Safety Stand Down - Power SCUBA - San Diego CA

[FinnMom]

It's not as easy as that. Boats are very rarely (ever?) club equipment, and most members are likely to use their own gear and tanks or tanks provided by the boat. Testing everyone is expensive and will likely lead to riots anyways.

From reading the UK's DIVER magazine for 10 years, I've gotten the impression that boats (usually RIBs) are often club equipment in the UK. Also in Norway, Sweden, Finland. As I understood, the OP was talking about a club; many clubs control who participates in their activities regardless of who owns the boat (because the club chartered it).

But I think carrots (rewards) are important too; it keeps the mood of the whole thing much more positive. And rules should be those which the club as a group has agreed: it's fair enough to ask a member to comply with what he or she has already agreed.

 

[azstinger11]

I will attest to the fact that this club has no gear/boat. They do have a lost mask/weights program but thats it. They just organize events, facilitate meetups, and reserve space on charters.

There is only one smaller dive club in San Diego that has a club dive boat.

 

[Dan G]

It's far easier than that: everyone takes the test before boarding the boat.

Exceptions can be limited maybe to those under 10 yrs of age and those who have taken the test in the last hour; no other exceptions. The club in no way whatsoever limits your right to drink, or to drink and dive. The club does however, limit who participates in club activities or uses club equipment, such as boats. Whether or not you stay in a state that allows the use of club property or participation in activities is entirely up to you & your free will.

Personally I have noticed that the problem with drinking is often not that people try to participate in activities for which they are in no condition, but that it's too darn hard to keep a group of people working and/or playing happily together if more than very slight amounts of alcohol are involved. Everyone creates and takes offense much too easily when alcohol is involved, 10x more true in a confined space like a boat.

Of course many, many kinds of impairment will not be indicated by a breathalizer, but that's no reason not to use the tool for the good it can do.

I think your intentions are good. However, I would never remain a member of a dive club that felt the need to test everyone's blood alcohol level prior to each boat trip. (not because I would fear the test for myself) Clearly a rule such as that would come about because of problems with excessive drinking prior to diving and I would not want to dive with a club where that had been a problem.

 

[KeithG]

The concept of a Safety Stand Down is new to me. And it makes sense, but only if you actively do something safety related during the stand down. I think this is the part that got missed?

Shutting down an assembly line because someone caught their finger in a press and sending everyone home "to reflect" accomplishes little, other than shutting down production.

If the stand down period contained an organized set of activities that involved actively reviewing existing safety procedures and best practices along with an analysis of past & other related incidents then it has value. i.e. all booked activity sessions are still a go, but we are going to do a "safety review" instead of actually diving.

Simply closing the candy store is not proactively addressing any relevant problem.

 

[tilikum]

A "safety shake down" might have been more productive. Dive is still scheduled only everyone goes through a prescribed check out in less challenging conditions. Kind of like doing a check ride for pilots.

 

[StefinSB]

DDM, I'm afraid I don't agree with your stated position (quoted above) at all, but I too appreciate the dialog. Mayhap send me a private IM with your real name and position at Duke and we could continue the conversation. I find that doing anything other than stating your original position in these threads leads to a breakdown in civility and hangers-on injecting mean-spiritedness into the equation.

One last thought: If a minute here and there, as you suggest, is the deciding factor in whether you get bent or not, I would suggest you're either butting yourself WAY up to the NDL far too often or have your computer set in Liberal mode. Both things to be avoided.

Respectfully,

Bill Powers

The liberal mode on your computer may very well be the conservative mode on another persons. Unless you you put some numbers on the statement it is pretty useless imo.

 

[NAM001]

I agree with the Ops comments on the PC renaming to unanticipated. PC terms have always been done to deintensify the word meanings. PC needs to be kept out of our sport. Dangerous phrases are what keeps us on out toes. the more palatable the more they are considered benign warnings. Ultimately I fear that the PC wordings will put folks in the ground and destroy our sport. with or with out the participation award for being dead.

 

[Dan G]

The concept of a Safety Stand Down is new to me. And it makes sense, but only if you actively do something safety related during the stand down. I think this is the part that got missed?

Shutting down an assembly line because someone caught their finger in a press and sending everyone home "to reflect" accomplishes little, other than shutting down production.

If the stand down period contained an organized set of activities that involved actively reviewing existing safety procedures and best practices along with an analysis of past & other related incidents then it has value. i.e. all booked activity sessions are still a go, but we are going to do a "safety review" instead of actually diving.

Simply closing the candy store is not proactively addressing any relevant problem.

From what I have read, the president of the club sent out articles about safety each day and requested that everyone read them in lieu of diving.

 

[yle]

The concept of a Safety Stand Down is new to me. And it makes sense, but only if you actively do something safety related during the stand down. I think this is the part that got missed?

If the stand down period contained an organized set of activities that involved actively reviewing existing safety procedures and best practices along with an analysis of past & other related incidents then it has value. i.e. all booked activity sessions are still a go, but we are going to do a "safety review" instead of actually diving.

This part did not get missed. Bill has spent the hiatus of the past week actively reviewing safety concerns and procedures with the membership. Of course none of this activity has been shared on this thread. But all of the members of the club have been included via email.

 

[Kevrumbo]

For your Group Leaders and other interested members during the Stand-Down (and support of an operation which benefits all SoCal and visiting divers as well):

The Emergency Diving Accident Management (EDAM) course is designed to produce more thoroughly educated and competent participants who will leave the course with a deeper understand of the causes, effects, recognition, treatment, and prevention of diving accidents from the planning of dives to the hyperbaric treatment of diving casualties. . .

Learn about diving accidents that have occurred and what type of events, equipment, or errors lead to the problem. Get an in-depth look at how decompression tables and dive computers are put together and what Doppler bubble detection has to do with current decompression research. Understand the problems and research associated with flying after diving. . .

Emergency Diving Accident Management > USC Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber > USC Dana and David Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

https://dornsife.usc.edu/assets/sites/222/docs/EDAM_General_Schedule.pdf

Call and see if they can arrange & schedule another course. . .