(31 MAY 05) DOM REP Incident

[DiveGolfSki]

....Allowance for sport equipment ? if you read the rules most airlines make an allowance FOR GOLF equipment and thats it.

Can you just pack your gear in a golf travel case (hard case at that)?

 

[cdiver2]

Can you just pack your gear in a golf travel case (hard case at that)?

Think I haven't thought about it

 

[BabyDuck]

man, that's a great idea!!

 

[derwoodwithasherwood]

if you read the rules most airlines make an allowance FOR GOLF equipment and thats it.

"Well, I might hit into a water hazard and then I need this stuff to play through..." :rofl:

 

[diver_bob]

Being on the boat at the same time.

My experience was slightly different.

I dived with a DM.

The AOW was with an instructor and 2 students.

A diver had a problem unknow until we where on the surface.
(by all accounts spat his reg and drank some water)

Medivaced from shore to Decom chamber as precaution.

Filled an incident report with Dive shop.

Told by Manager reports will be passed to all intrested parties.
(i think tour operator and PADI)

I will phone Dive center to see if report is filed, i think PADI need to know within 48hrs.

I was always informed of the diver progress, last thing i know he is well no DC sickness only water injested.



Anyway the center is good, staff helpfull, yes equipment is rental, THIS IS NOT A BANANA SHOP ON AN ISLAND, it is a PADI 5* IDC center.

The AOW needs a deep adventure dive so when should you do it 5,6,7,8 or 9

If you have a problem look to PADI
OWD - AOW - 20dives RESCUE - 40 Dives DM(60 to gain quailification) - 100 Instructor

 

[clive francis]

Being on the boat at the same time.

My experience was slightly different.

I dived with a DM.

The AOW was with an instructor and 2 students.

A diver had a problem unknow until we where on the surface.
(by all accounts spat his reg and drank some water)

Medivaced from shore to Decom chamber as precaution.

Filled an incident report with Dive shop.

Told by Manager reports will be passed to all intrested parties.
(i think tour operator and PADI)

I will phone Dive center to see if report is filed, i think PADI need to know within 48hrs.

I was always informed of the diver progress, last thing i know he is well no DC sickness only water injested.



Anyway the center is good, staff helpfull, yes equipment is rental, THIS IS NOT A BANANA SHOP ON AN ISLAND, it is a PADI 5* IDC center.

The AOW needs a deep adventure dive so when should you do it 5,6,7,8 or 9

If you have a problem look to PADI
OWD - AOW - 20dives RESCUE - 40 Dives DM(60 to gain quailification) - 100 Instructor

thats funny bob, don't seem to remember anyone called bob or robert on the boat.

so there was the AOW, instructor and two students?

that makes 4 divers, which there wasn't, there was an instructor and two students.

what does yes equipment is rental mean?

when you are dealing with peoples lives, there is no room for excuses, it should be 100% or you are in the wrong job!

the equipment should be checked like clock work especially if it is going out practically every day.

i should have only had to make a complaint once about the condition and operability of the kit, not on the next 3 days i dived with these guys, there is no excuse for that, it is a blatant disregard for the safety of their customers and should be severly punished.

i never said they were a banana shop, but now you mention it i would give it a resounding YES!

a bit of a coincident, that your very first post on here is straight on here and you jump to the defence of the shop?

which one from the shop are you?

 

[DI_Guy]

i never said they were a banana shop, but now you mention it i would give it a resounding YES!

Hi all:

I was reading through this thread and thought I'd add my two cents regarding the dive operator and the dive site. I was there in March of this year and did all the same dives that Clive did. Compared to what I normally dive in, it was not too bad at all.

I cannot comment on the rental gear because I took all my own gear. Everyone else on the boat used the rental gear without any problems. The rental gear looked well used but seemed to function OK. The group that I was with did different levels of "buddy checks" and all were done in the water because the boat was a tad small.

We did have one serious situation though. It was a rainy day and most divers cancelled out except for my buddy and I. ( We'll dive in any weather ). So there were the two of us and a DM. We did the normal 40 minute dive and both of us had lots of air left ( 1400 PSI ). Anyway the dive was ended and we did the normal ascent and when we surfaced, there was no dive boat to be seen. The DM panicked abit and blew a whistle and suggested swimming to shore (about one mile away). We elected to wait a bit and boat showed up 15 minutes later. Apparently one of the marker floats had a leak and he left to get another.

The DM said nothing about it, the dive shop did not make a big deal about it but I believe it was wrong for the boat to leave the dive site with divers still in the water.

So my 2 cents, in support of Clive's comments, is that the dive shop needs to tighten up on their rules, regulations and procedures and make sure they are providing a safe service. In the water, my buddy and I look after each other. On the surface, I would like to rely on the dive op.

DI_Guy

 

[verybaddiver]

I was the diver doing the deep diver spec, (the buddy of the guy who had the problem).

