My trip in the Cozumel Chamber (very long)

[Christi]

Christi, if I may ask one more question. I will be in Coz on May 18th. and have 4 days of diving planned. Can you tell me what the current rate for nitrox is. I am bringing some new divers and they want to know. I get a package deal and it includes nitrox and I never broke it all down. This thread has been not only informative but eye-opening too. We are ALL GLAD that Chuck is O.K. and it has been a ringing bell for some of us. The info. that you provide on this thread is greatly appreciated. I hope to meet you some day.


Patrick Evans/ MAWG = middle aged white guy.

I think that would be a question better answered by the shop you are diving with since I have no idea what kind of package you got.

Standard is $10 per fill

 

[pilot fish]

Chuck, I'm not clear on how Christi, isn't she an angel?, go into the picture and called you? I'd hate to think of what might have happened to you if she had not. Also, how old are you? Do you think age was a part in this too?

I read your account and it put the fear of God in me. Too many times I have arrived at a resort and dove that day, not thinking of hydration or being tired. I will monitor my body more closely now and pass on a dive I don't feel up to. Thank very much for taking the time to share this ordeal. It will help us be safer divers. Thanks

Christi, you are a gem.

 

[parrotheaddiver]

Chuck, I'm not clear on how Christi, isn't she an angel?, go into the picture and called you? I'd hate to think of what might have happened to you if she had not. Also, how old are you? Do you think age was a part in this too?

I read your account and it put the fear of God in me. Too many times I have arrived at a resort and dove that day, not thinking of hydration or being tired. I will monitor my body more closely now and pass on a dive I don't feel up to. Thank very much for taking the time to share this ordeal. It will help us be safer divers. Thanks

Christi, you are a gem.

I'm not speaking for Chuck, but they are long time friends and she gave him a call to go to dinner and that is when his wife told Christi what had happend.

 

[pilot fish]

I'm not speaking for Chuck, but they are long time friends and she gave him a call to go to dinner and that is when his wife told Christi what had happend.

Yes, I realize now that it was a seperate thread from the one she had spoken about her friend.

I keep getting this picture of the poor man writhing on the pier in the full sun, puking, unable to stand and this damn dive op staff not moving him to the shade and giving him oxygen. There has to be a stiff fine for that dive op for not administering oygen, at the very least. If this stype of stuff is able to go umpunished then no one is safe. There has to be consequences for this type of obvious oversight and lack of miminmal care.

Is there a fine for a PADI boat going out without oxygen?

 

[zeek]

Hi,
After several referrals & a resonable amount of online searching my buddy & I have chosen Blue Angal to get oue OW certification with. We had not found any major negatives abouth their operation & indeed mainly accolades for their safety awareness.

After reading about Chucks' expirience, I am beginning to second guess our decison. Can some of you more experienced & knowledgable people tell whether or not my second thoughts are valid or is this a incident that could have happened anywhere. I do question Blue Angel's response to the situation.

Thanks for your help & advice.

 

[Mawg]

Hi,
After several referrals & a resonable amount of online searching my buddy & I have chosen Blue Angal to get oue OW certification with. We had not found any major negatives abouth their operation & indeed mainly accolades for their safety awareness.

After reading about Chucks' expirience, I am beginning to second guess our decison. Can some of you more experienced & knowledgable people tell whether or not my second thoughts are valid or is this a incident that could have happened anywhere. I do question Blue Angel's response to the situation.

Thanks for your help & advice.

Zeek, this is NOT an incident that could have happened anywhere. Open your eyes. I have been going to Coz since 1992. I have gone out with several D.O.s' and I'll tell you that based on what Chuck reported, I wouldn't let my dog on a Blue Angel boat. I have logged over 145 dives in Coz. alone and never even heard of something like this happening. IT IS A HUGE RED FLAG IN MY BOOK. Also, if you are going down there to get your open water certification, you need to go with a responsible D.O. Here are the guys you go with: Cdivers@prodigy.net.mx. You'll be very glad you did. I'll be diving with them in May and August.

 

[HammerNoMore]

Can some of you more experienced & knowledgable people tell whether or not my second thoughts are valid or is this a incident that could have happened anywhere.

I can tell you that I have dove with Blue Angel and have found them to offer excellent service, as have many other here on the board. I will also say that in combination with Caribe Blu, I think they offer a level of shore diving convience that can only be found there or at ScubaClub wich is far substandard in my opinion.

From the facts I have seen, I don't think that Blue Angel did anything wrong from the point of view of the dive itself. While there is really no such thing, from the various threads this sounds like an "undeserved" hit, at least from the dive profile perspective.

