Why I won't dive with you.

[SparticleBrane]

I won't dive with hunters...
I was helping out on a boat once and had only gotten in one dive for the day, so I "buddied up" with a woman who was going after flounder.
I was behind her the entire dive, more or less following her around. She never once looked behind her to check to see if I was even there. I could have surfaced and she wouldn't have known. I kid you not--the ENTIRE 30-35 minute dive, she never looked at me once. Apparently she and her husband are also cave divers...if her buddy skills are this bad in the caves...*shiver*...yeek.
The best part was when we got back on the boat, though, and she and her husband were going on about how good her sac rate is but I had a good deal more air than her.

This was fairly soon right after I got my OW cert---it's a mistake I'm never going to make again.

 

[grazie42]

My list:
-People who annoy me
If you annoy me, I won´t dive with you, not more than once.

I don´t care if it´s a constant need to kick the bottom with your fins (what did IT ever do to you?), a natural aversion to safety stops, a desire to "get there and back first", an inability to monitor the only thing keeping you alive (your gas/me) or the kind of personality that goes well with a padded room and restraints...

Exhibit any of the above, or numerous other annoying things and you´ll find me diving with someone else,alone or not at all...

I pay to dive, when you start to pay me, then SOME things may be negotiable...until then: foggetaboutit!

 

[Dao Jones]

I'm working on getting my c-card and have a situation brewing with a buddy who has gotten me interested in diving. The more I hear him talk about his self-induced near misses, and observe his arrogant and know-it-all attitude, the better I understand why no one will dive with him. I won't be either.

 

[Kwbyron]

If the issue is diving with a buddy that you couldn't pull out of the water, I think that's different then with someone morbidly obese... I'm willing to bet there are quite a few people who wouldn't be able to pull me out, I'm 250, but I'm also 6'4" and have a large frame(still could drop 20lbs though...). I think in that respect, if they can't make the surface swim, or get winded suiting up, that's a red flag...
I havn't really come across anyone I wouldn't dive with, I'm still in the "I'm fine just tagging along" stage.

 

[frankc420]

The only kind of person that I would not want to dive with is the kind that doesn't relay their dive plan, or break a dive plan when underwater. So I guess, i'll dive with anyone as long as I don't have a bad feeling about them, atleast once.

When we did our OW checkouts, there were quite a few people there, that weren't even my buddies, that I immediatly said, "heck no, I'll never dive w/ them as a buddy"

I feel like you can tell just by talking to people before the dive whether or not it's going to be a enjoyable dive.

 

[Diver Dennis]

Lets not let this spiral into a "well I know a 400 pound Super Diver (thanks Dennis)" segment. Ken

No worries Ken.

 

[erparamedic]

There is a significant difference between being overweight and being morbidly obese.

Lets be perfectly clear here: I didn't say I wouldn't dive with overweight divers (nice redirect, Walter... ) I said I wouldn't dive with the morbidly obese.


---
Ken

Well... glad to know... I'll stay away from you then. Just cause one is "fluffy" doesn't mean they aren't skilled. How do you know if someone is obese/overweight, or morbidly obese?? Do you check the size of their wetsuit before they dive? Just curious.

I am (by all the charts) morbidly obese. However, I'm not a "stroke". I swim 40+ (lose count around 40) laps in the pool 3x a week. I have an incredibly active job (my SB name says it all). I eat healthy. I don't have high cholesterol, no heart disease, no lung disease, no diabetes, not a smoker or a drinker, etc, etc, etc. I've tried everything to lose weight, and it just doesn't happen.

I am a safe diver, plan carefully, follow the plan, don't push the limits, and stay with my buddy, etc. If you are that closed minded about diving with an obese person, I'd be happy NOT to dive with you.

 

[plife]

Dao Jones - good point.

