Diver Indicted in 2003 GBR mishap

[livinoz]

Even if I were in Oz, it would take a lot to get me to watch A Current Affair.

However, I am curious about the '...mask-on-top-of-the-head thing...' Care to explain?

I hardly ever watch it usually, it's absolute rubbish, and last night's report was no different.

I was taught that your mask is an essential piece of equipment, not a fashion accessory, and that if you needed to take it off, put it around your neck, not on top of your head. You won't look too cool if it washes off on the surface and you lose it. So my comment was a sarcastic one on the "ability" of the reporter. So many act like they know it all, but their words and actions speak more loudly. (eg, Nancy Grace, see this thread!)

 

[MartianBeerPig]

I hardly ever watch it usually, it's absolute rubbish, and last night's report was no different.

I was taught that your mask is an essential piece of equipment, not a fashion accessory, and that if you needed to take it off, put it around your neck, not on top of your head. You won't look too cool if it washes off on the surface and you lose it. So my comment was a sarcastic one on the "ability" of the reporter. So many act like they know it all, but their words and actions speak more loudly. (eg, Nancy Grace, see this thread!)

Oh, I'm with you now. So the reporter did the whole report standing on a beach with the mask sitting on top of his or her head. That would have been quite funny.

Actually I was taught that the mask on top of head thing was distress signal.

Nancy Grace....<shudders>

 

[livinoz]

Oh, I'm with you now. So the reporter did the whole report standing on a beach with the mask sitting on top of his or her head. That would have been quite funny.

Actually I was taught that the mask on top of head thing was distress signal.

Nancy Grace....<shudders>

For part of her report she was in the water bobbing around on the surface like a cork with the mask perched daintily on her head! (can you tell I'm sceptical about her abilities?)

I'd have to agree about Nancy Grace and the first I'd heard of her was on here!

 

[Dadvocate]

Conventional wisdom says that you shouldn&#8217;t take your mask off until you are on the boat, but I tend to follow Livinoz&#8217;s advdice about keeping it around my neck in calm conditions.

I remember a funny moment near Verde Island on a dive we had with a group of eight. I&#8217;d pretty much said exactly the same thing as Livinoz to my Filipino friends when I noticed them placing their masks on their heads (some of them backwards&#8230;go figure) on an earlier dive. These were Pinoy yuppies, replete with brand spanking new kit and very nice outfits (at sea and on land).

Anyway, they half-jokingly told me to mind my own business before we hit the water. When we surfaced after a nice wall dive, a pretty good sized swell had churned up and was hitting us as the banka neared. I actually kept my mask on as I fought the waves to get closer. Like a script in a comedy, a wave hit us as we were in line wating for the boat, all of their masks came off simultaneouly and sunk to the bottom, something like 50 meters.

I tried but failed to contain my giggles as we returned to shore. I didn&#8217;t actually say, &#8220;I told you so&#8221;, however.

Cheers!

 

[livinoz]

Conventional wisdom says that you shouldn’t take your mask off until you are on the boat, but I tend to follow Livinoz’s advdice about keeping it around my neck in calm conditions.

I remember a funny moment near Verde Island on a dive we had with a group of eight. I’d pretty much said exactly the same thing as Livinoz to my Filipino friends when I noticed them placing their masks on their heads (some of them backwards…go figure) on an earlier dive. These were Pinoy yuppies, replete with brand spanking new kit and very nice outfits (at sea and on land).

Anyway, they half-jokingly told me to mind my own business before we hit the water. When we surfaced after a nice wall dive, a pretty good sized swell had churned up and was hitting us as the banka neared. I actually kept my mask on as I fought the waves to get closer. Like a script in a comedy, a wave hit us as we were in line wating for the boat, all of their masks came off simultaneouly and sunk to the bottom, something like 50 meters.

I tried but failed to contain my giggles as we returned to shore. I didn’t actually say, “I told you so”, however.

Cheers!

That's hilarious! Thanks for sharing!

 

[thanksforallthefish]

Oh, I'm with you now. So the reporter did the whole report standing on a beach with the mask sitting on top of his or her head. That would have been quite funny.

