Blue Hole Hit

[pilot fish]

While I was in Ambergris Caye last week a woman staying down on Turneffe got the bends diving the Blue Hole. They rushed her up to Ambergris, 3 hours by boat, to the only chamber in the whole country. People said she was in a lot of pain, as they saw her coming off the boat, and her husband was in great distress. The group of divers on my dive boat went to the Blue Hole the next day, none of us had heard about it then, but I decided not to go because you had to be at the boat at 5:30 am for 3 hour ride to the Hole and pay an extra $195 usd. I figured, I was on vacation and didn't feel like getting ready that early and eating a crummy breakfast on the boat plus sharing a small head with 7 other divers.

None of the people from my boat were AOW, a woman and her two teenage sons were OW with 70 dives, which I think might not be enough experience for that 130 ft dive and did the dive. No one at our Dive Op asked for, or required, AOW cert. I was told that other operators also allow divers to dive the Blue Hole with only OW cert and do not ask to look at log books. I realize our safety is our responsibilty but shouldn't there be a requirement of AOW, or OW with a lot of deep experience to dive the hole?

 

[H2Andy]

for the training agencies, yes (they get to sell more AOW cards)

for the dive charter, no (that just means they're cutting off potential paying customers)

for the individual divers: if someone else is setting your own limits for you,
you probably aren't going to benefit from them anyway

for me: yes. it makes perfect sense. i wouldn't do that dive without more
training and experience than an OW course. how many dives total is not
really the issue, but how comfortable i am in the water and at depth

 

[pilot fish]

for the training agencies, yes (they get to sell more AOW cards)

for the dive charter, no (that just means they're cutting off potential paying customers)

for the individual divers: if someone else is setting your own limits for you,
you probably aren't going to benefit from them anyway

for me: yes. it makes perfect sense. i wouldn't do that dive without more
training and experience than an OW course. how many dives total is not
really the issue, but how comfortable i am in the water and at depth

Since a lot of these Dive Ops are PADI 5 star it seems it ought to be a requirement that some level of cert and experience be necessary to dive the Blue Hole?

Agreed, it is YOUR level of comfort which should ultimately decide if you do a dive or not but I think some screening should be done before persmission is granted to do this advanced dive.

Is there any way to find out statistics of injuries and death at the Blue Hole? I heard there was a death there recently but don't know if that's accurate.

 

[MikeFerrara]

Since a lot of these Dive Ops are PADI 5 star it seems it ought to be a requirement that some level of cert and experience be necessary to dive the Blue Hole?

What does being a PADI 5 star shop have to do with it. If they are teaching they are required to follow training standards but they don't apply outside of training. They aren't allowed to sell another agencies reqreational class. There are a few other requirements but that I know of that would cause them to disallow a certified recreational diver from doing what he wants.

 

[Mike Veitch]

So my question to you is this. If i am only an open water diver with 70 dives but someone else is an Advanced diver with 12 dives they should be allowed to dive deep?
I know people with a lot more than 1000 dives and only have an OW certificate, sorry but having a little piece of plastic means nothing. AOW especially means nothing, a lot of people finish their OW, so that is 4 dives, and then go straight to AOW. That means a grand total of 9 dives in their life and they are Advanced?
As a dive guide i would feel a lot better with someone who has 70 dives and is OW than someone who is AOW and has 12...

M

 

[sweatfrog]

While I was in Ambergris Caye last week a woman staying down on Turneffe got the bends diving the Blue Hole. They rushed her up to Ambergris, 3 hours by boat, to the only chamber in the whole country. People said she was in a lot of pain, as they saw her coming off the boat, and her husband was in great distress. The group of divers on my dive boat went to the Blue Hole the next day, none of us had heard about it then, but I decided not to go because you had to be at the boat at 5:30 am for 3 hour ride to the Hole and pay an extra $195 usd. I figured, I was on vacation and didn't feel like getting ready that early and eating a crummy breakfast on the boat plus sharing a small head with 7 other divers.