As far as what happened afterwards, Blue Angel offered good service for a diver with "motion sickess/food poisioning". Getting him to shore, picking him up, driving him to his hotel, consulting a physician.

The problem is that, it wasn't a case of "motion sickness/food poisioning". Should they have known? It's really difficult to say. Obviously, Christi decided to get him to the chamber when she saw him, and kudos to her. It could be that Christi's past experience with DCI makes her a little more cautious. It could be that Chucks, symptoms worsened after he was dropped off. It could be that Blue Angel dropped the ball. I don't think anyone who was not on the boat is in the position to make that call.

What I will stress again, is that usually, dive crews are not doctors and that despensing oxygen is basicly practicing medicine. With 20/20 hindsite I'd say that BA should have recommended oxygen, but I also say that Chuck should have asked for it. If you think you might be bent, ask for oxygen.

As for myself, I will continue to use Blue Angel, and next time I travel to Coz I will make a point to get in some dives with Christi as well. (Actually I wanted to try to get in a night dive with her last time but it was a last minute trip and I had trouble locating a number for her once I was on the island.) I've enjoyed Caribe Blu/Blue Angel better than any other hotel/op I have used on the island to date. I know that they feel badly about this situation and I believe they will react differently next time.

James

 

[Scuba_Steve]

I dunno there James.

The guy was hurting pretty bad by his own account, long before he left the services of BA, and giving 02 is hardly practicing medicine in this context. It's nothing more than good prudence (occassionally called First Aid, which isn't a medical practice) that should have been given even IF the account didn't turn out to be DCI. It wouldn't have hurt in the least. That's basic stuff. "When in doubt....."

I think if anyone would have mentioned it, it would have spurred someone to give it to him, and not the deer in the headlights stance that he got.

I do agree with you that Christi's prior experience cleared her mind and engaged the correct gears in her very quickly. Thank goodness. She's definately the hero of the day.

What told the tale for me, was their evidently non-chalant demeanor when they realized later that the guy was bent.

Yes I realize we have the hindsight that is 20/20, but for us to ignore what wasn't done, just gives more power to not doing it right in the first place, which can't be condoned or ignored.

 

[Moodiejeff]

I don't think anyone who was not on the boat is in the position to make that call.

Yep, that's what I want to hear... someone else who was on the boat. I completely believe Chuck's story but would like to hear from an impartial observer what was going on during the time that Chuck was out on that dock in obvious distress.

What I will stress again, is that usually, dive crews are not doctors and that despensing oxygen is basicly practicing medicine.

I've got to completely disagree with you on that point... why have Oxygen on board if you're not going to use it? I don't know what training Divemasters go through but the adminstering of Oxygen has to be a major skill they need to learn.

Will this incident make Blue Angel a better dive op... almost certainly! They've always gotten excellent reviews and this is the 1st bad thing i've ever heard.

Will I ever dive with them in the future? Doubtful, not with the attitude they took.

 

[BigJetDriver]

(1)From the facts I have seen, I don't think that Blue Angel did anything wrong from the point of view of the dive itself. While there is really no such thing, from the various threads this sounds like an "undeserved" hit, at least from the dive profile perspective.

(2) What I will stress again, is that usually, dive crews are not doctors and that despensing oxygen is basicly practicing medicine. With 20/20 hindsite I'd say that BA should have recommended oxygen, but I also say that Chuck should have asked for it. If you think you might be bent, ask for oxygen.

James

James,

Your post was thoughtful, and, in the main, well-balanced. I would just like to point out two things if I may.

(1) We tend to no longer describe DCS occurrences as either "deserved" or "un-deserved". All dive tables, computers, algorithms, etc. are statistically based. Even diving well within the limits, there is still the possibility, small but nevertheless extant, that one might have an "un-expected" occurrence, which is now the more accurate and preferred term.

(2) Offering oxygen to someone in distress is not truly "practising medicine". If you offer O2 to someone with food poisoning, you will not have harmed them, and may have made them feel better. If you offer O2 to someone who may have DCS, on their way to further treatment, you will have helped them immensely. Either way, everyone wins. It is a case of: "Oxygen! Don't leave home (or the dock) without it!" :07: )

This is a case where a Dive Instructor used her knowledge and force of personality first to properly diagnose the situation, and then to insist that the diver get the proper treatment.

I would say that Christi, the instructor, deserves lots of public praise for her excellent work in this tough situation. She certainly made a great difference for the better in at least one diver's life! :wave-smil

Sincerely,

Rob Davie