Mailing List Archive

Mailing List: techdiver

Message Display

> >Having said that, I feel compelled to assert that the statement "Around
> >here you are very likely to be eaten by something." is a bit of a stretch
> >- even if "Around here" refers to southern Australia. Yes, people do get
> >eaten by white sharks (or, "white pointers", as you call them), but I have
> 
> Carcharodon carcharias (The Great White, or White Pointer) has eaten (not 
> just attacked) 1 member of the dive club of which I am a member (serindipity 
> only prevented me from going on THAT particular club dive), 1 
> semi-professional scallop diver and 1 snorkel diver in South Australia.  I 
> won't count deaths outside SA, such as the diver in Tasmania taken while 
> swimming with seals.  Non diver deaths include only one surfer that I am 
> aware of (although that may have been a Bronze Whaler). I won't mention 
> Rodney Fox.

My point still stands.

> >to say that, unless the threat of a big hungry shark is immediate and
obvious,
> >you are probably enhancing your chances for a long and healthy life more
> >by pausing at a few meters' depth after ANY dive.
> 
> I agree, except at places where Carcharodon carcharias are known to 
> frequent, such as the Aldinga Reef or the Stanvac Barges, I prefer to get 
> back into the boat.

My point was that if you're willing to make a dive in a particular area in
the first place (i.e., if you're willing to accept the risk of attack
during the duration of the dive), then a few extra minutes at a couple meters
prior to surfacing probably does not increase the risk of attack enough to
outweigh the decompression benefits of such a "safety stop".

This is not to be confused with the notion that risk of shark attack is
never considerable.  My brother studies C. carcharias at the Farallon
Islands (near San Francisco).  They found that if you leave an inanimate
object (like an old surfboard) floating on the surface near the seal
populations, is will eventally (like within a couple of hours) be attacked.  I
strongly suspect that there are similar places in Australia. I don't think
I'd ever want to be an abalone diver in such places

On dives where decompression time is the largest portion of the dive,
sharks become a much larger consideration in many places.  Hence, my
ambition to reduce other risks of diving to below that of shark attack.

Aloha,

Rich

Navigate by Author: [Previous] [Next] [Author Search Index]
Navigate by Subject: [Previous] [Next] [Subject Search Index]

[Send Reply] [Send Message with New Topic]

[Search Selection] [Mailing List Home] [Home]