"What is dangerous" - in scuba diving ??

[Joshua Smith]

ROFLMAO! That's some funny, funny stuff! Thanks for the laugh, Bob!

For the definitive word on scuba cliches, please refer to http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/3443054-post47.html

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

[airsix]

I looked quizzically at the instructor and he wagged his snorkel at me. DUH! I had grabbed my snorkel instead of the Air II. Since my snorkel wasn't 25 feet long, I couldn't get any air through it.

Snorkel fail. Down with snorkels! (this is a joke)

And I love my split fins. There again, I suggest you do what we did: try both kinds and go with what you like best. And avoid getting embroiled in the silly controversies over them!

I think the fin rule should be that you have swim behind divers wearing different fins and pick the diver who looks least like a Baja racer flying down a dirt road. (less of a joke)

[Penopolypants]

pick the diver who looks least like a Baja racer flying down a dirt road. (less of a joke)

Hee! Two of the best phrases spoken to me in my open water class by my instructor:

"It's a privilege to be able to visit this underwater world"

and

"every once and a while, look behind you at the swath of destruction you're leaving".

*we were all leaving clouds of silt. it sucked.*

It's more about technique than equipment, but most types of fins excel using a specific technique, so they're not entirely separate.

[Acquatic]

So then the question comes to my mind is, is it pure panic or some actions caused by panic ?

I suppose panic is a natural thing to occur e.g. while underwater and doing night diving, a fish swims by close to your mask when you are not expecting it, you will surely get a jolt don't you? To me this would be pure panic and its natrual.

What kills is panic in the sense of not thinking things through. If you've gotten to the end of "Last Dive" you'll understand what I mean when I say panic is what killed Chrissy. The most basic principle when things go sideways is "stop, think, act." My DM instructor revised that to "stop, breathe, think, breathe, act." If you're panicked you'll do dumb things. That's what happened to Chrissy; if you haven't gotten to the end of the book yet I won't spoil it for you beyond that.

I'm not talking about the jump-scare stuff like coming face to face with a lingcod whose head is as big as yours (this happened to my daughter at Point Lobos in California). I'm talking about "Oh, crap, my reg is free-flowing" or "yikes! I'm down to 200 pounds and I'm still at 50 feet," or "my buddy just signaled s/he is out of air." That is, not the "sheesh, that fish is big!" or "that octopus just grabbed my camera" (happened to my wife at Redondo!), but the "this is a life-threatening situation" kind of panic. That's when it's most important to keep your head, and it's why so much of the basic training gets pounded into your head again and again and again. Because if you pause and think, you'll find a suitable way out. My favorite example:

I got certified with my wife and daughter. It was our third open water dive, at Blue Lake down in Utah (we lived in Boise at the time). We were doing air sharing exercises at about 25 feet. My secondary air source was an Air II, if you know what that is. Basically I was supposed to give my regulator to my wife and breathe off the Air II on my BCD hose. I knew the drill; she gave the signal, I gave her my reg while putting the secondary mouthpiece in my mouth. I took a breath. Nothing. Huh? I tried again. Nothing. Well, maybe it needs clearing, so I blew out on it. Still nothing, and now I've got no air in my lungs. Thankfully, the "don't panic, think" had been hammered into my head. I found my wife's reg, which she had taken out to receive mine, gave it back to her and took mine back. I looked quizzically at the instructor and he wagged his snorkel at me. DUH! I had grabbed my snorkel instead of the Air II. Since my snorkel wasn't 25 feet long, I couldn't get any air through it. I felt like an idiot, but I can say that not letting myself panic, even though I was 25 feet underwater with no air at hand. That's the sort of situation I'm talking about.

By the way, I still use a snorkel and enjoy it. I like to survey the water during surface swims; you never know what kinds of jellyfish, worms and other critters you can spot while going to or from a descent buoy or whatever. Others swim on their backs, so there's no reason to have a snorkel. My advice there is, try it. If you don't find it useful once you've finished your open water course, don't wear one. If you do find it useful, use it.

