Pet safety peeves--no debating

[supergaijin]

I started re-reading (I'm sure I read it the first time) this thread from the beginning, and was amused by the inability of most posters to understand the simple instructions in the original post—or to even understand the title.

I think that people just don't give a damn- when I see these kind of whimsical threads with 'rules' I am more tempted to break them. And when I see the OP trying to moderate their thread.... I think I am not alone in wanting to cause just a little bit of keyboard-rage.

Another peeve I see is the disrespect of some tourists in foreign countries towards the locals. Depending on the country, i think this qualifies as a safety concern.

One more peeve is unrealistic expectations either underwater or on land. The backpacker to 'flashpacker' phenomenon where more and more people expect conveniences like hot running water 24/7, electricity 24/7, wifi, cable TV etc. in these far-flung places around the world. Rather than going out and getting dirty, they sit inside and blog about their cultural experiences based on reviews on the lonely planet forum. Underwater they want mantas, turtles, dolphins and whales but in 30 degree water, 30m viz, zero current, within a 10min boat-ride from the hotel because they feel queasy on water.

 

[DanLW]

Very interesting thread for me. I haven't even taken Lesson 1 yet, but... (raises right hand)

- I will try very hard to not crash into the reef while at the same time not rocketing to the surface. (better focus on BC skills)
- I will make sure my equipment is not dangling.
- I will try very hard not to cloud the entire Gulf of Aden with silt.

 

[billt4sf]

As a novice diver, I have experienced the following: getting in the water, having a nice dive (or not), only to realize that I didn't know the recovery procedure. 100% my fault, and 100% the fault of the dive briefers (I feel). For example, my first drift dive, I came up first, was I supposed to swim back to the boat, or wait for the boat to come get me? On a night dive with no bottom reef, was I supposed to descend without my buddy? (we all had separate lines).

I am here, so both turned out to be learning experiences.

 

[windapp]

My biggest safety pet peave is people who don't adhere to the buddy system. Just because you have been on 200 dives, and nothing has ever happened that you couldn't handle yourself doesn't mean that you won't get killed by something on dive 201 that could have easily been handled if your buddy was close by.

There is nothing wrong with solo diving if you have the training, experience, and the right equipment. However, if you are diving with a group of people, and you are buddied up with somebody, you should be adhering to the buddy system.

 

[Hatul]

My pet peeve is divers who don't respect marine animals, are cruel to animals and who treat them as their toys.

 

[fjpatrum]

I'm going to jump in and say

1) Judging someone by their kit. Just because I use a long hose and BPW doesn't make me "a DIR dickhead" as I recently heard at a club happy hour. Some people dive different gear and they dive really poorly. Others dive really well. Still more are somewhere in between. None of that has any bearing on who they are as a person...

2) Being the cause of delays on drift drops... that's embarrassing.

3) Accidentally ruining someone else's photo op because I'm still learning... also embarrassing.

 

[Rooster In Ohio]

"a DIR dickhead"

My pet peeve is people who are repetitive....JUST KIDDING!!!!!

Acutally, I'm still in the "I'm new and loving it" stage and thus have had fewer opportunities to breed pets, but I will agree with a couple:

1. Instructor/DM "trust me" attitude. I took OW together with my wife at a resort in Mexico - she had never had a regulator in her mouth while I had a few unlicensed dives in my youth. Fourth dive (ever for her) was down a bouy line in stiff current to 82 FSW with about 25 minutes bottom time. I was comfortable, but it was stupid - in restrospect, I could easily be a widower right now had she panicked or had a serious equipment issue. Shame on the instructor for going along with the majority in picking that dive site.


2. A cavalier attitude toward the environment. When I was in the Marine Corps, we used to have regular 2000M open water swims before dawn. The guy in the safety boat would invariably shout "you are now entering the food stream" as we entered the water. Cute, but true. Flash forward to this past January and I see one of the divers in my boat "petting" a lionfish (passing his hand over the fish just above the spines as if he was petting it). I shook my head and moved on. We get back on the boat and guess who has a lionfish spine snapped off in his thumb (entered at the base of the pad and traveled down past the nuckle)? I hear it took 5 hours of surgery in a Mexican hospital to remove it.

 

[cbrich]

1) Folks that think experience comes from the number of Scubaboard posts, than the actual number of dives. I am reluctant to say to Divers on this one.

2) Anybody that thinks their BCD configuration is the only way, and if your BCD configuration does not match, then you are a noobie at diving.

 

[NAUIWOWI]

Cacia,

I read thru all the posts, and they really were informative, entertaining, grumbly, snarky..(.few more misc. adjectives here). Did you ever compile a list of best safety practices? Or a what not to do list.... I'd like to have it to occasionally remind myself of the things that I might have not thought about in awhile, but would be good to pass on to new students. Thanks

 

[JohnoAU]

Cacia,

I read thru all the posts, and they really were informative, entertaining, grumbly, snarky..(.few more misc. adjectives here). Did you ever compile a list of best safety practices? Or a what not to do list.... I'd like to have it to occasionally remind myself of the things that I might have not thought about in awhile, but would be good to pass on to new students. Thanks

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/ne...35-pet-peeves-safety-concerns-new-divers.html