Rodales Scuba Diving - Lessons For Life

[grouchyturtle]

October 2005 "Caught in a Trap"

Are these stories even real?
They claim they're based off of real events in the magazine, but I'm not so sure.

Reason I'm posting this here, and not under basic scuba, is because the last one was an accident off NJ.

Visibility was only about 25 feet - well below average

Well maybe for Florida, but I'd say 25' is about average for NJ. Last time I was out vis was about 15' on the Arundo and <2' on the Benson. Ok there are sites and days that have better vis than that, but sure wouldn't call 20' below average.

He waited for one full minute, getting dangerously close to mandatory decompression as he did so. Toby then moved back along the rail to the anchor line and ascended 20 feet to a point where he could stay within no-decompression-limits, yet still see the wreck.

Why? They say right in the article that this was a tech diving class and he was about to tak his first staged decompression dive. Now I don't have any tech training yet, but it's my understanding that staged decompression dives involve actual uhhh...decompression.

And by entering an overhead environment without a contuous guideline...

Who teaches a deco class thatinvolves a wreck penetration without using a reel?

I'm sorry if anyone hear knows someone who was involved, assuming this is a true story, but even in my limited NE experience it just sounds like a bunch of made up BS to me. Or at least they deviated very far from the real story. Like maybe the accident actually happened, but it wasn't an instructor, or it wasn't during a tech class, etc.

 

[Jonny_Rocket]

I read this too and a bunch of flags went up... oh well, stuff happens...

 

[Rickg]

I read this too and a bunch of flags went up... oh well, stuff happens...

Only too real. Unfortunately, I believe this article is based on a true event that happened only several months ago in San Diego. Here is the URL to the article.

http://www.cdnn.info/news/safety/s050822b.html

Rickg

 

[jonnythan]

I think these stories are about as real as the ones you see in Playboy.

They're just made up.

 

[TekDiveGirl]

Only too real. Unfortunately, I believe this article is based on a true event that happened only several months ago in San Diego. Here is the URL to the article.

http://www.cdnn.info/news/safety/s050822b.html

Rickg

I have not read the actual article -- but going by what was posted here -- it is surely not about Steve's death. They were for sure doing a planned mandatory deco dive -- and it was not the "students" first one.

It states - "Visibility was only about 25 feet - well below average" --- 25' vis on the Yukon is not "well below average."

Ascending 20' and sitting there so he could see the wreck but stay out of deco is also bogus. The buddy he was diving with did no such thing on this dive.

I agree with Jonny -- the article was made up.

Kimber

 

[grouchyturtle]

I think these stories are about as real as the ones you see in Playboy.

They're just made up.

Yeah, I guess it just took a so called story from our area to really see just how full of BS these things are.

 

[Doc Intrepid]

Why don't you write Mike Ange for the citation? He has little to gain by making it up. He has lots to lose by being proven a liar. I've seen so much moronic strokery going on in the 'tech' environment that it isn't a stretch at all to contemplate some of the things described. Regarding a deco class where the students only simulate deco, etc. lots of deco classes don't have the student actually incur deco obligations on every dive. (For one thing, who wants to do EVERY repetitive training dive, (not just the final ones) with a half hour of mandatory deco?) On the reel issue, I've taken a course involving penetration, handling reels and spools, running line, arrows and cookies, lost line drills, lost light drills, etc. and I've taken mixed gas deco courses involving gas switches, deco bottle handling, gas mixing, etc.; but I've not taken a deep multi-gas deco course involving running lines and reel handling. Most courses would tend to focus on one skill set rather than multiple skill sets simultaneously.

Bottom line is that he could have the facts wrong, but I doubt that Ange made it up. He has too much riding on his reputation and too much bozonity available to choose from to compromise his integrity.

FWIW. YMMV.

 

[mike_s]

I think these stories are about as real as the ones you see in Playboy.

They're just made up.

wait a minute..... You mean all the stuff in Playboy isn't true???

 

[fairybasslet]

I think these stories are about as real as the ones you see in Playboy.

They're just made up.

Are you a Goa'uld? I thought they were defeated last season?

 

[fairybasslet]

FYI. Rodales hasn't owned Scuba Diving for over a year now.