Was I completely insane? (Blue Hole as first dive)

[Puffer Fish]

A long time ago, I worked as the safety officer on a live aboard, that just so happened to do that diver every trip.

The owner got a lot of extra money to make that dive, and I got a lot of divers that should never have been down that deep, on an AL80.

I was convinced that one day, someone would die on that dive, and I walked away from it when my year was up.

Less than two years later they did have a death there....and shortly there after they were out of business.

Lets see:

1. New divers, some with little to no buoyancy skills

2. Really deep

3. Rental gear

4. Tank too small for the dive

5. No knowledge of how depth effects anyone there.

What could possibly go wrong?

 

[Hawkwood]

I wonder how many folks just say no to the dive?

We were there last year with another couple staying at Turneffe Island Resort. We went out on the scheduled dive to the Blue Hole, but the four of us opted out of the dive - why bother - deep, little time, and with folks who in most cases do not understand how things can cascade at that depth. We stayed in the shallows why the rest went for the dive.

The second dive on Lighthouse was spectacular, so the trip out was worth it.

Bill

 

[Downing]

I've dived the BH three times in the last three years with Turneffe Island Lodge/Resort. It's a unique dive but not necessarily a great one since it's short, deep and there's not a lot of aquatic life to look at. Before I went the first time, I got my AOW cert, thinking it would be required and was surprised to learn after I got there that I was wrong.

From my limited observations, there were two types of divers who elected to skip the BH and stay on the boat: nervous new divers and been there/done that experienced divers.

That's one popular spot with divers coming and going starting early in the morning. Given the sheer numbers, it's probably a pretty safe dive based on the odds but I wouldn't want to be the guy without proper training and experience whose number is up at 130 feet down.

I wouldn't say the OP was "completely insane," but she did use poor judgment as did the dive op but in all candor it's the sort of thing I probably would have done in her situation, too.

 

[Dr Wu]

It was a foolish dive to do and you knew it at the time and chose to do it anyway.

Among many other factors it was also twice the depth you were trained for.



Were you insane?

No idea.

But you were deliberately risky and put the livelihood and lives of your guides in unnecessary danger.

 

[Charlie99]

So, tell me....did we do something very stupid?

Yes.   

 

[Crush]

Everyone else beat me to it, but here are my comments.

What you did wrong:
- you dove beyond your limits. I'd bet that your OW cert is good to 60 or 70 feet, yet you chose to go deeper than that. Rules exist for a reason, even if you don't understand what that reason is; and
- based upon your post, it seems that you didn't plan your dive.

What your DM/guide did wrong:
- pretty much everything short of abandoning you at the bottom.

However, in your defence, you probably didn't know any better and trusted someone. This does not excuse you from not obeying the rules of your certification agency.

 

[Cougar7]

I'm glad your dive went well and you had more than adequate dive masters to watch over you, all in all....nothing went wrong and you had a great dive!

 

[vladimir]

But you were deliberately risky and put the livelihood and lives of your guides in unnecessary danger.

The livelihood of the guides likely depends on unqualified divers doing the Blue Hole. As for their lives, well, they assume the risk, and are much better qualified to assess it than the OP.

 

[Dr Wu]

The livelihood of the guides likely depends on unqualified divers doing the Blue Hole. As for their lives, well, they assume the risk, and are much better qualified to assess it than the OP.

Then there is little reason for anyone to concern themselves with their fate. Both the unqualified divers or the guides.

 

[DevonDiver]

Greetings. I recently got back from a vacation in Belize. Things I have heard and read since then lead me to believe I may have done something perhaps dangerous and, well, completely insane. Namely, a friend and I went diving to 130ft in the Blue Hole as our first non-training dive. Yep. Very first dive.

Things you heard since then?
What about things you learnt on your Open Water course?
Do you remember anything about 'recommended max depths' from your course theory and dives?
What does your certification card say on it?

So, tell me....did we do something very stupid?

Undoubtably.

You didn't do something stupid ... the dive operators who allowed you to go did ...

I think that assumes that a newbie is not expected to take any personal responsibility for their diving.

From the discussions and apprehension that some of the divers felt before doing the dive, it must have been obvious that the dive was beyond their capabilities. They chose to do it anyway. That's a personal choice.

What comes first.. the chicken or the egg?

What comes first...the dangerous dive operation that encourages divers into dangerous trust me dives...or the actual divers who choose to accept this encouragement, despite knowing that it is wrong?

You just encountered a classic "trust me" dive.

A "trust me" dive is where one person has the skills and knowledge to do a particular dive safely, and the other one does not. Usually the one without the correct training has no inkling of the magnitude of the dive they will do, or it's consequences (if something goes worng).

I've dived the Blue Hole. It is at least 130ft (if you are at the stalactites), but most divers get 10-20' deeper than that. It's dark. It's a sheer wall dive, where the bottom is well below the range of scuba. When I dived the Blue Hole, I was a qualified instructor and technical diver. On a single AL80 and with no dive computer - I felt that it was a pretty serious dive by my standards.

Taking newly qualified OW divers into the hold is about the worst example of dive industry greed that I've seen. When I dove the Blue Hole, I also encountered a bunch of newly qualified OW divers in my group. Their buoyancy was terrible, they had no idea of the risks... and the DM was mostly just a speck in the distance finning away. I've never seen anything as shockingly irresponsible.