Trusting Your Equipment......

[langperf]

I don't know, it does sound like she has doubt in her equipment and she should, that's a good healthy attitude for any diver to have. I have dealt with mechanical systems all my life that mine or someone elses life depends on. And no matter how new, advanced or well maintained a mechanical system is there should always be backup system, and plans or systems, to deal with catastrophic unexpected system failure. I'm sure if she makes a list, mental or written, of all the possible failures or emergencys she envisions could happen (I have) And she has a plan or action, or "out" to deal with those contingents she will have no problem diving within her new "safety zone"

About 30 yrs ago when I was getting into motorcycle racing I was watching videos of an American world champion motorcycle racer(Kenny Roberts), he made amazing saves, getting back in control of the seemingly uncontrollable. Even when he'd throw the bike away he seemed to know how to land or slide with doing the least amount of damage to himself. In an interview after 1 race where he came from behind and made several remarkable saves while riding over the capabilities of his equipment the commemtator asked him how he new what to do in situations like that with split second decisions and his life possibly on the line. He described how he did it as having "mental packets" prepared ahead of time for all possible contingents so when something happens he tears open the proper mental packet and immediately knows how to react to a given situation. I thought that was the most amazing thing I'd ever heard, what a great concept. I use that system regularly

 

[scubafanatic]

.......remind her that if her reg explodes or something, she's supposed to go for YOUR octo thingy...ya know, the whole dive buddy concept! I'm gonna say the stopping at 20' ...IS.... a bit...no, make that very odd...but, hey, it's a free country! Assuming you guys are actually planning some ocean type dives, the vast majority of the time you'll be bored out of your minds being that shallow.....most places completely suck at such shallow depths...and it will be totally frustrating to limit yourselves that way........let's face it, not everyone is meant to be a diver...and surely she knew going into this sport...that relying on a regulator was central to this sport ??? I'm still not understanding why she wants to dive anyway ???

 

[McLovinIt]

King Kenny! I hear ya langperf. Been roadracing myself for a while. Nothing like trusting your tires, brakes, etc. You KNOW that front caliper bolt isn't coming out because you safety wired it yourself, so you are good braking at the third marker instead of the second. Especially coming into the chicane at Rd. Atlanta (redlined 5th gear to low-2nd gear). Scuba is a bit different for me though. My mind isn't clicking off thoughts at 170 mph. But the thought process, the preparation, and the trust....and the "mental packets" are still the same.

 

[drydiver]

personally, although I maintain my equipment, I don't trust my crap or anyone else's My Dad raced dragsters and taught me that all equipment, even new, has failures, so there it is, ingrained at an early age training and practice will help you, I have experienced this and will continue to profess this

D

 

[fnfalman]

King Kenny! I hear ya langperf. Been roadracing myself for a while. Nothing like trusting your tires, brakes, etc. You KNOW that front caliper bolt isn't coming out because you safety wired it yourself, so you are good braking at the third marker instead of the second. Especially coming into the chicane at Rd. Atlanta (redlined 5th gear to low-2nd gear). Scuba is a bit different for me though. My mind isn't clicking off thoughts at 170 mph. But the thought process, the preparation, and the trust....and the "mental packets" are still the same.

You think that Valentino Rossi safety wired every nuts and bolts on his M1?

Sure, he checked to make sure that the safety wires are there, but he ain't doin' it himself.

The same with diving equipment.

You gotta have some sort of trust into the equipment or at least in the manufacturers and/or technician that assembled and/or serviced your diving equipment for you. If not then either do it yourself (assuming that you can trust yourself to be competent) or don't do anything at all.

Your friend has some sort of mental issue that either arrived from improper training or from some sort of personal neurosis. She either overcomes it via taking more training (better training) in diving and equipment maintenance, or she will end up diving at 20-ft forever.

 

[DCBC]

"You either instill the value of the buddy system or you don't....I'm not sure how helpful a discussion on redundant systems are?"

