Would you dive with someone who wouldn't share air if you were OOA?

[saltysupply]

Although I don't agree with the premise or assumptions of the person who made the statement that started this thread, I really don't think that a new diver is in a position to tell someone with thousands of dives that they shouldn't be diving.

One of the things that you learn with experience is that every "rule" of diving needs to be applied in the context of a given situation. There are no hard and fast rules that apply in every case ... the number of variables that create the situation require, above all else, judgment.

What you learn in OW class are "rules of thumb" ... designed to be applied in such a manner as to allow you to not kill yourself while you gain some experience, and learn how to apply those rules to a wider set of circumstances.

A thinking diver will not just look at how a safety protocol is applied ... but why. Sometimes that requires thinking beyond what the OW manual said should be done in a given circumstance.

Remember ... that C-card is really just a learner's permit. At less than 24 dives, you really aren't qualified to decide that someone with thousands more dives than you "shouldn't be diving" ... it's possible that he has legitimate reasons for saying what he did, and you haven't yet developed the experiential context to understand what those might be ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

I guess if you want to get technical you are right...but just by that single comment I wouldn't dive with that person, wasn't really trying to get philosophical

 

[MConnelly2]

I believe I would dive with such a person. They can't talk underwater, so how annoying could they really be. And if I really am OOA, and really need it, I'll get it from them, just as any truly OOA diver would (asphyxiation is a powerful motivator to get what you want, I reasonably assume)

Their willingness and cooperation when I do so, however, is the determinant factor in whether I give it BACK.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I guess if you want to get technical you are right...but just by that single comment I wouldn't dive with that person, wasn't really trying to get philosophical

Indeed ... neither would I. But that doesn't mean he shouldn't be diving ... but rather that he shouldn't be diving with me ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Skeeter1097]

no if some one told me they would not give air i have to wonder about the diver.

 

[saltysupply]

Indeed ... neither would I. But that doesn't mean he shouldn't be diving ... but rather that he shouldn't be diving with me ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

I hear ya

 

[Clammy]

Yes, I would dive with someone that won't share air, if I know they are going to run out of air first!!

Anyways, that being said, I had been following that OOA post that Papa Bear was arguing with everyone on. Although I dont' agree with everything he says or the way he comes off saying things the way he does, I do see what he's trying to say. I think he was basically saying that in an OOA situation, he will remain in control and decide to give air or not. That no one will TAKE air from him and that he has no obligation to give air. In this way, he stays safe. This is similar to rescue situations where you have to judge whether your actions will save a person or put 2 people in danger thereby having to split the resources of remaining rescuers. I just think the way he was saying it was inflammatory to most. I don't think that he is saying that he would not give air at all, only that he will decide when it will happen.

I'm a new diver and I do agree that relying on a buddy is simply not always reliable. I would hope that my buddy is willing to share air, but I would also understand that if I panic, I shouldn't expect that my buddy will come up to me to do so if it's an uncontrollable and dangerous situation. I would rather rely on myself and redundancy and be comfortable that having my buddy there is only a secondary or tertiary fall back rather than a primary one.

I'm not exactly comfortable with the idea of someone coming up to me and just grabbing my octo (and definitely not my primary) without letting me know first. However, if someone did, I probably wouldn't stop them (except maybe in the primary situation), but I would share air.

 

[marcienko]

Noooooooo.

 

[String]

If a buddy wont share air there's no point in having one so if i came across someone like that i'd just take my own redundancy and do my own solo dive in my own time and not have to worry about a buddy at all.

So in short no - im diving solo in which case i dont want someone following me.

 

[Dsix36]

Sure, no big deal to me!
I am prepared to dive solo at all times.
I do not use a buddy as a crutch.
I have my own redundant air supply.

 

[D_B]

No, I would not
I do not use my buddy as a crutch, my buddy is another option, a thinking tool kit with solutions to problems that may arise ... and because I do not dive solo