Bad Diving on TV

[ckharlan66]

I was flipping through the channels a while ago and came across a show called Extreme Diving on the Discovery Science Channel.

They had a diver going down to film an underwater lava flow. They talked about how scary and danerous it was and how hard it was to find the flow. They finally found the flow when he was low on air.

He went on to explain that he knew he was low on air but he didn't want to miss the shot so he decided to risk it to get the film. After he filmed it for a few minutes they showed him having to buddy breath all the way up because he ran out of air while filming at 140ft. Of course his buddy was down there with him the whole time so he couldn't have had much air either.

Here comes the best part.....

He gets to the surface and says something to the effect of, "Maybe that was a bad idea but all is well that ends well." (with a big smile on his face.)

I was watching this like a horror movie I was just waiting for his buddy to run out air too since he had been down the same time and depth.

There was never a mention of this being stupid. So I am sure somewhere there is a new diver/thrill seeker thinking, "well now I don't have to worry about how much air I have left I just watched the professional diving film maker come up with his buddies air I will just do that. It couldn't be too dangerous he didn't seem at all concerned that he was out of air."

I am going to begin the long climb down off my soap box now. Did anyone else see this?

Chad

 

[CincyBengalsFan]

Yes, I saw it to, today. Man, I couldn't believe it. I agree entirely. I always fear what new divers or new thrill seekers will see or listen to.

 

[ebbtide]

kept thinking that thats a lession i have learned and i dident even have to try it !
nutz i say, risking it isnt my cup of tea .

 

[earlj]

I've watched numerous shows on TV relative to diving. I must admit I haven't seen the one you describe, but now I'll look for it. There is indeed some pretty bad diving displayed by some people that have a huge number of dives under their belts. Makes you appreciate just how much some people have.

I think however, that the more responsible divers watch these shows and vocalize their comments, the more the new divers will not try to emulate these people. Yes, there will always be the thrill seeker who seeks to raise the dive accident statistics, but they will not go away.

You also have to realize that the people that produce these shows only do it for the money. The greater the risk, the greater the compensation. If they made shows about normal divers, it would be boring because the majority try to do things right and not make mistakes.

If someone has an answer for this I'd sure love to hear it. Try writing to the producers of these shows and see the reply, if any that you get.

 

[jbd]

While I did not see the show in question I have recently seen several shows on the discovery type channels that involved diving. I was kind of shocked to see the significant amount of poor diving techniques evident in all these programs. I wonder what kind of impression it makes on new divers.

 

[Rooster1]

The thing that I find often is the trim on some divers on these shows are not propper. I see sometimes either an octo or a spg just dangling. I was taught that these should be tucked and make sure they are off bottom to protect them and the reef.

 

[rcohn]

I saw the show awhile ago, the diver was Richard Pyle, a rather well known tech diver. Not the best example of dive planning.

Ralph

 

[artsprite]

I saw that too, and I wondered where the safe second was? Why were they sharing one reg?

They certainly were impressive tech divers weren't they?

 

[Scubaroo]

The same Richard Pyle that IANTD feature on their website home page?

 

[Manogr]

Unfortunately the above show is not the only example of bad diving or bad mentioning of diving on TV or other media...

From news reporting on divers deaths without enough info or with false evidence...to the killer shark we see all the time... to the extreme superdivers you mentioned...

Unfortunately the only that we can do is posting, like you do, and hope...


Manogr