Semper Dive
Guest
Hi everybody! I got certified in February of 2004 and have just logged dive number 50. I really enjoy diving! I own a 44'
sport yacht which I keep at the Hyatt Islandia in Mission Bay.
I am fifteen minutes to wreck alley. The Yukon, Ruby E, NOSC Tower, etc. I got Nitrox certified. (TDI and ANDI). I have made numerous dives at Catalina Island and San Clemente. I am a spoiled dry suit diver. I love the comfort. Great sport. Why did I wait till I was 46 to get involved? At my yacht club a friend asked me to be his partner in private instruction for OW. I had a few beers and said sure, sign me up. Next day I thought oh well, I cannot let Steve down. A handshake and a promise is a promise. I cannot thank Steve enough! I use to spend my time sport fishing. Now I think I'll just fish the Marlin tournaments and dive the rest of the year. What a great sport! I have a video of a dive we made to 130 fsw on a P-38 Lightning (WWII aircraft) that crashed off Torrey Pines, SOCAL. (1944) Awesome film, incredible tape to share with friends. Anyway, hi to you all! I look forward to chatting it up.
In a parting comment I would like to share something with my fellow divers. I am a former SWAT Officer from the Philadelphia Police Department. Although that work is far different then diving I can tell you please train with your buddy for problems that might come up. In SWAT you train, train, train. Check each other's gear, consider a pony bottle as a redundant back up. And think out and practice"What would I do if this or that happened?". In a true emergency I can tell you that you will instinctively do what you were trained to do. I have seen it time and time again. Training works. It builds confidence and awareness. I recently did the Google search on "Causes of dive fatalities" and was sad to see that a tremendous number of fatalities could have been prevented. I recently spoke to a woman that has Post Traumatic Stress. Her dive buddy had an anxiety attack and drowned with half a tank of air. Stay with your partner, and have fun. If you dive solo do so with a redundant air system and be conservative! The dive community needs to establish more complex "immediate action drills" that would be standardized worldwide and could be practiced. Field training is different then the pool. Problem being the liability involved in such training. I own my own company so believe me I know liability. In SWAT we had training houses where we had entry teams practicing live fire entries. It can be dangerous but the learning curve and training is awesome for the real thing. Training saves lives. I instinctively saved my own life. I did what I was trained to do without a moments hesitation. It works! Every time you dive there is the possibility of an emergency. Not fun to think about but it is true.
Hate to beat the drum but I have seen so much death and tragedy in my life I think in a recreational sport like this we can do much better. Diver fatality should be a totally rare occurence and be as a result of a heart attack or CVA. Not out of air, trapped, rapid ascent, drowning or panic, etc. Becareful out there!
Being safe is being cool! Divers that push it and you know who you are. It ain't cool. When a diver dies we all feel it.
The rescue teams, the families, other divers, etc. It's cool to be safe! Dive and stay alive! I look forward to reading your forums. I appologize for the sermon but I just can't help thinking about the divers who should have never died.
sport yacht which I keep at the Hyatt Islandia in Mission Bay.
I am fifteen minutes to wreck alley. The Yukon, Ruby E, NOSC Tower, etc. I got Nitrox certified. (TDI and ANDI). I have made numerous dives at Catalina Island and San Clemente. I am a spoiled dry suit diver. I love the comfort. Great sport. Why did I wait till I was 46 to get involved? At my yacht club a friend asked me to be his partner in private instruction for OW. I had a few beers and said sure, sign me up. Next day I thought oh well, I cannot let Steve down. A handshake and a promise is a promise. I cannot thank Steve enough! I use to spend my time sport fishing. Now I think I'll just fish the Marlin tournaments and dive the rest of the year. What a great sport! I have a video of a dive we made to 130 fsw on a P-38 Lightning (WWII aircraft) that crashed off Torrey Pines, SOCAL. (1944) Awesome film, incredible tape to share with friends. Anyway, hi to you all! I look forward to chatting it up.
In a parting comment I would like to share something with my fellow divers. I am a former SWAT Officer from the Philadelphia Police Department. Although that work is far different then diving I can tell you please train with your buddy for problems that might come up. In SWAT you train, train, train. Check each other's gear, consider a pony bottle as a redundant back up. And think out and practice"What would I do if this or that happened?". In a true emergency I can tell you that you will instinctively do what you were trained to do. I have seen it time and time again. Training works. It builds confidence and awareness. I recently did the Google search on "Causes of dive fatalities" and was sad to see that a tremendous number of fatalities could have been prevented. I recently spoke to a woman that has Post Traumatic Stress. Her dive buddy had an anxiety attack and drowned with half a tank of air. Stay with your partner, and have fun. If you dive solo do so with a redundant air system and be conservative! The dive community needs to establish more complex "immediate action drills" that would be standardized worldwide and could be practiced. Field training is different then the pool. Problem being the liability involved in such training. I own my own company so believe me I know liability. In SWAT we had training houses where we had entry teams practicing live fire entries. It can be dangerous but the learning curve and training is awesome for the real thing. Training saves lives. I instinctively saved my own life. I did what I was trained to do without a moments hesitation. It works! Every time you dive there is the possibility of an emergency. Not fun to think about but it is true.
Hate to beat the drum but I have seen so much death and tragedy in my life I think in a recreational sport like this we can do much better. Diver fatality should be a totally rare occurence and be as a result of a heart attack or CVA. Not out of air, trapped, rapid ascent, drowning or panic, etc. Becareful out there!
Being safe is being cool! Divers that push it and you know who you are. It ain't cool. When a diver dies we all feel it.
The rescue teams, the families, other divers, etc. It's cool to be safe! Dive and stay alive! I look forward to reading your forums. I appologize for the sermon but I just can't help thinking about the divers who should have never died.
Look around our various forums - everything from New-To-Scuba to Instructors-Only to Dive Medicine.
