That may well be true but most people that give up their dive, just to follow their buddy around and watch them take photos are usually paid babysitters or, possibly, complete novices who are afraid of separation by more than a meter. That does not describe a normal buddy system, IMHO.
Or those who are put with a buddy who you find out at the last minute that they are taking pictures and will be doing that the whole dive. Choices;
Abort dive (my loss)
Solo dive (not)
Go with the flow and just enjoy the dive the best you can by being there with them (my choice as I like diving). Didn't get paid, didn't do what I would have liked on the dive, but I did dive which is what I like doing.
---------- Post added October 14th, 2013 at 02:08 PM ----------
I am diving a trilam suit. I'm still not completely happy with my control of the bubble and descents/ascents. I'm also doing a lot of experimentation with undergarments. It's quite a challenge to find a warm enough undergarment that isn't so lofty or bulky that my suit doesn't fit. Issues similar to what Quero was having. And, having to do these adjustments on a special dive trip when you can't play around in the pool, well, that would have been even harder. I can totally understand why she was determined not to miss dives, despite not being able to obtain the proper undergarments I would likely make a similar choice,to try and "make do" with local resources,rather than miss out on diving.
My drysuit course was on a trip to Catalina, with pool session prior to the trip. I was so frustrated with my first four dives that I nearly put the thing on eBay. It was by far the most frustrating thing I've dealt with since I was certified, 18 years ago.
I can so relate to this post.
---------- Post added October 14th, 2013 at 02:59 PM ----------
Unless she was planning to use her drysuit as a secondary flotation device to "get by" for the trip and was well aware that her wing had become inadequate. Since she was making ongoing changes and away from home she may have decided to limp along with the wing she had and planned on purchasing or otherwise obtaining another when she got home.
My belief is that perhaps this was the case. Clearly not the right thing to do but one I could see easily made by most people. Not wanting to spoil the diving, not wanting to spend more money on an already expensive trip. Not wanting to buy any more gear that one may not require again. Not wanting to buy any gear until she knew she really needed it (sorting it out before the final purchase).
All these things can and do trap us (and I say us as I have gone down this path as well), and mostly we get away with it until the day Murphy is lurking in our part of the world. Under those circumstances, it could easily have been any one of us, away from home and making do.
I am very saddened by this tragic (and potentially avoidable) event, and clearly it shows no matter the benign location, Murphy is always looking for the next victim. Let the first person who has NEVER done anything wrong or risky in diving throw the first rock. I know I can't.
---------- Post added October 14th, 2013 at 03:23 PM ----------
^^ From speaking to the diver that did more than one dive with Quero, there were a number of suggestions made (weight configeration/ankle weights, different fins etc) and they felt that their suggestions were dismissed/pushed back.
I have also been contacted by another diver, someone who I have met so not just a faceless online person, who had dived with Quero within the past 6mths and this other diver felt a similar way.
And those comments make it even sadder.
I know when I first went down to my decompression training I had all new gear and was proud that it we set up well (had borrowed gear before this from another instructor). The instructor (Rubens from IDC) proceeded to tear it apart, remove much of it and reconfigured what was left. I was shattered. He then proceeded to explain all the reasons why he did what he did. I managed to push my shattered ego under the table with my shoe and take on board what he had told me. Clearly I had my rig set up wrong and had far too much "glitter" attached. Clearly this was what I needed to help me improve on my gear setup and diving. I had a few hundred dives up, and he has many thousands and also teaches all levels of recreational and tech diving and instruction. As we say at work "Who's the fool now FOOL", me of course.
Murphy has all the time in the world to indulge those with ego's and grandiose ideas. He hates those who are wise enough to take everything on board and think through the issues fully.
There but for the grace of people like Rubens, I could have been a Marcia. I do find it sad that I have learned something at her expense in this way.