Well I see this is going to hell in a handbasket quick since I asked for it to be moved here. While there are some valid points made and some interesting observations what I was hoping to see(I know, I know it's the net) was to use what WE DO KNOW to offer some observations regarding the lessons that COULD be passed on to newer or even experienced divers.
Again we know from the articles that she was
1."found floating by other divers" not her buddy.
2. her bc was not full of air
3. there was a buddy seperation
4. she was 58 years old
5. she was recently certified
If we we to quickly look at these things we could say that there was a breakdown in communication. If not they would have been together. Their buddy skills were sorely lacking. Something happened that precluded her filling her bc- what COULD cause that? Ran out of air, medical issue made her unable to inflate it, defective inflator, or defective reg altogether. Her age but lets exclude that for now as we see that as alot of us get older it may slow us a bit but sometimes that's a good thing as we get more cautious and pay more attention to detail.
Recent certification could have played a very big part in this whole incident if they were not prepared for the condtions they were diving in, their swimming skills were not developed enough, they were not familiar enough with the gear they were using( we don;t know of it was theirs or rental), and for some reason they were not sufficiently versed in maintaining constant contact with each other.
This is what I am using this whole thing for in the class I am teaching now.
1. Drive home the importance of proper training. Sufficient time spent in the pool and classroom emphasizing buddy skills, communication, management of air supply, and knowing your limitations.
2. Instill the importance of knowing and checking your equipment- don't trust that your buddy, the shop, the resort, the instructor, etc has done it.
3. Communication between divers who are going to dive together is crucial at any level. I do dive solo, When with a buddy we plan and stick to the plan. Other wise IMO it's better to dive alone. That way I know I'm the one who will need to save my ass if something goes wrong and plan for that. New divers should never dive alone.
4. Using the rule of thirds as beginning divers makes sense. If it shortens the dives so what? Better to have a shorter safe dive than one that kills somebody. You can adjust this as you gain experience and your gas consumption gets better. My advice to my new students if you start with 3000 psi you DO NOT USE that as the starting pressure. I'm advising them to use the 300-500 psi in the tank as a starting point. Subtract 300-500 psi from 3000 leaving them with 2500-2700 and use that as their starting point. Descend dive till you hit 2100 or so, turn the dive, you hit the rope or ladder at 1200 and begin your ascent OR if you are comfortable with it spend a few minutes at the mooring or in the shallows and do your safety stop at 15 feet for 3 minutes. You are back on board with plenty of air. 800 or so min. What is wrong with that? THey are new, there will be many more dives in the future.
5. Constantly monitor yours and your buddy's air. Keep a dialogue going the whole time. Ask if they are ok, point out things to each other, stay within arms reach at all times, carry a slate to make notes and clearly state intentions, ask questions.
6. The slowest person is who sets the pace of the dive. Period-end of discussion.
7. In ascent maintain eye contact as much as possible. You don't need to be mask to mask but facing each other if going up a line or looking at each other every few seconds if doing a horizantal swimming ascent to shore. Never let your buddy get out of your sight. For new divers at any time do not let this happen. I will physically reposition buddy's if I see them getting too far apart or not in proper position.
8 Stay away from quickie courses where not enough time is spent making sure that all of this is covered in depth. Don;t have the time for that or the instructor says it's not necessary. Don't take up diving or find another instructor.
Finally, I ran into a friend last night who I used to dive with early on. He;s going through DM now and is not happy with some of what he's seeing. Short courses, no swimming skills being tested(snorkeling being substitutes) or not as thoroughly as he'd like, and students being allowed to do the float/tread in a wetsuit with no weights because they are "too lean" to do it otherwise. I am going to have to do some more talking with him because he said some other things that I find hard to believe but if true are very scary as to the route dive training is taking. My belief is that if this trend continues more incidents like this are going to be the result. So go ahead, put profit before safety, turn out large numbers of divers ill suited for the sport in the hopes they'll find out they need more basic stuff and come back to spend money getting what they should have gotten in OW. Me, I'll take my time and turn out people who I'd let dive with any of my loved ones and will know when it's best to not dive.
MY final analysis based on what WE DO KNOW is that there could have been a very different outcome to this story, in fact it may not have even happened, if they had been properly trained and paid attention to all that training. Breakdowns like this don't just happen with new divers. They begin during class and unless addressed can have tragic results. I spend enough time with my people to really know when they are not getting something, don't quite understand it, or see them developing a bad habit and have time to correct it. And how many of us know that one of the easiest buddy pairs to keep together are spouses. Unless the hubby is a hot dog and then we do things to get his ego in check. I'll even go so far as to tell the wife it may be better to dive with a DM than a hubby who's an ass.
Next?
