We might stop diving

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Could someone please link me to any information about this Querio person? Not to sound harsh but the name keeps popping up and I can't find the thread in Accidents

There's a long almost useless thread in the Accidents Forum about her, but very little factual information and no cause for her death.
 
This latest accident should serve to reinforce the idea that basic diving skills are essential. All reasonable people know diving has dangers and that experienced divers get themselves killed. It is not surprising that it happens, but shocking when you "know" the person.

From the little information that has been released of the accident (if it is correct) and if we rule out a medical issue, I suspect that the death was the result of very poor performance. She died in 10 feet with her lead on and the tank empty?

We can spin it any way we want, but all she had to do was drop some lead, yell sheeeeeet for 7 seconds and then call for her buddies to come over and go down and recover her lead. It would be embarrassing I suppose for a dive instructor to be in this position. Maybe the thought of embarrassment associated with ditching lead and running out of air distracted her from performing the actions that were necessary (to extricate herself from the situation that she chose to put herself into).

Her death does not scare me or make me question my desire to dive, but it does reinforce my determination to ensure that my kids know how to ditch their weight belts in an emergency.
 
We love diving! Yet the death of Quero really bothers me. I am her age. I “talked” with her on SB! Maybe she made some mistakes, did some things she shouldn’t have – yet who among us has not made mistakes? And it’s not just her – others have died – repeat: DIED, as in IT’S OVER – while diving.

Not to diminish the loss, but my father died from an aneurysm after walking to the mailbox, my friend's child accidentally drove off a cliff, and my cousin was killed by a drunk driver. Everybody dies from something, and it's not always what or when it's expected

You can certainly give up diving, however that doesn't actually guarantee a longer life.

Good luck with whatever you choose.

flots
 
Bill,

It doesn't have to be black or white. I don't think diving is either safe or unsafe - there are an infinite number of degrees in between. Diving in a heated pool is probably very safe. Deco diving is probably less so. What you during those dives also plays a factor. You get the picture.

Do what you feel comfortable with and adjust accordingly.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2
 
Her death does not scare me or make me question my desire to dive, but it does reinforce my determination to ensure that my kids know how to ditch their weight belts in an emergency.

It's also important to actually ditch your weights on a regular basis to make sure it's actually possible.

I decided to ditch the weight pockets on my DUI weight and trim after a dive because I hadn't done it in a long time.

I pulled. Nothing happened. I pulled really hard. Nothing still happened.

I'm a big guy (6'0", 215 Lbs) and can toss someone over my shoulder like they're a sack of potatoes and I couldn't ditch these weights.

Finally I walked out of the water and asked one of the guys on the shore to pull the handles. It took him two hands and and a third person holding me up to ditch the weights and when they finally let loose the nylon webbing on the handle actually ripped.

It turns out the harness had a recall and I didn't know it.

Sorry to get long winded, but I wanted to mention that there's a difference betwen knowing how to ditch weights and actually being able to do it.
 
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Of course, you must make the decision, continue diving or not, on your own terms. No matter what it is, I'll respect it, and miss you from the community.

Personally, I choose to live, in the fullest sense of the word, while I can. I am very lucky to have a wife of exactly the same mind.


All the best, James
 
We might stop diving.

- Bill

Two big things that might change your mind and change your outlook on diving and risk.

1) Pursue further training to the level of rescue diver. I believe rescue diver is THE most rewarding of any dive training you will experience. It might be the difference in your diving and change everything for you guys.

2) Switch to just tropical vacation diving if you have to. Removing cold, removing equipment burdens, increasing visibility are three huge changes to diving which may make all the diffrence and change diving from a task to a relaxation pursuit

But, If you are prone to panic, disregard everything. Panic is the killer of divers and changes everything. Anyone prone to panic is a scary liability to themselves and their dive buddy as panic means you are way over your head and need more training, more experience and panic under water can change a non significant issue into a life ending one.

Diving should be fun, enjoyable and stress free, if it's no longer that way for you guys, I can understand and aplaud you for considering all options, including walking away from it.
 
Bill:

Odds are, you and your wife drive, know of a number of people who died in vehicle wrecks, some of whom were better drivers than either of you, and yet odds are you guys still drive, and not just when you have to.

So many people dive, and the deaths don't seem real common, and you have so much control over your own risk mitigation, that it seems diving is considered 'safe enough,' which is about all I can say about any hobby.

I took a look at your profile; you haven't done Rescue Diver yet, have you. I think you guys would benefit from that course, and perhaps even by following up with the SDI Solo class, even if you never dive solo in your life. Here's why:

1.) Both courses teach you a pro-active risk mitigation mindset; methodical pre-dive gear checking, and being mindful of risk assessment.

2.) Both courses teach you, in different words, that there's a lot that can kill you diving, but very little that should. Usually death is the product of multiplying an unforeseen event by a bad reaction. It's said a number of dead divers are found with their weights not ditched, for example. Panic, not great white sharks, is the great predator swimming the seas looking for divers. Learning about panic, and developing the knowledge base, mindfulness and confidence to abort that reaction and follow the mandate to Stop, Think, Act rather than Freak Out is the key to survival many times.

3.) Ask yourself; what in diving do you think is actually likely to kill you, if you are a thinking diver who doesn't take stupid chances? Everybody makes mistakes; not everybody is reckless, though.

4.) As to the consequences of a heart attack underwater, yeah, that could be bad. Almost as bad as flying down the Interstate at 70 mph, getting hit with sudden extreme pain, and swerving into the other lane and killing yourself, your passenger(s), and possibly somebody else in another car.

5.) Seems to me you're conscientious and mindful of risk, not overconfident and cocky. That also should drop your risk.

6.) I think sticking to viz. 10'+ is quite reasonable. Anything less, and being solo trained seems like a good idea, anyway.

Richard.
 

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