Importance of Self Reliance

[Chilly_Dipper]

On tourist dive boats at resorts I always do everything myself, and have physically restrained DMs who want to 'check' before I enter the water. Do they think I'm an idiot?

The answer to this question is yes... and they are right to make that assumption.

No I am not saying you are an idiot but it is a sign of a competent DM that they take the time to check divers gear. There are many more stories of divers going over the side without checking their gear and having a failure than there are of DMs screwing up divers gear.

I appreciate that you are careful but a dive operator cannot and should not make that assumption unless they are familiar with your habits.

 

[nimoh]

Normally when I splash I get down to about 10' - 15', establish a stable platform and then check my gauge and do a modified S-drill just to make sure everything is in order. However on this dive I entered the water quickly to clear the boat and get some extra time in. Once I started my dive I just started descending down the mooring line into the darkness. It got dark fast with zero reference apart from the descent line. I was focused on good trim and watching my depth so that I could anticipate seeing the bottom and become neutral when I reached it.

just curious, and perhaps a naive (on my part) question about solo diving, but what is the purpose of a modified s-drill for a solo dive?

It seems to me if the long hose is trapped, it doesn't much matter if you aren't going to have to share gas.

 

[redacted]

just curious, and perhaps a naive (on my part) question about solo diving, but what is the purpose of a modified s-drill for a solo dive?

It seems to me if the long hose is trapped, it doesn't much matter if you aren't going to have to share gas.

With other divers around you, you can never tell when someone might swim up and politely ask for gas.

 

[dfx]

Put your hackles down; I was merely using a tongue-in-cheek term as a way of pointing out the silliness of Peter Guy's "this never would have happened if he'd been diving with a real team/buddy and that's why solo is a bad idea" assertion. In other words, the assumption that teams are any better than solos about always following proper procedures with a 0% error rate is bull, as is the idea that any "real" divers never make silly mistakes.

Yeah, people make silly mistakes. Solo divers make silly mistakes and members of buddy teams also make silly mistakes. However, the chance that both members of a buddy team make the same silly mistake at the same time is much lower than a single person making a silly mistake. Just saying.

 

[NAM001]

Buddies also make mistakes such as shuting off your air. righty tighty .......... The buddy system , as is the solo system, is a double edged sword. My last outt of air was from a buddy opening the tank valve and backing off the 1/4 turn. It was already open...... OOPS the buddy got it backward. breathed fine on shore but not at depth.

Yeah, people make silly mistakes. Solo divers make silly mistakes and members of buddy teams also make silly mistakes. However, the chance that both members of a buddy team make the same silly mistake at the same time is much lower than a single person making a silly mistake. Just saying.

 

[redacted]

Yeah, people make silly mistakes. Solo divers make silly mistakes and members of buddy teams also make silly mistakes. However, the chance that both members of a buddy team make the same silly mistake at the same time is much lower than a single person making a silly mistake. Just saying.

You would like to think so but solo divers are not simply a random sample from the buddy diving population. And then there is the dependance thing.

"I thought your turned to stove off" "NO, I thought you did". Oops

 

[dfx]

You would like to think so but solo divers are not simply a random sample from the buddy diving population. And then there is the dependance thing.

"I thought your turned to stove off" "NO, I thought you did". Oops

If you do that, then you're not a buddy team.

 

[NAM001]

I dont think i am alone on this.... What concern does a DM have when he is not in the water and guiding a group. Do DM's not read the waivers we all have to sign. We the divers are FORCED to make all but our selves faultless if we want to dive on your boat or site. You have no liability,,,, so why the compulsion to assist when such is neither asked for or wanted. Asking if the diver would like you to check anything before water entry is another thing. as a DM you are trusted to do correctly those functions requested by the guest. So yes agillis is correct when asking if the DM"S think you are an idiot. On the DM's behalf.. tourest sites are largely populated by idiots.

The answer to this question is yes... and they are right to make that assumption.

No I am not saying you are an idiot but it is a sign of a competent DM that they take the time to check divers gear. There are many more stories of divers going over the side without checking their gear and having a failure than there are of DMs screwing up divers gear.

I appreciate that you are careful but a dive operator cannot and should not make that assumption unless they are familiar with your habits.

 

[chrpai]

just curious, and perhaps a naive (on my part) question about solo diving, but what is the purpose of a modified s-drill for a solo dive?

It seems to me if the long hose is trapped, it doesn't much matter if you aren't going to have to share gas.

Awap answered part. The other part was I do it on solo dives and non-solo dives for consistency. (Not in this case though it seems...) It also gives me one last chance to test my secondary and verify my gas. (Again, not in this case.... doh!)

I'm sure it's safe to say the people who invented the modified s-drill didn't see it being used in this way for obvious reasons....

 

[nimoh]

With other divers around you, you can never tell when someone might swim up and politely ask for gas.

thanks, didn't consider that.

---------- Post added August 27th, 2013 at 02:20 PM ----------

Buddies also make mistakes such as shuting off your air. righty tighty .......... The buddy system , as is the solo system, is a double edged sword. My last ourtt of air was from a buddy opening the tank valve and backing off the 1/4 turn. OOPS he got it backward. breathed fine on shore but not at depth.

I agree with that. When we do buddy checks, we never touch each other's gear. One person will go through their own checks, and each team member in turn will reply with either "check" or "hang on a sec ... check". After that, each team member has a chance to mention anything that was missed.

However, it is pretty rare that anything is missed in the predive check (apart from things that were corrected during the predive check) mostly, imho, due to the fact that the system used for the predive check is memorized and doesn't change. I think the same could be for an experienced solo diver, going through their own checks should result in checking everything. The problem with both systems is when divers (or teams) get lazy and skip parts.

---------- Post added August 27th, 2013 at 02:22 PM ----------

Awap answered part. The other part was I do it on solo dives and non-solo dives for consistency. (Not in this case though it seems...) It also gives me one last chance to test my secondary and verify my gas. (Again, not in this case.... doh!)

I'm sure it's safe to say the people who invented the modified s-drill didn't see it being used in this way for obvious reasons....

consistency is a great reason