Did buddy separation cause panic that contributed to this accident?

[idocsteve]

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A ScubaBoard Staff Message...

split from : http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/4126087-post1.html

The assertion being made is that solo diving did not cause the accident described there

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A buddy could have provided a solution or at least a calming level-headed companionship which most likely would have eased the underwater tension before paranoia, panic, rapid ascent, and multiple chamber rides occurred.

Or maybe a buddy wouldn't have had any effect whatsoever on the panicked diver.

Or, for those who are superstitious, to not be there?

Your post reminds me of an anecdotal story.

The old man was on his deathbed..the cancer having consumed his body, the doctors many attempts to save him ultimately proving futile...and it was determined that this would be his last day of life...

His wife, as usual was at his bedside...with his last remaining strength he leans forward and gestures to her to lean in close to him so he can whisper in her ear. Always the devoted and faithful wife, she leans in to hear his final words...

Man: "Honey, you've been by my side when I was in that car crash, you were there when I lost my job, you were present when my parents died, and you were by my side when someone stole all my money from my account... and you know what?"

Wife: "What?"

Spoiler

"I think you're bad luck."

 

[kathydee]

Or maybe a buddy wouldn't have had any effect whatsoever on the panicked diver.

Perhaps, but in this case I know the diver and I'd bet money a buddy would have made a huge difference long before panic ever set in.
But we will never know.

 

[idocsteve]

Perhaps, but in this case I know the diver and I'd bet money a buddy would have made a huge difference long before panic ever set in.
But we will never know.

There IS a way to figure it out, and it might be an interesting study in human dynamics.

Once he gets back in the water, offer to be his buddy. Then during a dive...sort of sneak away and hide behind a reef and observe him silently for a few moments. But be ready to come out of hiding at the first sign of trouble.

If he starts to freak out, well then I stand corrected.

 

[kathydee]

There IS a way to figure it out, and it might be an interesting study in human dynamics.

Once he gets back in the water, offer to be his buddy. Then during a dive...sort of sneak away and hide behind a reef and observe him silently for a few moments. But be ready to come out of hiding at the first sign of trouble.

If he starts to freak out, well then I stand corrected.

yeah right - that's a good way to recreate the exact incident .

Hey, be careful out there & have fun!

 

[idocsteve]

yeah right - that's a good way to recreate the exact incident .

Well the exact incident would only be recreated IF buddy separation and resultant anxiety was the root cause.

I'm suggesting it's not and I'm willing to risk it.

Let's just make sure the chamber is open that day.

 

[DaleC]

Congratulations on your rescues Kathy! Nothing I say below takes away from the fact that two divers were lucky to have people like you assist them. :cool3:

There are two main problems with thinking that soloing was a cause for accident #1 though:

That it bumps up against accident #2 (unless we are to assume that buddy diving was a cause for that). We can't blame one without blaming the other.

That the diver wasn't really soloing. I think most of the people who post here see soloing as an intentional pursuit, not something done on the spur of the moment without prior planning/preperation.

I might also step out on a limb and suggest that over reliance on the buddy system may have contributed to accident #1. Perhaps the diver assumed he was capable because he had previously only known the security of the group. When seperation occured he panicked. That's just an intellectual musing though, I have no idea why he really panicked.

And yes there are some aspects of solo diving that cannot be fully planned against - there is some risk. But, as accident #2 points out, simple recreational diving with a buddy at a populated dive site also comes with some risk.

PS. Where the heck are you diving, that place sounds dangerous!!!!

 

[captain]

I do not consider this to have any relationship to solo diving. Doesn't really belong here. Solo diving is to intentionally plan and execute the dive without a buddy from beginning to end. Obviously that wasn't the case in the incident.

 

[idocsteve]

I do not consider this to have any relationship to solo diving. Doesn't really belong here. Solo diving is to intentionally plan and execute the dive without a buddy from beginning to end. Obviously that wasn't the case in the incident.

The moderator meant well by splitting the thread but the title is misleading.

A better title might be "Did buddy separation cause panic that contributed to this accident"?

 

[Diver0001]

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A ScubaBoard Staff Message...

fair enough. I changed the title.

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[idocsteve]

Thanks.

Might want to move the thread out of the Solo Divers forum.

Especially since (as far as I know) non Solo Divers cannot post on it.