As one who has extreme trust issues and without a "regular" dive buddy I asked about redundant systems before starting my OW class, so it does seem reasonable to discuss.

I don't believe a new student should be introduced to solo diving and should be taught the necessity of the buddy concept. Some divers like to believe that all they need is a redundant system and they're good to go. Having a well trained buddy is much preferred, as long as the buddy team dives within its training envelope (depth and conditions).

Redundancy can't physically drag you out of a bad situation, or perform AR/CPR if required. I believe in the buddy system, as it has saved my life a few times over the years. That doesn't mean that I will not dive solo, or require redundancy in certain conditions, but this is off-topic and inappropriate to this thread.

As far as "extreme trust issues," I suggest that you work these out. Get more training and build experience.

I admit however, that this is difficult in an environment where new divers are routinely certified; which are incompetent to act as a valued member of a buddy team. This wasn't the case when I was first certified; I sympathize with any diver having to face this situation. It tends to develop a philosophy of independence, which may be counter-productive as the benefits of a good buddy may be discounted.

 

[Herk_Man]

Thoughts and opinions...please. A friend of mine has a problem with depth over about 20 feet or so. Just wondering how many people had issues trusting their life support equipment when they first started diving. I mean, if you're at 20 feet and you have catastrophic failure of your 1st stage, you can simply surface fairly quick. But if you're at 60 feet, it's not going to be as easy (I usually carry a pony bottle with me, so this problem don't really cross my mind). I'm just curious if this is a normal issue, or one that is mainly limited to new divers getting use to breathing underwater. Fire away!!Thanks!

You do remember doing a 60 foot CESA during training, right? A small amount of air in your lungs at depth will provide a lot of air to you as you ascend, even if you are exhaling to prevent a lung burst. Please don't read any hostility into that response. None intended. But to be honest, I think what your friend needs is a refresher course at the LDS to remind him/her about how scuba works and how it can be done safely, at even extreme depths.

If that doesn't seem palatable, then stick to 20 feet. No big deal. Plenty to see, colors are better, vis is better, and air lasts longer.

 

[redacted]

Take her on a trip to Bonaire. Plenty to see at 20 ft and a real gentle slope and more to see at 30 ft. If you never went below 30 ft, you would not be missing much.

 

[chazrich]

I am a fairly new diver and do not trust my equipment either. What I do trust is my swimming ability, my training, and my usually level head. I personally don't plan to drown any time soon. Nor do I plan to push the limits to a level where I can't recover fairly easily and calmly.

Having said this I thorougly enjoyed diving Nitrox at 90 feet on my AOW deep water dives.

 

[Web Monkey]

Thoughts and opinions...please. A friend of mine has a problem with depth over about 20 feet or so. Just wondering how many people had issues trusting their life support equipment when they first started diving. I mean, if you're at 20 feet and you have catastrophic failure of your 1st stage, you can simply surface fairly quick. But if you're at 60 feet, it's not going to be as easy (I usually carry a pony bottle with me, so this problem don't really cross my mind). I'm just curious if this is a normal issue, or one that is mainly limited to new divers getting use to breathing underwater. Fire away!!Thanks!

All equipment will eventually fail. What prevents this from becoming a Big Deal is training.

I have a first-class environmentally sealed regulator that I regularly trust with my life, without a second thought. However this doesn't mean that the tank valve won't clog or I won't get a case of Massive Stupidity and forget to watch my pressure or that the first stage won't simply split in two (this actually happened to a number of regs a few years ago).

What keeps me happy and sane is knowing that at any moment, all I need to do for an air share is poke my buddy in the ribs, sign "Out of Air" and a working regulator will immediately appear right in front of my face.

You and your friend should work on dive planning, gas planning and buddy skills until you both have everything down stone-cold and an air-share is a complete non-event. If you would be more comfortable working with someone, any qualified instructor would be happy to work on these skills with you.

Terry