The cost of safety

[Deefstes]

I think it was Walter who once made a comment along the lines of "Anyone can abort any dive at any time for any reason." I like it and I think it's a mantra all divers should dive by.

That said, I'd be lying if I said that I've never pushed through with a dive that I should probably have aborted because I didn't want to lose money. The fact remains, we travel far and spend large amounts of money to be able to dive so when the conditions are less than ideal we are quite reluctant to accept that we should probably not do the dive or halfway through the dive accept that we should probably abort the dive.

So I'm inviting you to give me some examples where you chose safety over diving and incurred losses as a result. That way, the next time I'm weighing up doing a dive under less than ideal circumstances against the costs of not doing said dive, I will always be able to tell myself "This is nothing, OldDiverAnimal137 back on ScubaBoard has lost out on the cost of a chartered flight to that obscure island in the middle of the Pacific because he decided not to dive with that stuttering regulator."

I suppose the converse of this question is just as poignant; "what is the cost of not choosing safety?" I can relate at least one case where we drove to southern Mozambique (and took a few days' leave). On arrival it turned out that the seas were far too rough for launching a dive boat (we do surf launches remember) and all diving was on hold. We had planned on doing 3 dives a day so when this situation persisted for three days (out of the five that we were booked and paid for) our frustrationwith not being able to dive was really mounting. By day 4 the conditions improved somewhat and the operator relented and agreed to launch.

Apart from the launch being harrowing the dive was unpleasant with large swells on the surface, very low viz, heavy surge and strong current. On returning to shore though things turned ugly and with the violent beaching my wife broke her nose and her foot. Needless to say, that was the end of our stay. We promptly got back in the car and drove her to a hospital in Johannesburg.

Had we decided not to do that dive we might still have been able to dive on the 5th day, we wouldn't have lost out on another night's accommodation that was already paid for and, of course, we would have incurred none of those medical expenses and permanent scars to an otherwise beautiful foot and nose.

Long story short;

1. Tell me about your experiences of choosing safety over diving and how much you lost as a result.

and / or

2. Tell me about your experiences of not choosing safety over diving and the price you paid as a result.

 

[RJP]

I shared a cabin with a guy on the Truk Odyssey who missed the vast majority of his dives (maybe he did 5) due to a sinus problem - not wanting to risk ear barotrauma. So the boat was $2995, figure another $1500 or so for the flight, plus a night at a hotel, etc, etc.

 

[seaducer]

I don't know if this counts in the exact way you mean it but...I left Cozumel after one day of diving on a week long trip because of a pending hurricane. As I am ever the savvy traveler I not only lost the remaining portion of my original plane ticket but had to pay another $500 for a short notice International 1 way ticket that perked the ears of TSA, and so I rather lost some dignity in addition to the cash.

I got half my money back from the dive op (long story)

So figure $750 for the airfare, $450 for the diving and hotel, and some goon in Dulles still owes me dinner!

 

[Diver0001]

Long story short;

1. Tell me about your experiences of choosing safety over diving and how much you lost as a result.

As an instructor I have "canned" dives for safety reasons but nobody suffered from it financially. It only caused agenda problems and made the planners at the dive shop roll their eyes and because of the complications it caused.

As a diver I've canned more dives than I can count due to conditions, and so have some of my buddies. I guess the most memorable was spending about 1000 Euros to go on vacation and Egypt and having a buddy who sat out 10 dives because she had a badly pulled muscle in her shoulder and a lot of pain. In that situation I would have dived with the pain because of the expense involved in being there.

and / or

2. Tell me about your experiences of not choosing safety over diving and the price you paid as a result.

Mexico. 1992. I had a cold that I picked up on the flight down but I was determined to dive. I went to a "pharmacia" and told them I needed something to make sure I could get through a week of diving.

Day 3. I had taken the pills (sudafed) and sprayed my nose to keep it open enough to clear... we went down to 30m and had a great dive including seeing a few "active" nurse sharks... which was unusual and fantastic. On the way back up I started getting pressure in teh shallow zone and by 9 metres I was unable to ascend any further.

I went back down.... tried again...

no result

I tried every trick in the book to make my sinuses clear....

no result

I even took my mask off and tried to "flood" my sinuses with salt water to see if that would get them to clear....

no result

from 9 metres to the surface I tried going dead slow....

no result

at some point... a person needs to make a decision.... die or surface.

that was the decision I was faced with. My buddy stayed with me as long as he could but when his tank was empty he had to go.

Soon after, *my* tank was empty too

... die or surface....

the pain was so intense that I seriously considered throwing in the towel... but once there was no way to delay it any more... I surfaced.

and it ripped my sinuses apart. If you want to know how that feels then get someone to hit you in the forehead with a hammer before grabbing on to your lower lip and PULLING IT OVER YOUR HEAD.

Blood flowed out of my nose for 2 days

and being the head-strong idiot I am, I tried to go diving again but couldn't get my head 30cm under the water without excruciating pain. Even snorkeling (which I also tried) was impossible. Just the minimal over-pressure of laying my head in the water with a snorkel on caused severe pain and I was unable to tolerate it.

I *did* get 3 days of diving out of that trip, but in the end, the price I had to pay was high. I spent months dry and experienced pain like I've never had before. Maybe in the end, it's a good thing. I'm an instructor now so when we talking in the OW course about "reverse block" I'm not just telling them how someone *told* me it feels. I can really impress upon them how important it is to avoid this.

