Advice needed - unqualified diver with apparent mental issues and a bump on my head

[jberry99]

Thanks, all, for your perspectives. I've worked somewhat extensively in social services and with the handicapped in the US and in developing countries, so rather than judging this man's disabilities, and from a place of elitism as a poster has suggested, my goal was to provide a detailed account of the events. I'm very familiar with the dive shop and their procedures for groups. The diver did not make special arrangements with the dive crew and he was ultimately forbidden from signing up for any more dives, with that company. While I know accidents like this can happen, it really served as a wake up call on the limitations of dive guides in the water, my expectations of dive guides, variations in diver ability, and the need to always be aware of potential issues in the water - from gear, animal life, or other divers.

Thanks, again, for the feedback.

 

[Chilly_Dipper]

What I'm hearing from the responses is that group dives are a crapshoot and, as an individual diver, I should be less concerned about overall group safety.

Here's the algorithm you should follow for group sizes when diving:

Let N = the number of divers present

If N%2 = 0 then maximum group size = 2 divers to a group
If N%2 != 0 then 1 group of 3 divers is permitted if and only if they are the most experienced/competent divers present

Anything other this is a clusterf&@! of a dive which should be avoided at all costs.

If I know there's a train wreck of a diver on the boat I make sure I'm either in the water and gone long before anyone else is, or wait till said train wreck is off the boat so I can avoid them while in the water

 

[Lorenzoid]

It is very possible that this diver had some disability that could include turrets and low IQ and that the dive charter was briefed about his issues and agreed to accept him on the trip. . . .

"Tourette Syndrome"

I agree.

 

[boulderjohn]

I may know this person, or someone reasonably similar.

About 10 years ago, I was involved in a very unusual instructional situation. I was assisting in a class of 5 students, including a teenage brother and sister. We learned after the class began that both were autistic. The autism spectrum is quite broad, and many excellent divers are on it at the high functioning end. These two, however, were a serious challenge. I later learned that the brother was so severe that he required a full time personal aide in school, and that was often not enough. We quickly separated them out from the rest of the class to give them greater attention and allow the other three students to get through the materials. After many, many sessions and infinite patience on the part of the instructor I was assisting, the sister eventually got fully certified.

The brother was more of a challenge. He was very big and clumsy, and he had other characteristics similar to what was described in this incident. The instructor finally convinced the mother that he could never be an independent diver, so he finished with a scuba diver certification, which required him to dive with a professional on all dives. The hardest part of that was convincing the mother.

What strikes me in bringing this up is the statement that "The diver did not make special arrangements with the dive crew...," yet he dived with a DM. It sounds like he showed up with a scuba diver certification card and no other explanation. This is extremely consistent with our experience. The mother gave us no warning whatsoever that her children might need any special help, even though the son required a full time aide in school. She was adamant in her belief that her children should go out into the world as any other person would. She refused to give us any warning that they needed special help (and they really, really did), and I am sure that she passed that attitude on to them.

As a career educator, I worked with special needs students to some degree all my life, and the attitude I described occurs commonly among parents. In many ways it is admirable. In many ways the child is consequently able to do more than people would think possible. In many other ways, though, the child could benefit from learning to admit that a little help is needed.

 

[Mr.X]

This has been a very interesting thread. The main perspective I take (if I am not teaching) is my safety, or my family/buddies safety is paramount. Everything else is secondary.

Dive safety outside of the US can be dicey. I hear horror stories constantly about loose instruction / operations. The big driving force for safety here in the US is the threat of litigation ; whereas in some countries legal accountability is not a big deal. Subsequently, you may get scenarios where your personal safety is jeopardized.

In the OP's case I would stay far away from a diver (or organization) if possible. In the OP's case - not possible. When I am a paying customer I take the POV that have no obligation to dive in dicey conditions, risk my life, or be selfless unless I felt a need to prevent further mishap without further endangering myself. While I can understand the POV of being helpful to diver's with need - someone acting erratically is a red flag to abort the dive. There is no place underwater for an individual who cannot manage their own safety - and this is what we teach in diving class.

There have several times where I've verbally let a paid dive crew know that they are not meeting my standards of safety. And I have done this in the United States, as well as overseas. Most dive crews do not appreciate that type of boldness, but I could give a _____. What allows me to do this is my high training level/instructor rating + I make a clear account for the record should an accident occur. I do not like getting a subpoena.

In one particular instance I was threatened with guns here in the US by a dive crew which felt it was OK to bring rifles and sidearms + discharge them on a dive. The crappy part is when I was doing a long deco on the anchor I saw bits of metal fragments rain down on my head. It only got worse when I surfaced. When I gave the crew an earful the crazy thing was others thought shooting guns above was perfectly fine, some of my "pals" even told me to forget it. Thankfully, this crazy dive operation is no longer in business.

My worst dive accident occurred in Europe & I ended up in the orthopedic ward of a hospital for two weeks. I followed the boat's protocol to the letter. They did not do the equivalent, ran me over and I sport a large metal plate in my leg. Litigation occurred and I won in a European court. That experience only reinforced my belief that when you are diving you are in charge of your own safety and to use your wits, training and intuition. First & foremost - I used the NAUI credo of "would you trust this person with your loved one" and if they can't pass that test I will not go diving with them.

Here's a checklist of behaviors that alert me to probable danger:

* Scant information about the operation/instruction
* Visible, sloppy conditions on the boat
* Arrogance by crew, instructor or other - and this is the BIG ONE.
* No posted rules, or brief before launching
* My sixth sense
* Massive idiocy/observable incompetence amongst the paid customers