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

[MXGratefulDiver]

You had a feeling it was foolish, and after you did it, you felt that even more -- and you are right. This is a classic case of not knowing what you did not know.

Bob (NW Grateful Diver) has a great article on his website that you ought to read. It will, I hope, have more impact, when you reflect on where you were and what you did.

I think this article is even more appropriate to this particular dive.

Having been there, and having experienced the "it'll be alright, everybody does it" mentality of the dive operations when I was a new diver, I am not going to put the blame on the diver here. It's true that divers have to learn that they ... and only they ... are responsible for their safety. Chalk this one up to an object lesson on that theme.

What people have to understand is that for the dive operations, the Blue Hole is a lucrative part of their livelihood ... and they're going to take every client they can talk into going, whether or not they think you're ready.

Sure you can handle it ... as long as nothing goes wrong. But the deeper you go, the greater the risk of a bad outcome if something does go wrong. And at 130 feet, with little practical experience, you're placing your life totally in the hands of someone who may ... at the time you need immediate assistance ... be busy helping another diver.

The key lesson to take away from this experience is that you ... and only you ... are responsible for your safety. That's why "trust me" dives are never a good idea ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

So, let me reshape the discussion, if I may, now that we've established that I was indeed completely insane. What can be done to prevent ignorant newbies like me from doing things like this? Do you think they should have required advanced OW certification? Deep diving specialty? A certain number of logged dives?

I think that the dive operations who take people to this site should place more training and experience restrictions on the dive. They are fully aware that they're taking divers to this site who are patently unqualified to be there. But it's their livelihood, and they are placing income above the safe limits established by your training agency.

When you are traveling outside the USA you need to be aware that liability laws don't apply to you anymore ... if something bad happens, you'll have a devil of a time holding the dive operation responsible for negligence. Therefore you need to take responsibility for your own actions, establish your own level of safety, and don't let someone talk you into doing something that the "little voice" inside your brain is telling you isn't wise.

If you have doubts that a dive is within your capability, then you shouldn't do that dive.

I'm not going to jump on the bandwagon of those who are beating you up for it. I know what peer pressure does to new divers. I understand how easy it is to convince yourself that something's "alright" when you really want to do it.

Just consider it a lesson learned ... and heed the lesson going forward ... it's quite possibly one of the most valuable lessons you'll learn about scuba diving.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

The reality of the Warped World of Diving is that even if someone could get 3/4 of the operators to not take divers that aren't qualified on the signature dives in their regions, someone else will still take them, and with 3/4 not doing it it will likely be an operator who is less proficient!

When I was a kid and my mom would take me to task for doing something stupid I would sometimes defend my actions by explaining that "everyone does it".

She'd give me that exasperated look that moms are so good at and rejoin "If everyone decided to jump off a cliff, would you join them?"

Perhaps what we need in this world is to put more "mom logic" into our dive planning ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Tortuga68]

She'd give me that exasperated look that moms are so good at and rejoin "If everyone decided to jump off a cliff, would you join them?"

Giant stride

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Giant stride

... off the bow of the Peace ... ah, but it only seems like a cliff ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Davey Jonesen]

Never take advice from those who seek to profit from your potentially bad or incorrect decision.

Shortly after my OW class/pool, I went on trip, finished my cert 1st day, and was put on a boat with other divers. Same divers, same captain and same DM all week. Towards the end of the week my boat did a wreck dive at 100'. My DM knew my cert level since I finished my cert at the resort. I told him that I was going to sit out the first dive and make the second dive on the way back to the resort. He told me that even though I was a beginner, I was better than several others on the boat with my BC, didn’t run out of air early like a lot of newbies, and that he thought I was fine to go on this dive as I seemed really natural in the water….which is true. All my education and dives went great and all my instructors made comments to that point until I was actually tired of hearing the praise. My DM told me as long as I was comfortable diving to such depth that he was fine with me making the dive and my buddy and I could stay close to him. He also pointed out that my buddy that I was paired with at the resort was by far the strongest diver on the boat. I made the dive flawlessly but in hindsight, it probably wasn’t the best decision I’ve ever made.

 

[Steve50]

what the heck did you do on Tuesday and Wednesday?

 

[Tortuga68]

Shortly after my OW class/pool, I went on trip, finished my cert 1st day, and was put on a boat with other divers. Same divers, same captain and same DM all week. Towards the end of the week my boat did a wreck dive at 100'. My DM knew my cert level since I finished my cert at the resort. I told him that I was going to sit out the first dive and make the second dive on the way back to the resort. He told me that even though I was a beginner, I was better than several others on the boat with my BC, didn’t run out of air early like a lot of newbies, and that he thought I was fine to go on this dive as I seemed really natural in the water….which is true. All my education and dives went great and all my instructors made comments to that point until I was actually tired of hearing the praise. My DM told me as long as I was comfortable diving to such depth that he was fine with me making the dive and my buddy and I could stay close to him. He also pointed out that my buddy that I was paired with at the resort was by far the strongest diver on the boat. I made the dive flawlessly but in hindsight, it probably wasn’t the best decision I’ve ever made.

Personally, I don't see anything wrong with that assuming you were happy about it and understood the implications eg low on air at 100' might be 70 bar instead of 50 (depending on tank size)

 

[DevonDiver]

Being 'happy with the dive' is very relative. I'm guessing that most divers involved in scuba accidents were 'happy with their dive' up until the point something went wrong.

When I dive, I mentally 'checklist' a number of potential issues that could arise. If I can confirm that I am capable of dealing with them, then I am 'happy to dive'. As depth increases on a dive, that checklist grows longer...

When I am underwater, I have a constant 'sub-routine' playing in the back of my mind.
"If X, Y or Z happened right now... could I handle it? How?"

I wonder if the OP was 'happy with his dive' because he could positively confirm that extensive checklist.... or was it because he had no checklist in the first place??

 

[Tortuga68]

That would fall under the heading of "understanding the implications"...

To put it another way, I don't have a problem with people exceeding the agency depth limits of their certification on non-course dives (with the same caveats)