_________

To the people defending the dive shop:-

Everything to do with the dive shop was half-assed and incredibly poorly done, they neither checked diver certs or gave you any confidence that they would actually pick you up in the morning. Actually they even forgot to pick up me and my dad for our trip to Rio San Juan, meaning i ended up doing 10 dives instead of 12.

Graham the dive manager from England was totally oblivious to most of the things going on in the shop, and i constantly saw arguements between him and the dive masters. These were all down to the fact that the DM's were costng the shop MONEY by being out too long. All Graham seemed to care about was the money, please tell me i'm not right. man i love PADI, maybe they should call it PADIBDBAS (put another dollar in, but don't bother about safety).

About the dives being done. The dive to the Zingara was obviously one forced on the dive masters by the dive center, and safety wasn't the main concern. They took a four dive newly qualified diver down to a 36m wreck penetration dive, i mean what the hell? even i thought this was extreme, i was abit more comfortable because i have done all my training in the uk, and had read all the deep diving manuals, but i doubt this guy had even read the book, he was certainly not confident about the dive.

About the equipment. i remember atleast 3 occasions when i heard about regulators leaking. one was from Clive (with the huge and really impressive camera :>). One was from the girlfriend of one of the divers who resurfaced and changed regs. And one was mine when i was in Rio San Juan. I mean come on 3 regs leaking within the space of 8 days, that is appaling. And yes i heard numerous times when gear was left to the dive center to put on the boat, only to hear there had been a mistake and that it had been taken to the training pool!!!!

About the instructors. All the instructors i met at the center were very impressive, especially Pia, who i would recommend to anybody, she was incredibly knowledgable, and helped me alot with my diving.

About Sosua. Very expensive resort and i wouldn't recommend it for diving. The dollar has halfed in value over the last 2 years. And to be perfectly honest the marine life ain't that impressive (overdived?). Rio San Juan was impressive but alot harder to get too.

 

[clive francis]

I was the diver doing the deep diver spec, (the buddy of the guy who had the problem).

_________

To the people defending the dive shop:-

Everything to do with the dive shop was half-assed and incredibly poorly done, they neither checked diver certs or gave you any confidence that they would actually pick you up in the morning. Actually they even forgot to pick up me and my dad for our trip to Rio San Juan, meaning i ended up doing 10 dives instead of 12.

Graham the dive manager from England was totally oblivious to most of the things going on in the shop, and i constantly saw arguements between him and the dive masters. These were all down to the fact that the DM's were costng the shop MONEY by being out too long. All Graham seemed to care about was the money, please tell me i'm not right. man i love PADI, maybe they should call it PADIBDBAS (put another dollar in, but don't bother about safety).

About the dives being done. The dive to the Zingara was obviously one forced on the dive masters by the dive center, and safety wasn't the main concern. They took a four dive newly qualified diver down to a 36m wreck penetration dive, i mean what the hell? even i thought this was extreme, i was abit more comfortable because i have done all my training in the uk, and had read all the deep diving manuals, but i doubt this guy had even read the book, he was certainly not confident about the dive.

About the equipment. i remember atleast 3 occasions when i heard about regulators leaking. one was from Clive (with the huge and really impressive camera :>). One was from the girlfriend of one of the divers who resurfaced and changed regs. And one was mine when i was in Rio San Juan. I mean come on 3 regs leaking within the space of 8 days, that is appaling. And yes i heard numerous times when gear was left to the dive center to put on the boat, only to hear there had been a mistake and that it had been taken to the training pool!!!!

About the instructors. All the instructors i met at the center were very impressive, especially Pia, who i would recommend to anybody, she was incredibly knowledgable, and helped me alot with my diving.

About Sosua. Very expensive resort and i wouldn't recommend it for diving. The dollar has halfed in value over the last 2 years. And to be perfectly honest the marine life ain't that impressive (overdived?). Rio San Juan was impressive but alot harder to get too.

i think this and the other comments about the shop more than vindicate my original post on the lack of quality/safety they provided.

 

[DI_Guy]

I was the diver doing the deep diver spec, (the buddy of the guy who had the problem).

_________


About the instructors. All the instructors i met at the center were very impressive, especially Pia, who i would recommend to anybody, she was incredibly knowledgable, and helped me alot with my diving.

I agree with you about the DM's... Pia was very good and its turn's out that she is a qualified Scuba Instructor as well. She is very calm, relaxed and concerned about safety. We did have a mix-up between imperial & metric, but that's normal.

The was another male DM from the USA that was superb ( cannot remember his name ) but I would dive with him anytime.

However there was one of the male DM's ( a fella from Britain ) that got us lost but I had a feeling that he was new to the area. He did not convey confidence. Both my buddy and I noticed this.

I did notice that the some of the DM's did not protect the coral. I saw two actually kick some fan coral over with a fin. I hope it was an accident. Such a shame.

DI_Guy