Actually I was taught that the mask on top of head thing was distress signal.

Nancy Grace....<shudders>

Same here ... mask on head is a distress signal and also the quickest way to lose a piece of equipment.

It should be in place or around the neck.

 

[livinoz]

Same here ... mask on head is a distress signal and also the quickest way to lose a piece of equipment.

It should be in place or around the neck.

Yes, I agree, it's safer to have it around the neck and not lose it, but I wonder is MOTH a recognised signal of distress? Leroy Wickham, the educational programs specialist for PADI says that there is nothing (in the PADI manuals at least) stating that it is, and that it should be taken in context. For example, a diver on the surface who happens to have their mask on their head may be exhibiting other signs of distress, but they may also be perfectly fine. He states, "Too many people make up these "rules" and perpetuate them without having rationalized or really thought them out."

So is this a "scuba" myth? Do all instructors teach this?

(Sorry, I know this is rather off-topic in this thread)

 

[thanksforallthefish]

Yes, I agree, it's safer to have it around the neck and not lose it, but I wonder is MOTH a recognised signal of distress? Leroy Wickham, the educational programs specialist for PADI says that there is nothing (in the PADI manuals at least) stating that it is, and that it should be taken in context. For example, a diver on the surface who happens to have their mask on their head may be exhibiting other signs of distress, but they may also be perfectly fine. He states, "Too many people make up these "rules" and perpetuate them without having rationalized or really thought them out."

So is this a "scuba" myth? Do all instructors teach this?

(Sorry, I know this is rather off-topic in this thread)

All my training was NAUI ... and about 17 years ago so forgive me if my memory is not accurate, but I think the logic of this was that it is an easy way to lose equipment so to have students avoid putting their mask on the forehead it was considered as the diver being distressed ... not thinking clearly as they are not doing what they have been taught.

Remember when I did my courses ALL the gear you used was hire gear, not like today where you are expected to buy mask, snorkel and boots.

Possibly the instructor could have been up for some cost of replacing any lost gear.

Yes this is quite off topic maybe someone can move it to another thread before we get a rap over the knuckles ...OUCH

 

[ERIC.K]

500 or so dives, I tend to surface with calm conditions put my mask on top of my head and wow about the dive and never have I heard anyone say that it is taboo or the sign of a distressed diver. I would expect that if someone was alerted to my mask being on top of my head they would look at other signs of distress in addition to may mask placement. with my second stage, sometimes a snorkle and the collar of my BC I find it somewhat uncomfortable to have my mask around my neck and would require me to actually loosen the strap. certainly in rough and unpredictible seas the mask stays firmly on my face. I would hope not to have a divemaster one day try to rescue me and call the coast guard simply because my mask is on the top of my head. My YMCA taught us it was an easy way to loose a piece of equipment nothing more nothing less

 

[K_girl]

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/ac...on-murder-case-issues-statements-sources.html

Thanks (I think) for that K ... just another 4 pages of posts to read ...grrrrreat.

Seriously .. i looked at doing something similar a little while ago but gave up because it seemed way too difficult for my small brain.

Thanks again

You're welcome - it was frustrating when people were trying to discuss things from memory and getting some of the facts wrong - it starts turning into something completely different from how it started out. It was getting harder to keep the statements and the issues straight. I feel I have a better handle now on the information that is out in the public domain and the issues they raise.

I hope other people do eventually post to the thread, but making sure that they quote the actual sources, visualize from beginning to end, to make sure they have the issue correct. I learned a lot trying to visualize what Watson was saying. That was a huge challenge because he was quite the double-talker. You don't realize how much until you really try to follow what he is saying in trying to get the whole picture. You can follow the bits and pieces - and understand what he is saying, and maybe even believe him. But try to put it all together - nearly impossible and have it make sense the way he tries to tell it.

I know some people discount it completely because some of the information I gathered came from the media, but the biggest bulk of the statements came from Watson himself in his police interview. I believe if you take out what was said by the media and focus only on Watson's statements, there is still enough for a conviction.