So could this really happen?

[krazykate]

Apologies if this has been asked before...
I did a search and couldn't find anything.

How do you feel about the film 'Open Water'? Do you think it's a fair/unfair portrayal of the diving world?
Could what happened in the film happen in real life?

Just wondering what you guys divers out there think about it.

:14:

 

[Diving Doc]

Sadly, instances like this can happen. Happily, they are extremely rare.
I always build into my courses things that you should look for at dive centres so you can spot the dodgy ones.

Open water, in my opinion, was a huge pile of bilge and unreflective of the vast majority of operators out there.

 

[Walter]

People can be left, they have been left and they will be left again. OTOH, that movie was very unrealistic.

Make sure your dive op does a roll call. Everyone stops everything and listens during the roll call. Everyone answers for their name only. The person conducting the roll call must see and hear each person before moving on. The roll must be conducted prior to leaving the dock and after each dive. Any operation following these simple rules will never leave a diver behind.

It's also a good idea to get to know someone on the boat with whom you are not diving. Make a deal, you will make sure they are on board before you let the boat leave, they do the same for you.

 

[DiveMaven]

Open Water was based on a true story that happened in Australia. They obviously took creative liberties since nobody knows exactly what happened to them, but they WERE left by the boat, that part is true.

 

[MarkUK]

DiveMaven hit the nail on the head – Open Water is 'based on a true story', but the only true bit is that they were left by the boat. The rest is all creative bollox as no one knows what really happened.

The only thing that is funny when watching this crap is to see the woman's reaction to the sharks. I interviewed both the main leads (if you can call them that, they were out-acted by the sharks, in my opinion) and she was terrified of the sharks, so when you see the two of them on the surface and the sharks surfacing near them, she does look extremely scared. However, then look at the scenes when she is supposed to be splashing the water to scare the sharks away (these scenes were shot in a completely different part of the Bahamas where there were no sharks, obviously, they didn't want the actors thrashing about near the real sharks, as even though they were only Caribbean reef sharks, they could still have got agitated and had a nip) and look at her expressions. She is having to 'act' scared and it just doesn't cut it. The guy, on the other hand, loved being in the water with the sharks. And would you believe it, the only marine injury was caused during the filming of the recreational diving at the beginning – a barracuda took a nip at her hand for some reason, probably going for her jewellery or something.

Mark

 

[scubaguy655]

I think the concept of educating people on the potential dangers of being left at sea is a good one because it does happen. Granted, that is not what this movie was designed to do but it could have helped to serve this purpose.

However, in my opinion, the movie was garbage and insulting to anyone who actually is familiar with diving.

 

[MSilvia]

I was abandoned by a boat once, and I found Open Water to be a pretty silly movie. I don't recommend it.

 

[DiverBeth]

I have to concur about Open Water being unrealistic.

As it being based on a true story I've heard a number of versions where the couple made sure they were left behind so they could disappear. Furthermore there were supposedly reports of a couple being picked up by another dive boat. Who knows what really happened?

 

[Damselfish]

and yes, it's been discussed often before - but of course searching for "open water" on a dive board is not very unique!

 

[havnmonkey]

open water was not about divers it was about sharks... remember sharks sell tickets; divers don't.