Diver missing in Cumbria lake - UK

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Sorry Don, not getting at you - this is a particular beef of mine!
No problem. You well stated my thoughts when I posted that aspect.
 
Let me add that in this particular case it seems probable that the victim did have proper experience of the waters he was diving in. If he was an instructor in that area then he was probably with BSAC, and that instructor ticket means something.

Peter, I agree with you assessment of instructors. The victim worked for Academy Divers in Leeds so it's likely that he's a PADI instructor.
 
I do know very capable PADI instructors - I'm one myself, amongst other agencies - but by itself I'm wary. It's simply too easy to get. I know too many whose personal diving skills I rate very low. I started diving with BSAC, and in due course moved over to the PADI system on practical grounds. Almost all my early dives were in British waters, with the occasional foray to the Red Sea or Maldives. But I didn't consider becoming a PADI DM until I had 900-odd dives, and I had 1500 before I became an instructor. To me there's no substitute for time in the water, and the range of experiences that gives you. I'm amazed that it's possible to become an instructor without being a Nitrox diver, both in terms of personal development and also working with divers who are so certified. I agree with basic diving being more accessible than it was when I started out, when it was like a rather severe Army boot camp and put many probably perfectly capable people off. But moving towards the higher levels, particularly the DM and Instructor levels, I think it's way too easy. This topic warrants a thread on its own and it certainly doesn't belong here in an accident thread, so unless a moderator moves it over and starts a new thread I will.
 
I do know very capable PADI instructors - I'm one myself, amongst other agencies - but by itself I'm wary. It's simply too easy to get. I know too many whose personal diving skills I rate very low. I started diving with BSAC, and in due course moved over to the PADI system on practical grounds. Almost all my early dives were in British waters, with the occasional foray to the Red Sea or Maldives. But I didn't consider becoming a PADI DM until I had 900-odd dives, and I had 1500 before I became an instructor. To me there's no substitute for time in the water, and the range of experiences that gives you. I'm amazed that it's possible to become an instructor without being a Nitrox diver, both in terms of personal development and also working with divers who are so certified. I agree with basic diving being more accessible than it was when I started out, when it was like a rather severe Army boot camp and put many probably perfectly capable people off. But moving towards the higher levels, particularly the DM and Instructor levels, I think it's way too easy. This topic warrants a thread on its own and it certainly doesn't belong here in an accident thread, so unless a moderator moves it over and starts a new thread I will.


I had absolutely the opposite experience with BSAC. I crossed over to BSAC as I felt the training was far more comprehensive and I felt far safer in the water as a BSAC diver than I ever did as a PADI one. Thanks to my BSAC instrructors I am now a much better, safer diver.
 
I had absolutely the opposite experience with BSAC. I crossed over to BSAC as I felt the training was far more comprehensive and I felt far safer in the water as a BSAC diver than I ever did as a PADI one. Thanks to my BSAC instrructors I am now a much better, safer diver.

I became PADI as well as BSAC, not instead of. And I am or have been an instructor with BSAC as well as PADI and other agencies. It used to be the case that BSAC training was second to none, when it all happened in a club environment. That's how I knew it. But when BSAC adopted "schools" in line with the American recreational agencies it changed somewhat, and not for the better.
 


A ScubaBoard Staff Message...

Let's get back to the topic here. You're in A&I, remember. If the training agency has no role in the mishap, there's no reason to get into agency comparisons, motivations for affiliation, etc.
 
there has been a coroners inquest in this case. more information in local media in the last two weeks. all points to a medical issue. condolences to all affected.
 

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