Bahamas: Missing Female Diver

[mikerault]

N2BLUE,

I assume you are being sarcastic. What exactly is your take on the accident as stated and the roll the DM should or should not have taken? Since you list yourself as an Instructor I personally would love to hear your opinions.

Mike

 

[cruiser]

So are you saying you had the same problems but they certified you anyways?

When I got certified in 2006, I no longer had sinus problems (which is what kept me from getting certified in 1979).

 

[cappyjon431]

The more that comes out of this the more it looks like it was an intentional act on the victims part. I keep hearing the music from MASH playing- "Suicide is Painless".

Watch what you write Jim, there are those on this board who will bash you for speculating on such possibilities (see the responses to my initial post on page 6). While I agree with you, I am willing to admit that it is only a possibility, and we might not ever know the entire story.

 

[Thalassamania]

It's also possible that the someone (CIA, FBI, KGB, MI-5, aliens?) took control of her brain because she couldn't wear her aluminum foil hat while diving, and there appears to be about as much evidence to support this possibility.

 

[InTheDrink]

Surely you're all missing the point. Training standards are what they are. That is life now. Change it or accept it. Lower standards are required these days. Bummer but that's how it is and I fail to see how that's going to change.

Within the training standards of today I don't think that the DM reacted inappropriately. As I have said before, she maybe didn't react 'heroically' like some here would have (and by heroically I mean outside of her training and risking her own life).

I also still have major reservations about whether any of you would take me to the surface if I didn't want you to. That's not macho, that's just fact. If a diver is cognisant, and doesn't want you to, it's not so easy to get behind them.

You're all infinitely more experienced than me but I'd be happy to wager a couple of quid on it.

J

 

[mikerault]

I don't know about that. I managed to do it everytime I needed to in rescue class with an active, watching and not really panicing or otherwise impared DM candidate. DMs are required to have rescue certifications and several others as well. It should not have been beyond her training.

 

[Thalassamania]

... Within the training standards of today I don't think that the DM reacted inappropriately. As I have said before, she maybe didn't react 'heroically' like some here would have (and by heroically I mean outside of her training and risking her own life).

I guess I fail to see how a modicum of SA, combined with a right hand rip on a valve, and a left hand grip on an inflator, could possibly be considered heroic and death defying.

I also still have major reservations about whether any of you would take me to the surface if I didn't want you to. That's not macho, that's just fact. If a diver is cognisant, and doesn't want you to, it's not so easy to get behind them.

You're all infinitely more experienced than me but I'd be happy to wager a couple of quid on it.

Trust me ... you'd wind up a few quid lighter.

The real issue here, to my way of thinking, has more to do with the lack of SA that permitted the situation to develop about which we are debating proper responses to, not the responses themselves.

 

[Web Monkey]

Surely you're all missing the point. Training standards are what they are. That is life now. Change it or accept it. Lower standards are required these days. Bummer but that's how it is and I fail to see how that's going to change.

Within the training standards of today I don't think that the DM reacted inappropriately. As I have said before, she maybe didn't react 'heroically' like some here would have (and by heroically I mean outside of her training and risking her own life).

I don't have PADI's training standards, but I'm pretty sure their DM cert requires the skills needed to bring a diver to the surface.

I also still have major reservations about whether any of you would take me to the surface if I didn't want you to. That's not macho, that's just fact. If a diver is cognisant, and doesn't want you to, it's not so easy to get behind them.

You're all infinitely more experienced than me but I'd be happy to wager a couple of quid on it.J

That's nice, but we're not talking about you, we're talking about a 68 year old woman who apparently had a recent stroke.

Terry

 

[cappyjon431]

It's also possible that the someone (CIA, FBI, KGB, MI-5, aliens?) took control of her brain because she couldn't wear her aluminum foil hat while diving, and there appears to be about as much evidence to support this possibility.

Thal, do you honestly believe "there appears to be about as much evidence to support this possibility"? I understand your point, that it is all speculation , but to say that ALL possibilities are within the same realm does not seem intellectually honest.

 

[N2BLUE]

N2BLUE,

I assume you are being sarcastic. What exactly is your take on the accident as stated and the roll the DM should or should not have taken? Since you list yourself as an Instructor I personally would love to hear your opinions.

Mike

I feel we can learn from this tragic incident as FACTS are known...my take is that many divers feel they need not assume liability for their dive. A DM does not mitigate all the inherent dangers involved with SCUBA. As a LEO, many years on SWAT taught me one thing I carry over as an Instructor/DM..."I can save you from the Boogie Man and all the evils of the world, but I CANNOT protect you from your own damn stupidity!" I have had more 'divers' run out of air, roll hard deco, or just plain hit the 'Oh **** Switch', and everytime I intervened and they lived to I'm sure do it to another unsuspecting DM. I would hope that a sobering, "Hey guys, as divers we need to respect this sport and learn from this incident" would be in order. Instead, let's point fingers and blame someone so we all go back to being lazy and make our safety someone elses responsibility.