(From my inbox today)
This was written on 3/18/2007.
During the latest SCUBA podcasts (one of them), the host was speaking about 3 recent cave diving accidents in FL. The host himself happens to be an avid cave diver, and he announced that his comment/question in regards to one of 3 accidents that was posted under one of the online dive discussion forums was deleted for some reason. Briefly speaking, his question was something like: Did this person have proper training to conduct a cave dive? He was wondering why his question was deleted - Accident Analysis is one of the important things in cave diving?
Topics for the recent seminar held by LIDA (Long Island Divers Association) at Nassau University Medical Center were all about Dive Safety. The topics included Dr. Hamilton's Safely Using Dive Computers to Mike Emmerman's Rules of Diving - What to Believe. Mike did awesome presentation on this topic with a sense of humor, of course, by backing up with results, statistics, and analysis he collected during his research.
The next LIDA seminar held at Westchester Medical Center in April is also about Dive Safety.
The Water Safety New Zealand also commented that they are very concerned.
*To read this article, click HERE
We also received an e-mail today about a dive accident that involved the death of 3 New Jersey Divers at USS Spiegel Grove sunk off of Florida Coast while we were retrieving information on this online for further discussion.
SCUBA Instructor in CA drowns while Ice Diving, according to Los Angels Daily News yesterday.
* To read this article, click HERE
One of the SCUBA related news websites is posting the online poll on people's thoughts on Certification Agency A's 2-Day Open Water Diver course - whether it is adequate for students to become comfortable underwater within 2 days.
This is just not all - we heard more accidents this year so far...
So why now? Why are people talking MORE about Dive Safety??
What is it that people are becoming more aware of Dive Safety?
As much scary as those stories sound, these topics cannot be ignored. On a negative side, these stories are depressing as we lost divers, but on a positive side, these stories increase awareness to other divers. It is always easier to talk about a next trip than a dive accident.
In today's society, people have less time to prepare, learn, and discuss. Of course, it would be better if those come in cheaper. SCUBA itself does not come in cheaper, as it requires Life Support Equipment. Preparation to a next dive can be overwhelming at times depending on a difficulty of diving, and planning a dive can be stressful after 9-5 job. Learning can be time-consuming and costly at times as it may require class room time, pool session time, and not to mention a fee for a class. Discussing diving related topics has taken over by the technology, the Internet, and there are many online SCUBA discussion forums available.
The solutions and answers lead to short-term course, home study, and online training. Not that those are bad, if conducted properly, including interactions with instructors who actually introduce underwater world.
The other thing is the peer pressure. I often tell my students, at the last dive for their open water certification, that it is okay to abort the dive at any point without a pressure. I tell them not to dive with a person who cannot understand this. We can dive any time when we are more prepared, mentally, emotionally, and physically. 1 aborted dive is not going to hurt.
But ask yourself questions...
SCUBA Diving should be a fun sport, but serious fun.
What do you say?
This was written on 3/18/2007.
During the latest SCUBA podcasts (one of them), the host was speaking about 3 recent cave diving accidents in FL. The host himself happens to be an avid cave diver, and he announced that his comment/question in regards to one of 3 accidents that was posted under one of the online dive discussion forums was deleted for some reason. Briefly speaking, his question was something like: Did this person have proper training to conduct a cave dive? He was wondering why his question was deleted - Accident Analysis is one of the important things in cave diving?
Topics for the recent seminar held by LIDA (Long Island Divers Association) at Nassau University Medical Center were all about Dive Safety. The topics included Dr. Hamilton's Safely Using Dive Computers to Mike Emmerman's Rules of Diving - What to Believe. Mike did awesome presentation on this topic with a sense of humor, of course, by backing up with results, statistics, and analysis he collected during his research.
The next LIDA seminar held at Westchester Medical Center in April is also about Dive Safety.
The Water Safety New Zealand also commented that they are very concerned.
*To read this article, click HERE
We also received an e-mail today about a dive accident that involved the death of 3 New Jersey Divers at USS Spiegel Grove sunk off of Florida Coast while we were retrieving information on this online for further discussion.
SCUBA Instructor in CA drowns while Ice Diving, according to Los Angels Daily News yesterday.
* To read this article, click HERE
One of the SCUBA related news websites is posting the online poll on people's thoughts on Certification Agency A's 2-Day Open Water Diver course - whether it is adequate for students to become comfortable underwater within 2 days.
This is just not all - we heard more accidents this year so far...
So why now? Why are people talking MORE about Dive Safety??
What is it that people are becoming more aware of Dive Safety?
As much scary as those stories sound, these topics cannot be ignored. On a negative side, these stories are depressing as we lost divers, but on a positive side, these stories increase awareness to other divers. It is always easier to talk about a next trip than a dive accident.
In today's society, people have less time to prepare, learn, and discuss. Of course, it would be better if those come in cheaper. SCUBA itself does not come in cheaper, as it requires Life Support Equipment. Preparation to a next dive can be overwhelming at times depending on a difficulty of diving, and planning a dive can be stressful after 9-5 job. Learning can be time-consuming and costly at times as it may require class room time, pool session time, and not to mention a fee for a class. Discussing diving related topics has taken over by the technology, the Internet, and there are many online SCUBA discussion forums available.
The solutions and answers lead to short-term course, home study, and online training. Not that those are bad, if conducted properly, including interactions with instructors who actually introduce underwater world.
The other thing is the peer pressure. I often tell my students, at the last dive for their open water certification, that it is okay to abort the dive at any point without a pressure. I tell them not to dive with a person who cannot understand this. We can dive any time when we are more prepared, mentally, emotionally, and physically. 1 aborted dive is not going to hurt.
But ask yourself questions...
- Are you trained to conduct this dive?
- Are you mentally prepared for a dive you are planning?
- Is your equipment in working order? When is the last time you had it overhauled?
- Is your buddy aware of your abilities and situation mentally, emotionally, and physically?
SCUBA Diving should be a fun sport, but serious fun.
What do you say?
