A Wreck Dive Costs This Unprepared Instructor His Life

[2airishuman]

Here's what the magazine says about this column:

"We're often asked if the Lessons for Life columns are based on real-life events. The answer is yes, they are. The names and locations have been removed or altered to protect identities, but these stories are meant to teach you who to handle a scuba diving emergency by learning from the mistakes other divers have made. Author Eric Douglas takes creative license on occasion for the story, but the events and, often, the communication between divers before the accident are entirely based on incident reports."

I find that the "Lessons for Life" columns are riddled with presumptions that the writer made to serve a particular agenda and that are not helpful in building a nuanced understanding of diving safety and accident causes. The writer cannot possibly know the motives, mindset, or decision-making process of a diver who is now deceased. These are best understood as fictionalized accounts written to encourage safe diving practices and to be entertaining to read. There is also a selection bias at work. The column does not recount any accidents that occur with no overt violation of diving norms, despite the fact that such accidents are common.

 

[doctormike]

I find that the "Lessons for Life" columns are riddled with presumptions that the writer made to serve a particular agenda and that are not helpful in building a nuanced understanding of diving safety and accident causes. The writer cannot possibly know the motives, mindset, or decision-making process of a diver who is now deceased. These are best understood as fictionalized accounts written to encourage safe diving practices and to be entertaining to read. There is also a selection bias at work. The column does not recount any accidents that occur with no overt violation of diving norms, despite the fact that such accidents are common.

I think that you are missing the point of the column.

I enjoy it, and I think that it can get the average SDM reader (a warm water recreational diver) to think about the dangers of diving. There is far too little of that stressed in basic OW training, and making vacation divers realize the dangers inherent in the sport can save lives.

They are not about a specific accident, the articles aren't used for legal reasons, there is no real deceased diver. In our own A & I threads we don't know the motives, mindset or decision making process of a deceased diver, but that doesn't mean that the conversations are not insightful or educational.

Of course the column articles are fictionalized, they say that in the magazine. And no one really wants to read a "Lesson for Life" article that just says "Diver X didn't do anything wrong but he ended up dead, and no one knows why".

I don't know what you think the author's agenda is, I'm just assuming it's to make people dive safely (and to sell magazines!).

 

[2airishuman]

I think that you are missing the point of the column.

I enjoy it, and I think that it can get the average SDM reader (a warm water recreational diver) to think about the dangers of diving. There is far too little of that stressed in basic OW training, and making vacation divers realize the dangers inherent in the sport can save lives.

::shrug:: I guess that makes sense. I mainly do solo cold water shore diving in bad viz. On my occasional trips to tropical places, I am reminded that there are lots of people who dive who aren't serious about diving. Sometimes I forget they are the majority.

I don't know what you think the author's agenda is, I'm just assuming it's to make people dive safely (and to sell magazines!).

I believe there exists a received wisdom and standard narrative involving the general nature of diving accidents and diving safety. I believe it is the author's agenda to reinforce that, and to encourage readers to dive in ways that the dive industry supports.

The problem I have with that is that it calls out practices that aren't necessarily unsafe (like solo diving), overemphasizes convenient bogeymen (like medicals), and disregards things that the industry would like to wish away (like the role of bad gas planning and poor buoyancy control).

 

[yle]

Agreed. (Sorry I had to)

It's good this article of fiction can be addressed, the thoughtful replies are valuable at least.

It's surprising how much misinformation gets passed around the dive community. Especially antidotes told by instructors to scare the new divers. I overhear them nearly weekly in this topical location, plenty of dive lore floating around colder climates too.

Did you mean 'anecdotes'?

If instructors are giving antidotes to new divers, there should be an incident report.

 

[northernone]

Where I'm cautious about the de

Did you mean 'anecdotes'?

If instructors are giving antidotes to new divers, there should be an incident report.

Thank you for picking up my typo.

While I'm posting, my concern with characters of fiction like this being the one's who die leave the rest of us "sensible, humble, cautious" new divers feeling invincible. Setting up a wildly rash, foolish and risk prone strawman who dies doesn't do justice to the true risk factors involved. Making ift sound as though you must be an idiot to die underwater.

Cheers,
Cameron

 

[agilis]

Second stage hoses appear to be deployed over the left shoulder. Interesting.

 

[longk14]

Steven O. Donathan's death on Yukon - Spearboard.com - The World's Largest Spearfishing Diving Boating Social Media Forum

 

[Dogbowl]

Second stage hoses appear to be deployed over the left shoulder. Interesting.

I’m a recreational diver. Even I found this story a little “too fictionalized” to be believable. And the artist really should’ve paid more attention to correct hose routing.

 

[Cowfish Aesthetic]

Steven O. Donathan's death on Yukon - Spearboard.com - The World's Largest Spearfishing Diving Boating Social Media Forum

I'd say that's pretty clearly the inspiration.

 

[boulderjohn]

It would have taken only a few slight changes to the original story to make it a good lesson. Adding the absurdity of the decompression status was a serious mistake, because it cost the story its credibility.

Do instructors take students into wrecks without laying line, etc? Do they take other risks they shouldn't in those circumstances? The answer to both of these is yes, and such a story would be a good one all by itself.