What were they doing?

[diveandclimb]

I was recently doing a shore dive at a popular NE diving beach (60F water) and just a little bit down the beach I noticed a group of four divers entering the water. One of them, a man, had a BP+W setup with back mounted AL80 doubles on what looked like travel bands (= not manifolded) plus two side slung AL72s. He was hooked up to one of the AL80s a woman with him had a bundle of longish (maybe 5 ft) hoses connecting her reg, octo, and bc to the other AL80 and they were with two kids (they looked to be maybe 10-12ish) each of whom had a similar set up on one of the AL72s. The man had a drysuit, the woman had a wetsuit that was pretty beat up and looked like maybe 5mm (in NE we use at least a 7mm), and the kids were both wearing brand new 3mm shorties. My buddies and I got quiet a laugh and a bit of concern out of this spectacle so I'm sharing this story with you guys but I also want to know whether these were total whack jobs or is there some slight method to their considerable madness?

 

[rollerboi]

...so he was carrying everyone's air supply and the whole family went down in a cluster of tangled hoses? Wow.

 

[SteveAD]

I don't know.

I don't want to know.

I'm glad I wasn't there.

I'm even gladder that I didn't read aout them in the newspaper.

 

[diveandclimb]

What really sucks is that good divers die and people like that don't. I just can't figure out how the one who clearly new something about diving could possibly ever doing something so obviously stupid.

 

[Hoomi]

I'm wondering if the logic was, "If Dad has all the air, it makes sure no one wanders away."

(Disclaimer: I'm not saying that's good logic, just speculating what the logic might have been...)

 

[diveandclimb]

I'm wondering if the logic was, "If Dad has all the air, it makes sure no one wanders away."

(Disclaimer: I'm not saying that's good logic, just speculating what the logic might have been...)

Couldn't they just use a piece of rope or something slightly less ridiculous.

 

[paradicio]

All he's accomplishing is making his family co(ld)-dependent.

 

[Hoomi]

Couldn't they just use a piece of rope or something slightly less ridiculous.

Yeah, I'd wager they COULD have.

Myself, I think if I were diving in a young family situation, I'd pair up one child with each parent, and whichever parent is leading is followed by the other parent. Each diver would still carry their own gear, though.

I don't know if it would be considered acceptable to have something like a bungee tether between parent and child, but I think that would still be far preferable to one parent carrying all the tanks, and everyone on long hoses. That, to me, just sounds like an accident waiting to happen.

 

[diveandclimb]

What I also don't get is how this man who knows enough to use a drysuit could possibly let his family go out in dangerously little insulation. As any NE diver would tell you a 5mm wetsuit let alone a 3mm shorty is waaaay to little.

 

[Hoomi]

Shiver me kinders?