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A recent accident in Florida occurred to a student on a deep dive. The real issue, which is ignored by shops and even the agencies(what they don't see can't hurt them?)... is that "some people will NEVER, EVER be competent divers"....these people are generally quite easy to identify in the water. Some Dive shops are becoming a "spider's web" for these people, promising them the adventure of deep dives, and delivering the best chance of an early death instead. In snow skiing out West, if you go to a place like Vail you can see huge groups forming for ski instruction. They ARE NOT ASKED HOW LONG THEY HAVE SKIIED, OR HOW MANY LESSONS THEYHAVE HAD---THEY ARE ASKED TO MAKE A FEW TURNS. A qualified instructor then decides what level class to put them in. A percentage always goes to the "NEVER, EVER" class, for people you can immediately tell will never learn to ski. In diving, we have people whose gross incompetence is obvious to everyone on the boat they dive on. Yet "SOME SHOP" certified them. This is a "CRIME". When I hear a diver got bumped and panicked on a 200 foot deep wreck---actual depth of incident about 165, and shot to the surface because a mask was knocked of---I know I'm hearing about a NEVER, EVER, because most decent intermediate divers can deal with their mask knocked off underwater---its just a comfort level and state of mind kind of thing. When a shop owner takes a NEVER EVER into a "technical diving class", and THEN proceeds to take the NEVER EVER on a 200 foot deep wreck, ....I think its time that certifying agencies WAKE UP and figure a way to create some new checks and balances to prevent obvious merchant mentalities from selling technical diving to persons who are obviously GOING TO DIE OR BE INJURED! Dan Dan Volker SOUTH FLORIDA DIVE JOURNAL "The Internet magazine for Underwater Photography and mpeg Video" http://www.florida.net/scuba/dive 407-683-3592
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