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> IMHO being comfortable in the environment & with your gear will allow you to
> be able to have the presents of mind to overcome any of the problems that may
> arise while diving.

This is a good point which is often over-looked by many of the 
self-proclaimed diving "experts" who assume their own beliefs apply to 
all environments -- even those environments in which they have little or 
no experience.

This weekend I did a couple of dives with a geologist friend of mine on 
the active underwater lava-flows.  We were being filmed by folks for a 
special to be aired on the Learning Channel. During the interview, they 
asked me if I thought only very experienced divers should attempt such 
dives.  I'll forego the details for the moment, but in my answer I 
explained that an active underwater lava-flow is probably the 
most frightening environment a person would ever willingly enter on the 
face of the earth.  Although there are substantial dangers, the 
fright-factor far exceeds the level that the actual dangers should 
warrant. Therefore, one of the greatest dangers of all to a diver is the 
diver him/herself -- fear has a way of clouding common sense and 
training.  I explained, therefore, that the important characteristic a 
diver should have prior to diving in this environment is an ability to 
maintain calm and clear thought processes under very mentally stressful 
circumstances; a characteristic which doesn't necessarily go hand-in-hand 
with diving experience.

The reason I brought all that up is that fact that this is, to a large 
extent, true for all diving environments -- particularly those 
environments where there is a high potential for diver-error leading to 
an accident in a mentally stressfull situation.  This issue seems to be 
overlooked by the global gear-conformationalists.

Aloha,
Rich

P.S. Yes I know it is "snorkel", not "snorkle".

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