Myth: OW divers are dangerous. Well then if that were true I would be pulling bodies out of the sea every few days but nope - every OW certified diver I've ever dived with has spectacularly failed to die. Myth busted.
In my experience, the most dangerous divers are people who have made a few dives, taken a particular course, think they know everything and have what I call the IOW cert - Immortal Open Water: "Buddy checks are for novices, I can solo dive because my insta-buddy is a life-threatening nightmare and I know better. I must carry two lights and two reels and two SMBs and must wear these fins because this is the only way to dive safely, and anybody who doesn't do this is gonna DIE! I know that this, that and the other standard or limit or recommendation is too conservative and I can willingly break those limits because I know better"
Okay - qualify that a little. In some diving circumstances, you do need some extra things, and you do need to acquire certain techniques, but for your average tropical recreational diver, they are not so important.
The most dangerous diver, in my opinion, is the diver with just a bit of experience (call it 50 dives or so) who thinks they know better than well researched, well established, safe diving practices - even if they don't measure up to other people's opinions of what constitutes "safe" diving.
Personal understanding of what you're doing is the key, and further training, whether that be a resort-based AOW course or GUE fundamentals is never a bad thing.
Safe diving,
C.
In my experience, the most dangerous divers are people who have made a few dives, taken a particular course, think they know everything and have what I call the IOW cert - Immortal Open Water: "Buddy checks are for novices, I can solo dive because my insta-buddy is a life-threatening nightmare and I know better. I must carry two lights and two reels and two SMBs and must wear these fins because this is the only way to dive safely, and anybody who doesn't do this is gonna DIE! I know that this, that and the other standard or limit or recommendation is too conservative and I can willingly break those limits because I know better"
Okay - qualify that a little. In some diving circumstances, you do need some extra things, and you do need to acquire certain techniques, but for your average tropical recreational diver, they are not so important.
The most dangerous diver, in my opinion, is the diver with just a bit of experience (call it 50 dives or so) who thinks they know better than well researched, well established, safe diving practices - even if they don't measure up to other people's opinions of what constitutes "safe" diving.
Personal understanding of what you're doing is the key, and further training, whether that be a resort-based AOW course or GUE fundamentals is never a bad thing.
Safe diving,
C.
