Warning: open water!

[GrierHPharmD]

For what it's worth, I saw the moving on Friday evening and enjoyed it. Was it a training film? Not at all.

I'll disagree about the movie being unrealistic. I thought that the scenes on the dive boat were pretty close to my experiences on cattle boats. Lots of divers, lots of chaos. A diver accountability system that had a flaw. Divers with poor navigation skills and no surface markers.

Now, did the couple do what I would do in the water now? Not at all. Did they use the sort of judgement that new/inexperienced divers might use? I think so.

Except for the shark scenes, which I won't discuss here, to keep from giving too much away, I thought it was a nice little film. It's an independent film, so it's short and low-budget. It didn't have a Hollywood feel about it, and I liked that, but then again, I watch a lot of independent films.

I went with my wife, our two kids (11 & 14), and a couple of good friends who are also divers, who took their daughter (14). Their daughter's first comment at the end was, "Okay, when can I get certified?"

I guess it has something to do with your perspective on films vs. reality. We went out afterward for ice cream and spent the next two hours discussing being lost at sea, signalling, cattle boats, navigation, current, etc.

One interesting note: You could tell the divers in the theatre. Everybody else jumped the first time a fin broke water. The non divers were also commenting on one of the main character's pulling his dive knife as a weapon. Our group giggled...

I'd like to hear what other folks here thought of it after seeing the movie, not just the trailer.

-Grier

 

[gfisher4792]

Bottom line, don't act like a seal and thrash around on the surface and you most likely will be fine.

So what you're saying is, don't take any shark survival hints from the Discovery Channel, such as thrashing about in the water or screaming your head off?

 

[ryanarcher]

This one is real simple - all you have to do is make sure that you can swim faster than your buddy and you'll be fine!

 

[CA Diver]

My Wife does not want to dive and to try to convince her would be like using yout tank on a surface swim, a waste of air!. But as for the sharks I keep telling her I have been bitten by more vicious Garibaldi and Triggerfish than sharks.

 

[sessions]

My Wife does not want to dive and to try to convince her would be like using yout tank on a surface swim, a waste of air!. But as for the sharks I keep telling her I have been bitten by more vicious Garibaldi and Triggerfish than sharks.

Oh dont get me wrong, I dont think it portrayed complete reality either....but for the NON-Diver...sharks are only what they have seen and heard, mostly in movies. I explained to het that I would be willing to cut and bleed myself, just to get an opportunity to actually see one up close while diving. Well pver a hundred OW dives, and i havent see anything other than horn sharks, up close!

 

[GrierHPharmD]

Incidentally, I saw the movie on Saturday, not Friday. I had posted a link to this thread elsewhere and some helpful soul pointed out the discrepancy.

(Hmmmm, I wish my employees were so observant! Want a job, Headhunter?)

-G

 

[cindye]

My husband has been certified for 6 years, I've only been in the last 2 years. On my 2nd dive in Maui, I saw a 12ft hammerhead. I think that is what totally hooked me. Of course I wasn't so sure until I was back on board safe and sound. And the only thing you could hear is hammerhead, great dive, lets go again.

The big animals are so graceful in the water, we were drifting and the big boy just swam away into the drift like it was nothing. awsome!!!

So keep diving, everytime you come back and talk about the neat stuff down there, she will be one more step closer to going.

 

[Roughwaterjohn]

This one is real simple - all you have to do is make sure that you can swim faster than your buddy and you'll be fine!

You forgot to mention one thing, the real reason most divers carry a dive knife. Remember, nick your buddy in a place that will bleed profusely, 'then' swim away.

 

[MSilvia]

I heard that for some of the shark scenes, the divers were covered in blood and fish, and wearing chainmail. The lead actress got a bite that required a few stitches, or something non-serious like that.

I'm trying to talk my girlfriend into getting certified too, and the trailer came on while we were watching tv. She looked a little nervous, so I told her about the blood and fish thing. She said, "they're crazy!". I agreed, but pointed out that they pretty much HAD to do that in order to get the sharks interested enough to approach the divers in a threatening way. I think that got through to her... she's signing up so we can dive this winter.

 

[headhunter]

Incidentally, I saw the movie on Saturday, not Friday. I had posted a link to this thread elsewhere and some helpful soul pointed out the discrepancy.

(Hmmmm, I wish my employees were so observant! Want a job, Headhunter?)

-G