R..

 

[Deefstes]

at some point... a person needs to make a decision.... die or surface
....
Soon after, *my* tank was empty too

Sharks don't scare me, lionfish don't scare me, electric eels and rays don't scare me. The one thing in the sport of scuba diving that scares the bejeepers out of me is the thought of reverse block. Thanks for your account. I'll probably wet my bed tonight. - and think twice before diving with congestion.

 

[jbtut]

I've had dives canned in conditions I thought pretty mild. On a cruise we were scheduled to dive in Belize and there were ~4 foot swells. Nothing major. The dive boats were there at the ship, but the ship couldn't get anchored well and they wouldn't let us make the transfer to the dive boats. Very bummed at that situation. After hours of waiting we got nothing. I would have swam to the dive boats. The seas were not that bad.

On a trip to the Dominican republic we did the 27 waterfalls our first day. We did the whole set, not the bottom 7 that they take the short tours on. Anyway one jump is ~25 feet or so? and I blew an ear drum. That meant no diving for the entire trip. If your going cliff jumping, plug your nose!

 

[Garrobo]

The closest I ever came to losing money on a dive trip was when, on a very windy day, the dive shop that I regularly dive out of cancelled the morning dives because their computer showed high waves at the dive sights. I got on the phone and contacted another shop a few miles up the road who said that they were going out, waves or not. When we got out there there was an 18" chop on the first dive and almost smooth water on the second. This happend two times with this shop and both times it turned out the same.

 

[String]

The trick is knowing where to draw that red line.

You can do a dive with some increase risk factors that you're willing to accept. It may not be optimal, it may not be comfortable but you're happy with the risk involved. You need a red line though that once reached the thinking changes and get out of there.

Ive pushed dives with bad ears, bad sinuses, thumping headaches, equipment not working and other things and im certain i will again.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I had to sit out a 3-day trip to the Sunshine Coast a few years back due to a head cold. Saddest things is that I organized the trip ... so I couldn't just "not go". Got a bad head cold the day before we left. I figured OK ... I'll stock up on decongestants and dive anyway. Nope ... tried it the first dive and never got past about 8 feet ... and paid dearly for even that much of an attempt.

So I sat on the boat for three days listening to everyone else raving about the incredible visibility and fantastic dives. Fortunately the owner of the dive op took pity on me and gave me a voucher for half off on my next trip ... so the whole thing only cost me about $400.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[mwalsh787]

1. Tell me about your experiences of choosing safety over diving and how much you lost as a result.

Great thread! I once aborted a series of dives in Grand Cayman due to ear and sinus problems that I simply could not resolve. I paid for a five day package (about $550.00) and was reulctant to abort...until I heard a story from an instructor much like the one that Diver0001 told above. I also had the experience of "forcing" a few dives early in my training with ear problems and wondering for a long time whether I had done any long-term damage. All of that was enough to help me make the decision to "call" the rest of the dives. The dive op was kind and sympathetic enough to return some of my money. I have always appreciated that gesture and still dive with them whenever we return to Cayman (which, fortunately, is often!).

2. Tell me about your experiences of not choosing safety over diving and the price you paid as a result.

In keeping with my story above, my first example of "pushing" through dives was in Grand Cayman when I was newly certified. I was having problems equalizing and had read enough to know that it was common for new divers, so I figured it was no big deal and that I should just suck it up and push through it.

I remember most of dive being fairly miserable due to the pain in my ears, but I am fairly good at managing pain, so I was able to compartmentalize it and focus on the good stuff...and there was plenty of good stuff! That said, I wondered for some time after that whether I had jeopardized my diving future by doing long term damage. Clearly, not one of my better decision making moments!

The second example was a dive I did in Hawaii. My wife and I arrived to go to a professional conference and I promptly figured out a "dead spot" in the conference where I could sneak off and get a dive in. I arranged it for later in the week and happily set about conferencing and touring the island (Oahu) in the down times.

One of those tours took my wife and I to the North Shore where we watched surfers and marveled at the big waves. In a previous life, I was a lifeguard and lifeguard instructor, so I was very comfortable with the water and I decided to wade in and see what all the fuss was about. As I waded in a large wave appraoched in a big hurry. "No big deal," I thought, having surfed and been in the ocean in big surf countless times. The wave hit my legs with such force that it bent me completely over and I felt my right hamstring snap like a rubber band. I was aware immediately that it was torn, having torn my left one playing softball years ago. As I limped back up the beach, all I could think about was the non-refundable dive trip that I had booked earlier in the day. I called the dive op from the hotel and he actually was nice enough to offer me my money back if I decided that day. It had been a while since I had been down and I wasn;t going to come all the way to Hawaii and not dive, so I decided to push it and go through with the dive.

I was fairly apprehensive about the actual dive, having no idea how I would react to trying to kick with a torn hamstring, so I resolved to just take it easy, move slowly and enjoy a relaxing dive...and it worked! My dive proceeded smoothly and although I was aware of some pain in my hamstring, my kick was not impacted a whole lot and I was able to move around under water just fine. It turned out to be one of the best dives, in terms of scenery, that I have ever done. The avatar picture you see was actually taken on that dive.

If I had it to do over again, I likely would have gotten my fins on and tested out my strength and range of motion in the pool so that I could make an informed decision as to whether or not to dive.

I'm interested to hear what others have to say about these issues!

Mike