Conditions can change during a dive. Maybe it was an just accident and not negligence. Unless you physically hold someone, which a 13 year old boy would hate, you can lose tract pretty quick when visibility and current hit. Sad for the family.
13 year old diver dies - Oahu, Hawaii
- Thread starter DandyDon
- Start date
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KevinNM
Contributor
I'll argue that the odds of a 13 y/o who isn't a very strong and experienced swimmer out-swimming a pro is pretty small. If the pro is paying attention and is appropriately positioned it just shouldn't happen without some sort of bizarre set of circumstances that shouldn't occur where you do a DSD class.
What little I remember of my DSD in Maui 30-some years ago the pro was right there with me the whole time.
What little I remember of my DSD in Maui 30-some years ago the pro was right there with me the whole time.
wgw04024
Contributor
Whenever I feel like my son just 'disappeared on me' I always look straight up and he's usually standing on his head looking at me....
CuzzA
Wetwork for Hire
Meh, (speculation) a glance at your SPG or computer and the kid bolts to the surface holding his breath. Unfortunate timing. I'd be willing to bet on every DS dive the pro does not have eyes on the customer every single second. In fact, I know it. It's impossible. At some point you have to check your gauges.
CuzzA
Wetwork for Hire
Right, so he/she wouldn't be looking at the customer when checking the gauge or any of the million other things that could happen that would divert the pro's attention for just a second. There are so many things. A shark comes in for a look, he/she clears his/her mask, another customer asks for assistance, he/she has a gear issue, et cetera.
As divers, I expect we all know this, but in A&I we somehow fail to remember it.
diverrex
Contributor
I’ve never understood a 4-1 ratio in a DSD dive. I don’t think it’s possible to pay close attention to 4 different people at the same time. And unless two are shoulder to shoulder on one side of the instructor and the other two are shoulder to shoulder on the other side of the instructor then the instructor is bound to be too far away from at least one of the four. While I think the standards should change for everyone I strongly believe if any participant is less than 16 then it should be 1-1. Visibility of 5m may not be as fun as 20m but shouldn’t be a safety issue as the DSD participant should be within arms reach. This situation is the typically sad situation of bad practices happen to not cause a problem until they do. Then it’s too late.
divinh
Contributor
The DSD's I've observed have been:
1. Person doesn't have certification but does have experience, from who knows where, and can dive independently from the instructor and the instructor keeps watch loosely
2. Instructor hand holds divers and makes adjustments for divers
3. Instructor holds divers by the valve and makes adjustments for divers
I've yet to see a group of four with one instructor, usually two max.
1. Person doesn't have certification but does have experience, from who knows where, and can dive independently from the instructor and the instructor keeps watch loosely
2. Instructor hand holds divers and makes adjustments for divers
3. Instructor holds divers by the valve and makes adjustments for divers
I've yet to see a group of four with one instructor, usually two max.
Instructor losing sight of the victim while instructor checks his SPG: very unlikely (checking SPG takes a fraction of a second, and should be done while checking the participant's SPG also.)
Instructor losing sight of victim while attending to another DSD participant: very likely.
That is the major problem with anything greater than a 1:1 ratio... if one participant requires the instructor's attention, the instructor will naturally pay less attention to the other participants while the problem is addressed. And the instructor will hope that another participant doesn't have a problem at the same time. Unfortunately, hope sometimes isn't enough.
Number 1 answer.
DSD is an interesting and different dynamic from an OW class, first dive. In OW class, the instructor has plenty of time to work with the students in the pool, and the students have time to work together also. For the first OW dive, students in an OW class are pretty well briefed on procedure... if the instructor has to help one student, that student has a buddy that is paying attention to the problem. And the other students are sufficiently aware (or should be) to also stay with the group. Which means the instructor can handle the problem for one student and should be confident (if they've been properly trained) that the others will be paying attention to what is happening, and stay with the instructor.
Then there's DSD. With none of that. No buddy pairs (the instructor is everyone's buddy??). No real training or briefing for a dive plan or how to work together underwater, what the instructor expects, etc etc. They are not being trained to be independent divers. The instructor is expected to do all the thinking and decision making... and the actions of the DSD participants (e.g. two of them taking off in opposite directions to chase something? No one has a buddy in a DSD...) can make that very difficult.
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