None of the people from my boat were AOW, a woman and her two teenage sons were OW with 70 dives, which I think might not be enough experience for that 130 ft dive and did the dive. No one at our Dive Op asked for, or required, AOW cert. I was told that other operators also allow divers to dive the Blue Hole with only OW cert and do not ask to look at log books. I realize our safety is our responsibilty but shouldn't there be a requirement of AOW, or OW with a lot of deep experience to dive the hole?

People need to be responsible for their own actions. However, if they were in a group and the leader was touting this dive, then s/he accepts some liability. Its hard to make a case stick against someone in a foriegn country, but thats not where a suit is initiated.

Documented training for this type of diving is the best way to aleviate potential future problems. The Belize operations have spent years promoting the Blue Hole and make good money taking people there. Its a hole, it has some crustations, its deep. There are better dives on Turniffe.

 

[COLDREDNECK]

Pilot fish if you get the chance to dive the blue hole .. Do it !!! Its a fantastic dive . A group of 6 of us were there in Feb . We dove with Amigos Del Mar and found them to be a first rate class outfit. Vey safe. The ride out was horrible , very rough, even in their big cruiser, but the dive after made it all worth while. The stalagtites a very cool , not quite as nice as in some of the Cenotes in Playa but very big and interesting to see. The reef sharks came out to play as we ascended and provided some heightened adrenalin rushes. All in all a very memorible dive.
As to the lady with the bends. I agree with the others . Each person has to set their own limits on what they feel they can handle. We are all Advanced divers with 70+ dives and felt very comfortable decending to Rec limits. We had all been deep before and were careful to follow the limits on our computers. No body had any problems. I'd like to have a little more back ground on that ladies dive history and history of that dive before condeming the dive outfit.
just my 2 cents.

 

[pilot fish]

What does being a PADI 5 star shop have to do with it. If they are teaching they are required to follow training standards but they don't apply outside of training. They aren't allowed to sell another agencies reqreational class. There are a few other requirements but that I know of that would cause them to disallow a certified recreational diver from doing what he wants.

Maybe practice what they teach? Exercise a bit more caution in allowing divers with limited dive experience to dive the Hole?

 

[SueMermaid]

I did the Blue Hole on my very first dive trip. I had 4 OW training dives and about 10 or 15 dives in Belize that week under my belt, total. I now realize I had no business going to 130' that day! At the time, the dive op and my friends all encouraged me to go, and I was confident as far as I knew, so I did it. Other people on the dive were as new as me and several had serious reservations, but all did it. One ran out of air at 110 feet and panicked. We had one instructor with us, and about 15 newbies trailing behind him.
I am all for taking personal responsibility, and if I had gotten bent then, I would have blamed myself, but I gotta say, if I were a dive operator, I would probably require at least 50 dives. Yes, there are lots of boobs with hundreds of dives, but the chances of a problem would be that much less. *shrug*

 

[pilot fish]

So my question to you is this. If i am only an open water diver with 70 dives but someone else is an Advanced diver with 12 dives they should be allowed to dive deep?
I know people with a lot more than 1000 dives and only have an OW certificate, sorry but having a little piece of plastic means nothing. AOW especially means nothing, a lot of people finish their OW, so that is 4 dives, and then go straight to AOW. That means a grand total of 9 dives in their life and they are Advanced?
As a dive guide i would feel a lot better with someone who has 70 dives and is OW than someone who is AOW and has 12...



Mike, you are 100% correct, AOW with just a few dives is meaningless. I would much prefer to dive with an experienced OW diver than a newly certified AOW diver. I think you should be AOW and have deep experience, or OW with plenty of dive experience at depth. I just think some attention to a person's log should be paid and some questions asked of that diver to determine if that is the dive for them. One thing that is not a problem is current, so I guess that is what makes it less risky.

I have said for a few years now, someone that has just passed their OW cert should not be allowed to do AOW till they have a minimum of 50 dives. I also think, as you, that that piece of plastic means nothing without experience.