Some people get so used to hearing themselves brag, they forget who they are bragging to! Now that you are going through training, you are noticing all of your friend's problems. Maybe you should just talk to him and tell him of your concerns. I had a close friend years ago who became a diver and went all the way to divemaster - but he kept doing really stupid, frightening things underwater. I, and others, spoke to him about it many times. Finally, he was in a situation where he really put someone else (a student) in a dangerous situation, and all of our talking began to hit home. He actually realized that maybe we were right and now he is an excellent, careful diver.

It took a lot of time, we talked to him a lot, and luckily nobody got hurt.

Good luck with your friend.

Patti

 

[erparamedic]

I think the quote was 'mobidly obese' and would guess was intended to mean morbidly.
If so, then those people are at constant health risk just due to their weight, and adding additional complications like pressure, stress, and exertion just up the chances of them having some sort of incident that the buddy will have to deal with during dive.

Also, for me personally, besides just not wanting to look at all that excess weight crammed into neoprene, my feeling is that anyone who is morbidly obese has little respect for their own health and safety, so how much concern are they going to have for mine? I don't mind diving solo, I just prefer to know beforehand.

What I said to ken!

 

[rottielover]

because I can't get them out of a jam, and there is no way they can get me out of a jam.

"Jam" is going to be different situations, gear failure, entaglement, etc. so It's hard to argue that somone that's 100 lbs. overweight could NEVER get you out of a "jam", it all depends on the situation and thier fitness level. Now if that same diver were even 20 pounds OVERWEIGHTED (lead not fat) I can see that argument clearly. Just because somone is FAT does NOT mean that they have a Zero fitness level. (Watch monday night football if you need an example!)

No way this person has the strength or stamina to do a long surface swim, to chuff against a ripping current, to lift himself and me onto a pitching swim step, pull me up on a beach through the breakers in full gear, etc, etc.

If they've passed OW (PADI) then they had to prove watermanship skills by swimming (what is it 200 yards or so I can't remember) and "rescue float" for 5 min (if I remember right). I've known several people that meet your def. of 100 lbs overweight that could do all the things you've listed. Just because someone is FAT does not mean that they are not strong.

And their sheer bulk signigicantly limits the assistance I can offer.
Diving requires an element of fitness to be executed safely and competently. You simply put yourself and your buddy at greater risk if you're morbidly obese and you're diving. There is no disputing that. I simply choose to cut that risk and pass on diving with these people.Its that simple. Its not personal. I don't know the person. Its simple risk management.

If you base your buddy choice on somone that can "lift you out of the water" then your severely limiting your buddy choices. I don't know very many people that can lift 50 pounds of dead weight from water to shore who dive, much less heave your typical 125lb. (more like 150 w/ gear) diver from the water onto shore...

Get yourself a crash test dummy, suit him up in full gear, heave him into the local quarry and then get him out again.... I'll wait

Look, I'm not trying to be mean, or put anyone down or anything, I just don't see fat people diving as a huge issue. Eveyone that complete's an OW course has to demonstrate some sort of waterman ship, and last time I was in OW class they didn't teach us how to haul somone out of the water, just how to tow them back to shore.

I would further venture to say that in most diving situations there are going to be other people around, be that on a boat, or on shore. Most rec. diving is done in area's where there are other people, at least within shouting distance. So your going to have some help hauling dead weight from the water.


You probly have to go through this everytime you post it cause of your wording... Why not change styles too say "I won't dive with people that have a zero fitness level" or something to that effect. The way it's worded currently makes it sound like "I don't want to dive with fat people" Which as you've said is obviuosly not the case.

All that being said, I'm 6'1" tall, and 235 lbs. Ideally, I'd be 180 lbs. of lean mean musscles, but alas I am not. I should also lift weights more often than I do, but I work too much to pay for my scuba addition. So I'm def. FAR away from those skinny wirery looking guys I see diving, I'm sure you've all seen them on the boat, but I stand by statements.

Why not turn this into the 400lb superdiver thread, you brought up the subject!

Fat divers of the world UNITE! LOL