Must admit I don't do it every dive but my tech rig has 2 50lb lift bags on it.
1 orange & 1 yellow.
Belize: Death of Corey Monk
- Thread starter johnnydiver2003
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Must admit I don't do it every dive but my tech rig has 2 50lb lift bags on it.
1 orange & 1 yellow.
OP
You sure can state the basic diving logic ....but not all divers are as wise as you.
90% of divers are drifting off, looking at a hot chick or whatever, during a dive briefing...I have worked on day boats for 4 years and livaboards for 1 year...and it´s always the same. They all do the same ¨stupid diver tricks¨.
Anyway Gayle....I was doing a DAWN DIVE two weeks ago of Long Caye where the Instructor Corey died.........me and 8 guests, was dark as a night dive, guests are not obliged to dive with me, four did, the rest not.
Big down current, could not see any reference, boat was out in clear water so I instructed all divers on surface "dive/kick towards front of boat and follow mooring line". (knowing of course that you can never take for granted that divers would know this).
As I descended with the four divers who chose to dive with me....I notice the other four heading at a angle sort of away from boat, thus taking longer to reach the reef, allowing the down current to do its work, as I continued with my guests I was flashing my light at the other four trying to signal...when I hit the juncture of the slope and wall I was at 60 feet, the 4 guests in question were at about 110....this was in the space of 2 minutes time. I watched them until they found wall and ascended some and went about my dive, visibility was 30 feet. Could not reference the sun, (is a east/west wall) so kept an eye on compass.
Came up from the dive, 40 minutes or so.......took off gear, showered, put on clothes, 50 minutes gone, some slight concern...I told the captain that conditions were a bit tricky. We scanned the water, (by now it´s daylight), sure enough they pop up 200 yards away. No big deal, went and got them in the skiff.....
Guess what? All of the four were experienced divers....just like you Gale. Maybe not the 1000 dives you claim but all in the 200 plus range. Divers who could not account for current, basic direction, depth....
You see, what happens in unusual circumstances is most divers become stupid. They can´t use their compass because its dark and not real sure anyway how the damn thing works, forget to check gauges etc..
And I am sure this is what happened to my dead former collegue if he did not have a heart attack or some other natural cause.
He was a fresh instructor and had never dived in the ocean until he joined Nekton. I wrote above how on the first charter another new instructor on Nekton got lost at the exact same wall and had to be picked up by the skiff.....To be honest 90 percent of the instructors I worked with on the Pilot over a year (and there were a lot) were knuckleheads. Dopey kids or equaly dopey 30 somethings who decided to plop down $20,000 at PRO-DIVE for a "dive education", minimum number of dives to enter an IDC is either 50 or a 100 I forget off top of my head.
Forgot the point, anyway my fingers are tired....
90% of divers are drifting off, looking at a hot chick or whatever, during a dive briefing...I have worked on day boats for 4 years and livaboards for 1 year...and it´s always the same. They all do the same ¨stupid diver tricks¨.
Anyway Gayle....I was doing a DAWN DIVE two weeks ago of Long Caye where the Instructor Corey died.........me and 8 guests, was dark as a night dive, guests are not obliged to dive with me, four did, the rest not.
Big down current, could not see any reference, boat was out in clear water so I instructed all divers on surface "dive/kick towards front of boat and follow mooring line". (knowing of course that you can never take for granted that divers would know this).
As I descended with the four divers who chose to dive with me....I notice the other four heading at a angle sort of away from boat, thus taking longer to reach the reef, allowing the down current to do its work, as I continued with my guests I was flashing my light at the other four trying to signal...when I hit the juncture of the slope and wall I was at 60 feet, the 4 guests in question were at about 110....this was in the space of 2 minutes time. I watched them until they found wall and ascended some and went about my dive, visibility was 30 feet. Could not reference the sun, (is a east/west wall) so kept an eye on compass.
Came up from the dive, 40 minutes or so.......took off gear, showered, put on clothes, 50 minutes gone, some slight concern...I told the captain that conditions were a bit tricky. We scanned the water, (by now it´s daylight), sure enough they pop up 200 yards away. No big deal, went and got them in the skiff.....
Guess what? All of the four were experienced divers....just like you Gale. Maybe not the 1000 dives you claim but all in the 200 plus range. Divers who could not account for current, basic direction, depth....
You see, what happens in unusual circumstances is most divers become stupid. They can´t use their compass because its dark and not real sure anyway how the damn thing works, forget to check gauges etc..
And I am sure this is what happened to my dead former collegue if he did not have a heart attack or some other natural cause.
He was a fresh instructor and had never dived in the ocean until he joined Nekton. I wrote above how on the first charter another new instructor on Nekton got lost at the exact same wall and had to be picked up by the skiff.....To be honest 90 percent of the instructors I worked with on the Pilot over a year (and there were a lot) were knuckleheads. Dopey kids or equaly dopey 30 somethings who decided to plop down $20,000 at PRO-DIVE for a "dive education", minimum number of dives to enter an IDC is either 50 or a 100 I forget off top of my head.
Forgot the point, anyway my fingers are tired....
diverdowndh
Contributor
I say leave johnnydiver2003 alone - his friend has passed and that should be enough... and besides, I have seen "experienced" divers do some pretty stupid things, just like experienced drives on the highway driving like they have a deathwish (for themselves OR someone else). I don't actually agree with dropping that much depth without knowing it, but I don't work a liveaboard either. He must have experiences I don't!
