People not fit to dive

[MaxBottomtime]

SECOND AMEN DOC!!!- My grandfather was driving his vehicle until he was 98--lived to be just two months short of his 100th birthday----LOOKS LIKE I HAVE 38 MORE YEARS of diving ahead of me to keep up with gramps----don't know if I'll make it but I'll damn sure try! :blinking::blinking:

Reminds me of the old joke...I hope to die peacefully, in my sleep like my Grandfather, not kicking and screaming like his passengers.

 

[Acanthurus]

I had car accident.broke my leg and both ankles ,my pelvis , 10 ribs and 2 vertabraes in my back ..had a rough year of recovery.....hopefully I can get strong again to dive...i so miss diving...[/QUOTE]

I hope your recovery progresses well but from your injuries it sounds like we should all be thankful you are still able to swim and even consider diving!

Good luck!!

 

[Hoomi]

Heck, feeling confused and forgetful can be a result of a lousy hotel room the night before the dive. Uncomfortable bed, noisy neighbors, and unfamiliar surroundings can prevent a good night's sleep and leave almost anyone seeming a bit senile.

I hope staying mentally and physically active will stave off the conditions that would require me to give up things I enjoy.

 

[OCDinNC]

A couple of years ago I was doing shark tooth trips off Wilmington on a six pack boat. My friend, instructor, dive shop owner, cave diver, was always first to back roll off. One dive he started to go back, said "See ya", and we all shouted "Your mask!" as he hit the water with the mask on his forehead. After enjoying the rest of the 3 day dive trip horse-laughing him, a few months later a group found ourselves diving Catalina. After 3 days, we were on the last boat dive, a night dive. I was in a hurry to splash first. As soon as I hit the water, I realized I just wasn't going to get very far without fins. I swam and struggled over to the side as the DM frantically asked if my air was on, even though he had checked it. My no-mask friend just laughed and said, no, he just dives better with fins.

I could tell more stories about forgetting things. The hand piece to strap my Sartek canister light to my hand. (surgical tubing works.) One of the two twin batteries for my Sartek. (Found out to my delight it works just fine off of one, it just burns for 1/2 of the 8 hr burn time, and I typically don't do more than a 4 hr night dive anyway.)

I'd forget my rear if it didn't follow me around.

 

[drdaddy]

I noticed that MMM is a "senior" member getting up there in her 50s !!!

Maybe she's just wondering who and when will someone call her "too old to dive".

drdaddy

 

[sandmanz32]

The guy called the next dives. He may be forgetful, so what? He seems of at least know his comfort zones. Let him dive till he croaks! Isn't that what we all want?

 

[White Knight]

Hope I get to die SCUBA diving and at a very old age. I can think of no greater way to exit the world. At what point and time stop--never. Just die doing it! Glorious! Don't save me. DonÃÕ take the last thing I have. Just let the ocean take me when the time comes.

 

[SandyRobinson]

Hope I get to die SCUBA diving and at a very old age. I can think of no greater way to exit the world. At what point and time stop--never. Just die doing it! Glorious! Don't save me. DonÃÕ take the last thing I have. Just let the ocean take me when the time comes.

Hopefully on the last dive of the day so the remaining dives for the others are not canceled

 

[msg]

I'll quit diving when I either forget where my gear is, or where the water is.

 

[LeadTurn_SD]

....So here's my question.

At what point do you quit?

Ops want the dough associated with clients (especially in a slow economy) and so may choose "easier" dives to keep them safer.

At what point do they say it's not worth the risk? And do so diplomatically?

Not an accident yet, but probably one that is waiting to happen...

Great question.

There have been some good answers. I especially like Doc Intrepid's and Saspotato's answers.

Where does one (personally and as a Dive Operator) draw the line?

I started to answer that a diver should be 100% able to conduct a dive safely from start to finish and get themselves safely back to shore or the boat, without extraordinary assistance from their buddy or DM.... But realized some young and healthy vacation divers might not meet this requirement. This is not meant as an insult to vacation divers, it is simply an observation.

So after thinking about it, I believe that as long as the diver has the mental capacity to give "informed consent" (i.e. still understands what is happening and the risks of the proposed dive) and the Dive Op thinks that the diver will be "safe" on the dive.... go for it.

Safe Diving (from one approaching "geezerhood")