And I love my split fins. There again, I suggest you do what we did: try both kinds and go with what you like best. And avoid getting embroiled in the silly controversies over them!

Bob, that post is a definite classic. Thanks!

Good info washbur. No i haven't complete the book yet have reached half way. The book is great read though.

wow! so many things to learn, can't wait to join my course.

[oldsalt]

Spatman: Forgive me for not getting the joke. Sometimes I get weary of people telling me that their way is the only way to dive despite evidence to the contrary. The most important piece of gear is between your ears. No amount of equipment will compensate for poor judgement. I'm old enough to know I'm not bulletproof. Literally. I have the scars to prove it. I believe staying within the limits of your training and experience will keep you safer than anything else. I would not consider many kinds of diving that many of you do routinely: dives over 150', cave diving, under ice diving, etc. On the other hand, I have been terrified by dive buddies with impressive credentials, but in a new environment. For example, a commercial diver with abundant experience in the Arctic, couldn't swim, navigate, nor manage air. (O.K., say duh - he's normally walking, attached to the surface, and has unlimited air.) He signaled out of air and bolted to the surface from 80' depth. A cave diving instructor insisted on wearing his doubles and carrying two sidemount tanks for a normal, but current sensitive, shore dive. An emergency situation developed when he could not swim against the current setting us off from shore.When I go to the tropics, I listen to the dive briefing and follow the dictates of the dive master and boat captain. This is their environment.
See you in the water. - oldsalt

[citycatred]

[sitkadiver]

For the definitive word on scuba cliches, please refer to http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/3443054-post47.html

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

DANG IT BOB!!! You should warn people who are eating trail mix and strawberry milk before you post this stuff..... What a mess. How am I ever going to get the walnut chunks out of my sinuses now????

Thank You for the VERY funny link!!

[Norris]

For the definitive word on scuba cliches, please refer to http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/3443054-post47.html

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

DANG IT BOB!!! You should warn people who are eating trail mix and strawberry milk before you post this stuff..... What a mess. How am I ever going to get the walnut chunks out of my sinuses now????

Thank You for the VERY funny link!!

Did you say trail mix and strawberry milk??

[rjw]

By far and away the most dangerous thing about diving is...............the internet

[Fishstiq]

to answer the subject line....one word

Complacency

Absolutely. Being comfortable in the water is awesome. Being complacent can be tragic. Don't get lulled into thinking buddy/gear checks are only something people do in class. Do your checks, every dive.


Sent from my Nexus One using Tapatalk Pro while pooping.

[Nwbrewer]

Sent from my Nexus One using Tapatalk Pro while pooping.

TMI!!!!

[Norris]

Sent from my Nexus One using Tapatalk Pro while pooping.

TMI!!!!

[citycatred]

Sent from my Nexus One using Tapatalk Pro while pooping.

TMI!!!!

[Fishstiq]

Sent from my Nexus One using Tapatalk Pro while pooping.

TMI!!!!

Woah. These smart phones are getting a little TOO smart.

[Acquatic]

Sent from my Nexus One using Tapatalk Pro while pooping.

TMI!!!!

Woah. These smart phones are getting a little TOO smart.

coz now they are equipped with all kinda sensors

[Scuba Skaughtie]

Thanks for the info everyone! Excellent topic Acquatic! As a new diver it is hard to separate the fact from the fiction. I am a VERY new diver with OW under my belt and AOW coming up. I am trying to learn everything I can to become not just a better diver, but to become a better buddy. My girlfriend and I are going through the classes together and we are both hooked on the underwater world. However, one downside with learning together is that we know the same things. I've found this board to be an excellent source of information to help filling in some of the gaps. We're just starting out and I would like to make sure that we have a decent foundation to build on. Besides "The Last Dive" what books do you all recommend for understanding scuba?

