Overconfident OW divers

[lamont]

you all know people used to scuba dive before SPGs right?

you also know that given your depth and time that you should be able to calculate your gas usage?

 

[cyklon_300]

a J-valve until she gets the spg replaced...

 

[miketsp]

you all know people used to scuba dive before SPGs right?
..snip..

Yes, but we had a reserve valve to pull on so we had warning of final OOA.

Edit: that's what comes of drinking coffee while typing - Cyklon 300 beat me to it.

 

[miketsp]

I wanted to point something that I (in my limited experience) have noticed and want to address. I was talking to a friend yesterday about my OW certification (recent) program and a trip to Cozumel that I'm taking. A young lady overheard me and began to talk about her experience from the same class. This class is a full semester at the college I go to and is more in depth than most OW checkouts, but this person seemed to think it made them an experienced diver. She began talking about her trip and about she "had a broken pressuge gauge on a dive from the beginning, but was so comfortable and experienced that she just looked off her dive buddies and continued the dive by guessing." Now I understand not panicking is important in this situation, but this blew me away; knowingly continuing a dive with a bad SPG?

I was really angry for a while, but then I realized that I too have a little of the same self-confidence even though I am just beginning my diving. A part of this can be attributed to my zealousness for the sport and my desire to learn more, but just because we as new divers read scubaboard and have a few dives does not mean we shouldn't be aware of our lack of experience. I have begun to realize how little I know and how I need to be even more careful because of my enthusiasm.

This got a little longwinded, but the point is to never get complacent or think that "it will never happen to you."

Scott

You mean you can't tell how much air is left in your cylinder by banging it with your knife and listening to the ring?

 

[Jim Ernst]

Wow. I continued a dive once when the computer failed. I watched my buddy's (two actually) computers to make sure that I did not exceed the NDL, and I made sure that I was never lower than they were. However, I did have a working pressure gauge so I knew (in theory) how much air I had at any given moment.

While some might think I was foolish (and they are entitled to their opinions) it really is hard to understand how someone who supposedly understands what was going on would think that it would be prudent to dive without a pressure gauge.

Some people might try to justify by saying that they always use less air than so-and-so or something like that. Maybe they were not very deep, or they were confident in the availability of a buddy for buddy-breathing. Whatever. I would definitely chew out a buddy that continued a dive without a gauge, but that's just me.


Wristshot

wristshot, i agree with you on the computer thing as ishie and i dived with only i having a computer for sometime, as you say some may dissagree, but without a spg i think that could be suicidel!!!!!

 

[herman]

Herman: It's unfortunate that things like this deter competent divers from helping inexperienced divers like myself. I totally understand why, but it certainly doesn't rectify the problem of divers who don't know better

I agree.
I will dive with new divers, in fact I enjoy helping them improve, it's just got to be on my terms and an expensive trip is not the place. I paid to dive, not to be a DM.
I see your in Coz in 15 days, wished our schedules were overlapping, I am leaving a couple of days before you arrive. I would have liked to have added you to my "Scuba Board Member dove with" list.

 

[GrierHPharmD]

She was actually proud of this "accomplishment"; believe it or not, her dive buddy was her father, which makes the whole situation even worse.

Obviously, the genes that earn Darwin Awards can be passed on from time to time.

Did I read this correctly - that this was an OW checkout dive? Obviously two divers failed the buddy check portion in addition to using extremely poor judgement. As a DM, I find it appalling that an OW checkout could have been allowed to proceed with a broken SPG.

As to diving before there were SPGs, that's true, but the dive training was much more rigorous, and there were other mechanisms (i.e., J-valves) that were used in this situation. The reason that SPGs became a routine part of the diver's gear is that they added a considerable margin of safety to the activity.

Sounds like she's in search of some adventure and a few war stories. Let's hope she grows up and gains a bit of wisdom before circumstances catch up to her. I'd hate to read about her in a DAN report...

Great story. Thanks for sharing it. If you're even on the boat with me, I'll be glad to buddy with you.

Safe ascents,
Grier

 

[Diver0001]

you all know people used to scuba dive before SPGs right?

you also know that given your depth and time that you should be able to calculate your gas usage?

That's not realistic to ask of OW students they way they are trained right now.

And when people dove without SPG's the regulators were unbalanced (they got stiffer with low tank pressures) and tanks had J valves.... You're really comparing apples and oranges.

I can appreciate the point of the original post. What Scott described is what I call "Indiana Jones Syndrome".

R..

 

[ScubaSarus]

In England there are inspection agencies that go around dive sites checking out the dive lessons and for conformation to standards. This is a case were this was needed.

Also those days when people didnt use SPG diving was most likely done by people with better judgeent and who were more water savy than she was.

 

[DrSteve]

I have to say if it happened to me I know my air consumption is half my buddy's. Also my reg starts to breath hard at 500psi. So no matter what I will always have 500 psi to make an ascent. Having said all that...if my gauge blew (and my computer blew off its hose in the Bahamas) it's time to abort the dive.