less "instructor" then I would like to see when it came to technique. Nuff said, you get the point.

Although I do agree with you about him learning and practicing boating skills, I would have to say that you may have increased the potential of a boating hazard by not properly equipping him with the right tools and environment. It would take you 45 minutes to attach a fold down step on the helm for him to stand on and have a direct line of sight to his conditions and target. Again, he should know how to run a boat. He shouldn't have the boat in gear and then have to leave the wheel in order to find his target or be aware of his surroundings while underway. Clearly this an easy fix.

Obviously he is going to continue diving with you and the fold down foot rest would be a viable investment. It is the "what ifs" that I would be concerned about.

From one spearo to another, when you know the conditions are such, consider leaving the gun on the boat. You know that you will have an extra amount of responsibility when holding the camera and watching him, watching yourself, etc in that kind of current. IMHO

Congrats again........ now lets see a little more instructor, we already know you are a proud papa and deservingly so.

 

[BDSC]

A 10 year old child does not possess the cognitive ability to undestand the risks involved,

You know the statement at the end of your posts that says,

"At least I know what I don't Know"

Well, having never met this kid or his dad, the above statement is one of those things you don't know.

 

[ScubaSteve]

And here I thought I could no longer be surprised by things I saw on ScubaBoard....I guess I was wrong.

 

[BDSC]

And here I thought I could no longer be surprised by things I saw on ScubaBoard....I guess I was wrong.

You are always changing your avatar! My avatar now seems boring. As President Obama would say, "It's time for a change."

I need to come up with something new.

 

[ScubaSteve]

You are always changing your avatar! My avatar now seems boring. As President Obama would say, "It's time for a change."

I need to come up with something new.

Actually I am "On the Run"........hiding from the olice:

 

[Screwbag]

All political and moral stuff aside...I know very little about these people or their diving routines..

my only question is what will diving do to skeletal growth plates in a 10yr old?

It's great to see Fathers and sons doing fun things together, I would just address the long term effects, and Dad is assuming a huge risk. I could never live with myself if something were to happen and I were the dad...

That being said, The driving the boat brings back memories...I learned to Drive at 11yrs old in Kansas during wheat harvest season...driving a fuel truck... The best summer of my life and some of my fondest memories. I know that there COULD have been an accident and I can see that there were risks...

Just Be safe...all of life is assumed risk...we can only try to minimize it

Kids can do a surprising amount of things....

 

[mts0628]

Wow that kid was awful -- hanging on to the wreck, swimming with his hands...yeesh.


...and don't get me started on the quality of the video.

Yeah, when I heard what I thought was, Good job good job!" near the beginning of the video, I was thinking, "For what?" Being vertical, swimming with hands, or mauling the wreck with his body and danglies.

I do not fault DD for showing his kid how to dive. What bothers me is the level that is shown in this video and the obvious work the kid needs in a less demanding setting. If the currents are bad enough to use hands, then maybe the diver are in over their heads (no pun intended considering the wreck dive) and should call the dive or find a different dive site.

I am thankful that it was a wreck rather than a natural reef where years and years of life could have been wiped out from a fin or a light, or our favorite- hands.

But in the end, the kid can say he did it, he saw cool stuff, and he was lucky enough not to get hurt.

In our modern society we are raising our boys to be sissies for the most part.
Boys need fathers to teach them things only a man can.
Too many kids are raised only by women with absentee fathers.
I was with my father and he took me places and we did things my mother would not approve, my fondest memories.

Good for you Dumpsterdiver.

Um, what? I grew up without a Father and with a Mother who couldn't speak English as well as I could as a kid. I never had someone to do Boy stuff with me but I have done more Guy stuff in my life than most. What was a Father supposed to teach me? How to shave? How to treat a Woman? How to be a Man? And because DD shows Johnny how to drive a boat or dive at his age, he is better off for Manhood? Right.

Can all Fathers make a Foxhole radio? Hike? Identify animal tracks? Fix a car? Make a solar still? Tinker? Whittle? Train a dog? Treat a Woman right? Swim? Please. I missed out on these things as a youngster but I know how to do these and a lot more now.

And if someone called me a sissy because I was raised only by my Mother, well, now I'd just say piss-off but years ago you wouldn't be so lucky...

 

[dumpsterDiver]

Yeah, when I heard what I thought was, Good job good job!" near the beginning of the video, I was thinking, "For what?" Being vertical, swimming with hands, or mauling the wreck with his body and danglies.

I do not fault DD for showing his kid how to dive. What bothers me is the level that is shown in this video and the obvious work the kid needs in a less demanding setting. If the currents are bad enough to use hands, then maybe the diver are in over their heads (no pun intended considering the wreck dive) and should call the dive or find a different dive site.

I am thankful that it was a wreck rather than a natural reef where years and years of life could have been wiped out from a fin or a light, or our favorite- hands. ..

Hey girly man...

I have no idea why I am responding to accusations that the kid has terrible skills, but here is some video (mostly shot by me) of he and I on a 60 foot deep drift dive about 3-4 months before he started a formal scuba class with an active instructor who eventaully certified him.

His skills are not perfect in this video, but it gives a little better picture of what he looks like in open water. He certainly has room to improve, but he is more interested in learning to shoot fish while diving than concentrating on perfect trim or whatever else the quarry divers find so essential. It isn't that bad is it?


Skip to the time of 2:45..

YouTube - 1 25 09

 

[marinediva]

It is a wise father that knows his own child.
William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)