DSD Fatality in Thailand | Feb 2016

[Tom Winters]

This Mr. Brannigan sure sounds like a piece of work. I did DSDs for years in Hawaii. Mostly Japanese. A lot of haoles, but thousands of Japanese.
We never had a problem, but every now and then, some other assclown working for someone else would manage to kill a tourist. Those guys were all pieces of work too.
That was some fun stuff, plus getting paid with stacks of $100 American Express travelers cheques was extra frosting on the cake.

 

[scorpiofish]

Odd. When my ex and I took the kids on a DSD, there was one instructor with two kids. He made it very clear he was in charge.

We adults went in first, and then accompanied the instructor and kids down. When one had ear-clearing issue, both kids went back up. This bit of two-steps down and one-step up continued for a few minutes.

Why would the DM / instructor not keep both of his 'students' together?

This is how I would have done it. If one goes up, all go up. No one is left on their own.

 

[Colliam7]

Is it just me or does 35-40 ft seem a bit deep for a DSD?

For better or worse, the PADI standard for an OW DSD dive is a maximum depth of 40 feet. I can't speak for other agencies. And, I have some difficulty with the idea of taking a DSD participant to 40 feet, even in warm, clear water. But, that is done, and regularly it seems. And, nothing 'bad' happens - right up until something 'bad' happens, which more often than not seems to occur when a DSD participant is left alone underwater.

I was on a charter in St. Thomas in December with family, and some friends of family. Our family group included 4 certified divers, and 2 DSD participants. And, there were 4 other divers on the boat. The certified divers buddied up and swam around the site, while the Instructor completed a DSD experience for the DSD folks. Toward the end of our dive, as my wife and I swam back to the area near the boat tie-in, I saw the DSD folks swimming around (at a depth of ~40 feet), with the Instructor nearby, thoroughly enjoying themselves - they were literally grinning underwater. Afterward, they both said they had 'an absolute blast', and one of them - my son-in-law's father, now wants to get certified. Nominally, it was exactly what DSD is all about - people experiencing the beauty of the underwater world - without incident - and wanting to continue.

I cannot conceive of a set of circumstances under which the standards for DSD were adhered to in conducting that experience. But, I had not set it up, I was on the trip as a diver, not an Instructor, and I didn't say anything afterward - either to the very elated DSD participants, or to the Instructor. I had the definite impression that this approach was 'usual and customary', though. I couldn't / wouldn't do it. But, apparently many others do.

 

[Joneill]

Is it just me or does 35-40 ft seem a bit deep for a DSD? I did one in Maui for my first dive and it was 15-20. And that was after an hour or two session in a pool. It was 1-1. Well there was a second person there but that was an OW diver tagging along.

Now knowing better, the sad thing is the instructor said we'd be as deep as 40 feet and not to be worried as it was safer than being at 20 feet as if I had an issue and bolted for the surface (which he had said was a big no- no), it gave him a buffer to catch me before I injured myself - crazy!

 

[tlj3071]

Scariest DSD I ever saw was on a 6-pack in St. Lucia. 6 divers (4 DSD's and two certified) with 1 instructor and 1 DM. The DSD's got their "classroom" instruction by huddling in the center of the boat on the way to the dive site. Then did the initial "see what it is like to breath underwater" thing with inflated BC's bobbing on the surface, and finally did the drills at about 20' kneeling on the sand before touring the reef down to about 35'. The 2nd tank was about the same depth - maybe slightly less (I don't have my log here so I can't be sure). I was along for the dive with my brother-in-law who - although not certified - had done about 6 DSD's prior to this one. Exactly why he hasn't bothered to get certified yet I can't say.

 

[eelnoraa]

The whole combination is just nuts: DSD in open water, 35-40ft, and more students in instructor in this kind of condition, leave un-certified student at bottom ... OMG!!!

 

[Colliam7]

The DSD's got their "classroom" instruction by huddling in the center of the boat on the way to the dive site. Then did the initial "see what it is like to breath underwater" thing with inflated BC's bobbing on the surface, and finally did the drills at about 20' kneeling on the sand before touring the reef down to about 35'. The 2nd tank was about the same depth - maybe slightly less (I don't have my log here so I can't be sure).

This was almost exactly what I witnessed on St. Thomas (boat 'academics', 'Confined Water Dive' skills essentially on the surface or just below, and an 'optional OW dive' to 40 feet following immediately after). And, it seemed to be the usual and customary practice. And, the DSD folks had a great time. But . . .

 

[Diving Dubai]

Luckily not all Instructors are muppets. We took our tow boys to Thailand a year ago. We'd been on a liveaboard with a shop a few months before and told them that our boys were interested and they were happy to give them a go. If we hadn't been happy with the operation when we dived we obviously wouldn't have let our boys do their DSD. We had 1 instructor and 1 DM per boy. Although we were in the water we stayed out of the way. While one of ours is a water baby and gave his DM a run for her money swimming around (max depth was 8m) the other couldn't equalize. never the less the boys had a great time and we never felt that they were in less than good hands.

Of course being divers we know what to look for in an instructor whereas those with no experience trust (as I did when I learnt) that the person being an instructor must be top notch.