[citycatred]

Thanks for the info everyone! Excellent topic Acquatic! As a new diver it is hard to separate the fact from the fiction. I am a VERY new diver with OW under my belt and AOW coming up. I am trying to learn everything I can to become not just a better diver, but to become a better buddy. My girlfriend and I are going through the classes together and we are both hooked on the underwater world. However, one downside with learning together is that we know the same things. I've found this board to be an excellent source of information to help filling in some of the gaps. We're just starting out and I would like to make sure that we have a decent foundation to build on. Besides "The Last Dive" what books do you all recommend for understanding scuba?

Scuba Diving for Dummies and Padi Encyclopedia of Recreational Diving would be my recommendations....

[spatman]

"Diver Down" by Michael Ange is a good book for new divers.

[Acquatic]

Thanks for the info everyone! Excellent topic Acquatic! As a new diver it is hard to separate the fact from the fiction. I am a VERY new diver with OW under my belt and AOW coming up. I am trying to learn everything I can to become not just a better diver, but to become a better buddy. My girlfriend and I are going through the classes together and we are both hooked on the underwater world. However, one downside with learning together is that we know the same things. I've found this board to be an excellent source of information to help filling in some of the gaps. We're just starting out and I would like to make sure that we have a decent foundation to build on. Besides "The Last Dive" what books do you all recommend for understanding scuba?

Hi, glad to see a fellow new diver

Well "the last dive" is a true tragic story and it talks a lot about diving and only diving. It's not a tutorial read. But I would like to point out that after reading this book, you will start respecting diving.

Like we in our sport bike community we always tell the new riders to respect the power of the bike and no rider is a perfect rider anyways.

Thanks for the book tips spatman, those will be in my queue now.

[selkie]

"Diver Down" by Michael Ange is a good book for new divers.

This is a good book but I personally like to recommend to people thinking about diving or very new divers "Neutral Buoyancy" By Tim Ecott. I recommend the scary books to divers that have done AOW and think they know stuff or before that if they are cocky. Personally it was also quite hard for me to read the books about the NE wreck divers because I found I do not like the personality's of most of the characters. Most of the main characters in the books about NE wreck diving display philosophy's on life and diving that I do not agree with and are people I would never knowingly pick as dive buddies.

[airsix]

I recommend The Silent World, written in 1953 by Jacques-Yves Cousteau and Frédéric Dumas. Not because of the technical aspects of diving it will teach (most are outdated), but because of what it says about the spirit of adventure, exploration, thirst for knowledge, respect and appreciation of the world around us, and about determination. I use it as a benchmark for appreciating what we have in terms of modern equipment (like hi-tech insulation for example) and procedures (like modern decompression models). They did truly remarkable things with limited knowledge and primitive equipment, and it reminds me that I really don't have any excuses.

[LCF]

I really like the PADI Encyclopedia. Its writer really talks down to his audience, but there is a lot of very good information in the book, ranging from stuff about the oceans and currents, to information about equipment and diving procedures. It can be read in sections, and it's readily available at any PADI shop.

For people with a bit more curiosity and determination, Mark Powell's Deco for Divers, is, as far as I'm concerned, a must-read. You'll come away with a much better understanding of what the information offered by your computer means, and about how much ISN'T known about decompression.

I would also HIGHLY recommend viewing the 5thD-X videos on YouTube. Even if you don't decide to dive the gear configuration those guys use, they are a beautiful example of horizontal trim, non-silting propulsion, and stability in the water, that new divers should aspire to emulate.

[Acquatic]

Thanks for the pointers on books. I did saw some videos on trim buoy on YouTube and those guys are amazing. As if they are flying in air steady !

[dwashbur]

Several years ago I found an outstanding book called Diving on the Edge: a Unique Guide for New Divers by Michael Bane. It lives up to its name, talking about overall goals in diving, some unique perspectives on gear and other cool stuff. I heartily recommend it.

[Waynne Fowler]

Another source that you may find useful is
"Diving Physiology in Plain English" by Jolie Bookspan,
Ph.D. (ISBN 0-930406-13-3).
The book focuses more on the physiological effects of diving,
as the title would indicate, but also covers some of the
basic physics and dive table theory in language that makes it very understandable.
I've found this and a "Deco for Divers" by mark powell, to be the books I reference most.