Safety Stand Down - Power SCUBA - San Diego CA

[Wookie]

My apologies. I completely misunderstood and thought you were talking about a pause on the ascent from depth, whether a deco obligation was due or not. As current research shows, any time spent ongassing is not beneficial to offgassing.

Carry on.

 

[Power Scuba]

As current research shows, any time spent ongassing is not beneficial to offgassing..

Wookie: Thanks for your thoughts. New ideas, different ideas, and suggested changes to paradigms are always welcome.

Cheers,

Bill

 

[Altamira]

I respect your opinion. And I stand by mine: responsible adults generally do not need to be told to go to their room and think about what they've done.

Well, you are certainly entitled to your opinion. However, if you ever have the opportunity to participate in an organized safety stand down, I think you might change your opinion. But, if you go into one with a closed mind, you likely will learn nothing. These valuable tools are used not only by the military and aerospace entities, but many corporations and businesses to improve safety and operational procedures. It is not a matter of responsible adults being sent to their rooms, but instead a collective interaction of responsible adults to find ways to do things better and more safely.

 

[Colliam7]

Power Scuba has a long history of unsafe diving practices. I am former member and have in the past been appalled at the behavior of some of the members. The group crashed our boat in Palau after I warned of unsafe operation. it quickly covered up. this comment will be removed because it is negative and some how the group manages to remove all negative comments.

I know nothing whatsoever about Power Scuba. But, when you post a broad generalization that refers to 'a long history of unsafe diving practices', and reference a boat crash in Palau, and a warning that you supposedly gave (to ?) - but provide no details whatsoever - I have to wonder about your motivation. Can you offer specifics, beyond generalizations? If so, please do. Otherwise, your posts come off as simply an attempt to turn the thread into a grudge match.

 

[sflax]

I imagine there are investigations after incidences? Via DAN? Strictly rhetorical.

I encourage folks with concerns about the operation of said club and it's operator, to contact DAN and PADI directly with their experiences. Take it off social media where it will have more impact.

 

[azstinger11]

Unless there has been a massive change of behavior in the last few years since I left San Diego, Power Scuba was a normal dive organization when I left (so not wildly unsafe, I would say they are as safe as any of the 3 dive clubs I have experienced ). Given I never did any overnight/liveabord trips with them just day charters, day events, and 2x San Diego Harbor Cleanup. Maybe its a different story in those circumstances but that didn't seem like the case. Personally I can't wait tell early next year when I leave my diving purgatory (aka Kansas) and return to San Diego. Looking forward to dives with Power Scuba, The Bottom Bunch, and The Dive Animals.

 

[jscan1]

I've been a member of Powerscuba pretty much since I was open water certified, about 400 dives later, and a lot of Meetups, and about 200 of those dives with one of the main board members, and all I can say is without this club, I'd have a lot less dives and a lot less experience! Bill is a colorful guy, and not short of opinion, but don't think for a second he doesn't care about the sport, his organization, or the dive community in general! As far as safety, what a bunch of nonsense, first when you get in the water you are stating that you are competent and have the knowledge to complete the dive and accept the risk, that is not a clubs responsibility to watch dog stupidity! I've seen some astonishingly dumb things on open boats and club boats alike, as for excessive drinking , and partying etc, most of the divers who you see time and time again are there to dive. As for the topic of getting bent, seems like you can do lots of things to bring it on, and seems like if you are unfortunate you can not violate any principals and still end up taking a hit, everyone's physiology is different! I'd prefer to learn more about the incidents and not listen to a pissing match between members and former members! Powerscuba, provides affordable diving, always appears to treat everyone with respect, and has helped me increase my dive skills, they (Bill) are good with me!

 

[cerich]

I like that a safety stand down was done among the coordinators of this club, as long as it is done in a professional manner and looks at general dive safety best practices and of course club and leadership culture to see what roles leadership has played in the current culture and what can/should be changed or not.

Regarding the efficacy of deep stops, while the proof against them is getting pretty darn solid, we have to acknowledge that at least one agency (NAUI) is still pushing them pretty hard, in fact to my horror while on the board the board and NSG choose to double down and push the RGBM easy tables that include deep stops more in the NAUI system. It is also required in NAUI Tech. So, don't expect that everybody is getting the message on the current science regards deep stops.

 

[MaxBottomtime]

Even the DAN panel of experts don't agree.
Alert Diver | Deep Stops

 

[dmaziuk]

Oh, not again...

This is 2010 write-up. They have since decided that "critical supersaturation" in fast tissues is not quite as scary as they thought back in 2010. On top of which, on a rec dive it'd have to be like Bill said: you'd have to push too close to NDL on a very liberal setting to get there. If you don't go there, stated reason for deep stops becomes moot.

Edit: note that I'm all for slowing the * down. As a purely recreational diver I am mostly interested in long-term effects of repeated exposure, which AFAIK nobody's really studied (not that it would be doable easily or at all). The best I can do is slow down -- and not call that a "deep stop" on the interwebs, just to keep them interwebs quiet.