Dangerous Divers

[mislav]

It's a tough call. The OP with his 0-24 dives may well be a dangerous diver himself without even realizing it. Or as a "DIR practitioner" he might be thinking of typical PADI divers to be the dangerous ones.

I wouldn't go telling others about someone being a dangerous diver or not without directly talking to that "dangerous" diver first.

 

[divenutny]

This is a tough issue. Depending on why you think they are dangerous and how you share your thoughts, you may become the diver everyone avoids. You should discuss the issue with other divers. At some point, discuss your issues with the "dangerous diver". Maybe this is an misunderstanding. Maybe the "dangerous diver" will change. Either way, I feel everyone should be aware. If you lack confidence with any diver, you should not dive with them.

I had an issue with an AI. I was diving on a boat that was chartered by my LDS. So we had a group of 20 divers who knew each other on the boat. The AI leading my group of four divers was on nitrox 28 and dove a profile for nitrox. The rest of his group was on air. Two of the group, (his son and his son's friend) were just OW certified using gauges. I used an air computer so I was aware we were into deco. The dive was on the U352, depth around 90-115. Since the entire boat started their dives around the same time, you would think we would have come up with the entire group. We started our ascent roughly five minutes after the rest of the boat. We were on the wreck, everyone else was on the hang line. That should have indicated we were longer than everyone else. My computer was 4 minutes over the NDL when I got the AI's attention to tell him I was ascending without him. He brought the rest of the group up, passing me on the anchor line. My computer wanted 30 ft/min ascent. They were faster than 60 ft/min.
Luckily, no one was hurt.

When we got on the boat, I mentioned I was 4 minutes over and I was ten feet shallower, he indicated he had 6 minutes more bottom time. Another instructor reminded him he was on nitrox, extending his bottom time but not his sons, how was on air. He seemed to be not concerned. To me, this is a diver to avoid. Even scarier, he is an AI. Following this and other incidents, I suspect the shop would not support him becoming an instructor. I have not asked but I wonder if I ended his career. This diver has asthma, dives with an inhaler incase he gets an attack. The prior day, he did not fully open his tank, at 20 feet it was hard to breath. He surfaced, pulled the inhaler out of his BC, took a hit and started to descend. The boat captain had a tough time getting him back in the boat before the captain advised him he could not dive. The same diver has lied about his asthma condition to get a doctor to clear him for diving.

I ask you, should anyone dive with this guy? Only if you are experienced and setup to dive solo.

Sorry for the long post. You are not the first to be concerned by a diver, you will not be the last. I would talk it out. Don't hide your concerns.

Tom

 

[tstormdiver]

Yes, I do. We have one in a group I dive with. He tries to take newer divers that aren't aware of what he does with him & tries to get them going along the same path he's on. He tries to pass himself off as a technical diver, just because he has the gear. He & I started diving about the same time (a little over 2yrs ago). If asked, he will whip out his log book & proudly show you over 250 dives (I have about 140 to date). As I have seen a lot of these dives, they are not much more than bounce dives to the bottom of the quarry & back. He has been known to try to pass himself off as a cave diver to the local cave divers around here, trying to get them to take him with them, even though he just recently failed his cavern class in the first 10 minutes of the course by freaking out & bolting to the surface (they were practicing swimming maskless in 20ft of water). In fact he has yet to pass any class he's been in with our technical instructor (he's failed 3 classes so far). This character nearly killed himself a couple of months ago when, after being told that all the carabiners & clips hanging from his harness were a dangerous entanglement hazzard & needed to be removed. He managed to tangle himself up in the local quarry's deco ladder with all that stuff. He cut the ladder down to free himself. Although the quarry owners were glad to not have a dead diver to have to contend with, they were a bit upset to see that their ladder they worked so hard to put up, was destroyed, after he had been warned. Today he still dives with all that dangling stuff still on his harness. He was taking a Dive Con course in the same class I was in. Here he was, studying to be a dive leader & he put no effort into the course. During the first 5 classes he managed to copy his bookwork questions from the others of us in the class, until we caught on to what he was doing & then promptly told him "no more free rides; do your own work". He managed to fail most parts of the course (classroom presentations, endurance swims, & the written final twice- & the second time he was even caught cheating on it). The list of, what I consider dangerous things he's done or does goes on & on. To be honest, I really wonder what makes him tick (in his head), but then again, I may not want to know. It seems he wants to be a technical diver &/or a dive leader, but wants it handed to him, instead of having to work for it. So in answer to the OP, yes I will warn people abut this diver because of the way he tries to pass himself off that he is what he isn't & tries to lead others down that same path.

 

[boat sju]

what constitute "dangerous"

i also know one instructor that is an insulin dependant diabetic and in our country they shouldnt even be diving let alone teaching

i

Last I read, DAN disagrees with you.

 

[116fire]

When I'm not at work, I dive for fun (although I do have fun diving at work). I firmly believe that a diver should be self sufficient, and not rely on anybody else for ones safety. So I dive with anybody who's fun to dive with. Of course pulling up someones lifeless corpse is a drag... If somebody is amusing to be with doesn't completely have there head up their ***, go for it.
Instucters DM's boat capt. are a completely case. If somebody else did something reckless with one of my loved ones I'd punch them in the face...
I think the issue of medical problems is complex...I too know an Instructor who is insulin dependent diabetic, and is one of the most knowledgable instructors I have met, and a very good diver, I'd dive with him any time. We (our comunity) goes out of its way to facilitate handicaped divers. Basically if somebody is impared but is up front about it, and you feel you are up for it and have the patients go for it.

 

[Nemrod]

If I saw someone doing something that I knew absolutely was going to hurt them or another I would discretely same something, if it was just an opinion, I would mind my buisness. Skydiving is dangerous, solo free climbing is dangerous, what constitues a dangerous diver in the OPs question--a no snorkel advocate, a MOF diver, exactly what was the OP asking? Some people know they are doing something dangerous and they have accepted the risk in lieu of a percieved benifit which is their right as an adult. You don't have to dive with them.

Who I won't dive with are people who tear the bottom up, molest everything and kill everything they see and refuse to learn and adpat.

N <---Danger is my middle name

 

[dlndavid]

What is to be learned? And what are we adapting to?
Yo dude, we have the same middle name.

 

[Nemrod]

What is to be learned? And what are we adapting to?
Yo dude, we have the same middle name.

LOL, DIR divers from the PNW who dive doubles and dry with a can light in the Keys because that is how they were taught--I am just joking .

N

 

[dlndavid]

That just appears dangerous, it is probably quite safe.

 

[Hickdive]

i also know one instructor that is an insulin dependant diabetic and in our country they shouldnt even be diving let alone teaching

The UKSDMC certainly disagrees and I know of several diabetic divers who are well-controlled, safe divers.

UKSDMC diver information- diabetes and diving study