"Guided" 200' dive with a single AL80?

[ClamBake]

Did you catch the part about 200ft on air with a single tank? Are you sure you know what you are signed up for? Just asking..

Yeah. I did. I also have read everything that has been posted on this and have PM'd with Jason directly. What I signed up for are drift dives along the same Playa and Cozumel reefs that I could dive as part of a cattle boat with a 10:1 ratio of divers of all experience levels to one DM or DMT.

 

[amitsi]

WHY ARE YOU GUYS PREVENTING DARWIN'S THEORY OF NATURAL SELECTION WHERE SMARTER AND STRONGER PEOPLE ONLY GET TO BREED, man talk about interfering with nature taking its due course

Where is the video link?

 

[Cave Diver]

However, actually taking out no more than 3 divers at a time and keeping an eye on those three divers on reef dives well within recreational limits sounds like a pretty good approach and record to me!

Well, by his own post, first he says he was at 199' when the shark swam past him and his clients. That indicates they are at 199' with him.

Once he started getting hammered, he backpedaled that and said they were at 150-165' range. So that means he's a good 35' deeper than they are. Hard to keep an eye on someone or respond to an emergency if they are that far away from you.

Lastly, he mentions one of them running low and having to share air during the ascent. Considering all the ammunition he just left lying out there, its no wonder people picked up rocks and started throwing them back.

Again, I don't know the creditentials of his clients, nor does he offer them for us to inspect. By his own admissions he's not trained nor certified to do this type of diving, so why should we expect his clients to be?

If someone wants to dive recklessly and endager themselves, more power to them. If they can get someone else to pay him to do the same for him knowing what the possible dangers are, even better.

My objection comes to the way he glorifies this in such a manner that many divers who don't know any better may think this is an acceptable way to dive.

 

[Blind]

Ive done a guided dive to ~60m for ~15 mins with only an 80 and a pony. It took 45 mins to decompress and had to switch to pony with about 10 mins of decompression to go. It was a nice dive tho was very narked

 

[Skull]

Cave Diver ...remember one thing the three other divers were certified ...which in my book makes them culpible for their own actions ...apparently they had the ability, poise and skill to preform a shared air ascent and then recover with ample air for a safety stop ...albeit reckless by todays standards but hardly not out of the pale of skilled certified divers. No worse than having a little too much christmas cheer and driving home on a freeway @ 75 mph in a 2 ton vehicle...which I suspect most of us are guilty of at one time or another -eh?

 

[texdiveguy]

Ive done a guided dive to ~60m for ~15 mins with only an 80 and a pony. It took 45 mins to decompress and had to switch to pony with about 10 mins of decompression to go. It was a nice dive tho was very narked

You are a crazed as the OP of this thread.....what don't you guys understand???

 

[Tigerman]

Cave Diver ...remember one thing the three other divers were certified ...which in my book makes them culpible for their own actions ...apparently they had the ability, poise and skill to preform a shared air ascent and then recover with ample air for a safety stop ...albeit reckless by todays standards but hardly not out of the pale of skilled certified divers. No worse than having a little too much christmas cheer and driving home on a freeway @ 75 mph in a 2 ton vehicle...which I suspect most of us are guilty of at one time or another -eh?

Now why the heck would I want to go driving while under the influence?
Its plain stupid and unneccesary, not to mention extremely dangerous!
Then again, people dont wake up before their friends get hurt or killed..
Some dont even wake up from that as some of the people around here proves by doing the same reckless things as their friends who got killed DUI just a couple of months ago

 

[Adobo]

No worse than having a little too much christmas cheer and driving home on a freeway @ 75 mph in a 2 ton vehicle...which I suspect most of us are guilty of at one time or another -eh?

Now imagine someone posting video about such an event as if it is something to aspire to. And imagine a few others looking at that video and saying, "gee, looks like a lot of fun. Wish I could try it."

 

[Cave Diver]

Cave Diver ...remember one thing the three other divers were certified ...which in my book makes them culpible for their own actions ...apparently they had the ability, poise and skill to preform a shared air ascent and then recover with ample air for a safety stop ...albeit reckless by todays standards but hardly not out of the pale of skilled certified divers. No worse than having a little too much christmas cheer and driving home on a freeway @ 75 mph in a 2 ton vehicle...which I suspect most of us are guilty of at one time or another -eh?

I fully agree that they were certified and thus responsible for their own actions. But just because they were certified does not necessarily mean they were aware of all the risks associated with this dive, although I'm sure they signed the standard "diving is dangerous, you could be killed yada yada yada" waiver.

I have asked questions to ascertain the precautions and skill levels of the divers who went on this excursion. All of which have gone unanswered, even though the OP has returned to this thread several times.

I'm still curious what his "screening" process is. Did he do several shallow dives first to ascertain their skill level and ability? Certainly they didn't flash a c-card to be allowed on this dive, because that depth (even 150') would require more than just an advanced certification. So, if they were only "advanced divers" why would a dive op assume liability of taking them on a dive that is outside his agency standards?

I'd also like to know why since by his own admission this is a "dangerous" dive, the clients were not provided redundant gear. I see posts on here all the time by divers with much less experience who at least carry a pony bottle.

While they may have the skill to perform air sharing, do they have the experience or skill to do it while narked at 150'? And what did the guide do to ensure they did? Checkout dives? Air sharing drills? Emergency ascents?

The clients carry their own share of responsibility for their actions, but I question how well they understood the potential dangers from their "guide." Complacency kills. If divers are complacent with who they put their trust in, they might get hurt. If those entrusted with their safety become complacent, people may get hurt. If this thread does nothing but bring awareness to "what if" then it has served a purpose.

In response to your "holiday cheer." I can honestly say that I never have. I lost a close family member to the actions of another careless individual at a young age. While he was responsible for his own actions, he couldn't control what the driver in the other lane was doing and as a result, he paid with his life. So I advocate that even less than I advocate diving recklessly.

 

[RS]

Well, I guess everyone has their own opinion and of course do what you want I don't really care. But in my book, not enough gas for the dive and too deep on air.

Of course, I'll be the first too admit I'm very new too diving, but from the training and reading I've done, that's what I believe.