OP
By the way the above was a response to Gale from two pages ago...just took me long time to write!!!!
As far as solo diving goes....I do it all the time as the ships videographer, just try to be discreet about it. I just dont care to dive alone at night, never have.
Ok let me continue my vacation...am in Puebla Mexico, 2 hours south of Mex City, lovely place.
johnnydiver2003
As far as solo diving goes....I do it all the time as the ships videographer, just try to be discreet about it. I just dont care to dive alone at night, never have.
Ok let me continue my vacation...am in Puebla Mexico, 2 hours south of Mex City, lovely place.
johnnydiver2003
Sorry about the loss of your colleague. Whether he was a friend or just an acquaintance, losing someone you know and shared a room and experiences with is a hard thing.
When I was a teenager I lived in Huntington Beach California. When the surf ran big (12-16+ foot) my friend would come knocking on my door at all hours of the night and we would sneak off to go bodysurfing. This entailed jumping off the end of the HB pier with a wetsuit and a pair fins for one wild ride and a dash across the sand before the lifeguards saw us and tracked us down. It wasn’t the brightest thing I have ever done, but hey, I was young and invincible.
This whole mentality of "DON'T TELL ME HOW TO DIVE." and jumping to defend the right to dive solo and focusing on only that aspect of your post seems to be a knee jerk reaction. I read these boards for just those tidbits of information that are gleaned from posts like yours. Keep on posting.
I didn’t get the idea you were telling ANYONE how to dive. Just offering your advice on HOW to dive safely. For that, Thank You.
Personally, I could care less if someone wants to dive solo. That’s their choice, just like it was my choice to jump off that pier at 1 AM in the morning. It’s not a choice I would make now, but that doesn’t make it wrong, just different.
Good Luck in your dive career and enjoy your vacation.
Best Regards,
Rick
When I was a teenager I lived in Huntington Beach California. When the surf ran big (12-16+ foot) my friend would come knocking on my door at all hours of the night and we would sneak off to go bodysurfing. This entailed jumping off the end of the HB pier with a wetsuit and a pair fins for one wild ride and a dash across the sand before the lifeguards saw us and tracked us down. It wasn’t the brightest thing I have ever done, but hey, I was young and invincible.
This whole mentality of "DON'T TELL ME HOW TO DIVE." and jumping to defend the right to dive solo and focusing on only that aspect of your post seems to be a knee jerk reaction. I read these boards for just those tidbits of information that are gleaned from posts like yours. Keep on posting.
I didn’t get the idea you were telling ANYONE how to dive. Just offering your advice on HOW to dive safely. For that, Thank You.
Personally, I could care less if someone wants to dive solo. That’s their choice, just like it was my choice to jump off that pier at 1 AM in the morning. It’s not a choice I would make now, but that doesn’t make it wrong, just different.
Good Luck in your dive career and enjoy your vacation.
Best Regards,
Rick
pilot fish
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Right! Wanted to make sure I had that correct - night dive, alone, deep. Yep. Right! OK then.
Nesher
Contributor
OMG, you're kidding, right?? They never bothered to tell you that those were "safety sausages"?? Holy smokes, you really didn't get much of a safety briefing, did you?
I think you got the point of what we were trying to say about our week.
Johnny? Man, we heard great things about you, and how the boat really missed one of the best crewmembers aboard the Pilot.
Many of the guys were hoping you would return, but, doubtful that it would happen.
I hope you're happy and having the time of your life.
Darnold9999
Contributor
Just reread my post - where did deep come from????
Solo - at night - everything else is speculation.
pilot fish
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[[[Corey went on a night dive alone to perhaps deep depths....perhaps not]]]johnnydiver
Solo, night dive, to a dive site that has depth as part of the configuration? You say that is not reckless, eh? Let me ask you, Darnold, was the diver recovered? Darnold, you do night dives alone too?
Darnold9999
Contributor
PF - I think every dive I have done in Belize (roughly 90 dives) had "depth" as part of the configuration. I don't recall one that didn't, but there might have been been one or two. These are wall dives on a barrier reef after all. You can choose to stay shallow or you can choose to go to the wall and go down the wall to whatever depth you choose.
What I do is not relevant. Working diver on a liveaboard is the criteria. I am not an instructor nor do I work in the diving industry. However I have been diving solo at night in Belize - could even have been at Que Brada, I don't particularly remember which sites.
Deep is only "perhaps - perhaps not" as I said, speculation.
If you can't hold your depth in the pretty benign conditions of Belize then you shouldn't be diving off the walls at all, let alone solo.
Solo at night. Everything else - deep, gear not working, sick etc. etc. etc. all speculation not facts.
What I do is not relevant. Working diver on a liveaboard is the criteria. I am not an instructor nor do I work in the diving industry. However I have been diving solo at night in Belize - could even have been at Que Brada, I don't particularly remember which sites.
Deep is only "perhaps - perhaps not" as I said, speculation.
If you can't hold your depth in the pretty benign conditions of Belize then you shouldn't be diving off the walls at all, let alone solo.
Solo at night. Everything else - deep, gear not working, sick etc. etc. etc. all speculation not facts.
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