GLOBAL STUPIDITY. I hope everyone can see by now that I was right
about this organization all along.

morpheus@ma*.co*.sg* wrote:
> 
> The Singapore media had a field day "reporting" the 2 diving fatalities. The
> deceased male, Phil, was described by the Singapore and Hong Kong press as
> Dutch, when he was in fact, Eurasian.  One of the Chinese newspapers later
> had to run an apology for publishing a photograph of a Caucasian diver
> mistakenly identified as Phil.  The recovery of the 2 deceased divers as
> reported by the press, was at 10 metres.  On the contrary, sources close to
> the commercial divers and the boat captain revealed that the deceased were
> recovered at the bottom at 100 metres.  It would seem that the local press
> had gone to town without execising journalistic prudence.  Understandably
> so, because the female deceased, Ms Shaw Soo Ling was a member of the
> prominent Shaw family (the Shaws have substantial presence in the
> entertainment and broadcasting interests in Singapore and Hong Kong) and
> they had to deliver the news hot off the press to feed the "hungry" public.
> 
> The following is  what I have gathered from friends and sources who claimed
> to have knowledge of the circumstances surrounding the event.  The following
> account must be deemed unconfirmed and hearsay, till verified.
> 
> For the ill-fated trip, the dive boat was chartered to a TDI outfit.  Phil
> had completed a TDI basic nitrox course and signed up for a TDI advanced
> nitrox course.  As reported, Soo Leng had only completed a classroom lesson
> in a TDI basic nitrox course. Phil was diving air on independent doubles
> (strapped onto a Zeagle BC).  Soo Leng was using air on a single tank.  Phil
> and Soo Leng were last seen at 80 metres by Soo Leng's sister who aborted
> the dive (and was intercepted by a divemaster during her hasty ascent, who
> made her complete her decompression obligations).  Before the fatal dive,
> Phil, Soo Leng and her sister had apparently done a dive of similar depth
> successfully.  Onboard the boat were 3 instructors and 2 other divemasters,
> besides Phil.
> 
> Food for thought : Were the instructors, divemasters, captain even aware
> that the 2 deceased had dove on air to 80 metres on their previous dive and
> repeated their foolhardy and ill-fated attempt at a similar depth?
> (Legally, though not morally, this may be moot if one holds the view  that
> no affirmative duty of care arises.)
> 
> If both deceased had intended to exceed 40 metres on their ill-fated dive,
> they paid the ultimate price for using the wrong gas, being ill-equipped,
> lacking the proper training, and lastly having the wrong attitude.
> 
> Joseph Conrad, in "Mirror of the sea", poses a sobering reminder to us all :
> 
>     "...the sea has no compassion, no faith, no law, no memory.
>     Its fickleness is to be held true to men's purposes only by an
>     undaunted resolution and by a sleepless, armed, jealous vigilance...."
> 
> "Carpe diem" may well be laudable; foolhardiness will never be.
> 
> Unfortunately, the tragic episode will be grist for some (i.e. the
> ill-informed and/or those with vested interests) to lobby for statutory
> regulation of the diving industry.  It will not surprise me one bit if this
> sorry state happens.  After all, the Singapore government acts swiftly and
> decisively in tackling problems.  As an example, to prevent chewing gum
> vandalism disrupting the operation of subway train doors, one cannot even
> chew gum in Singapore as it is an offence to sell or distribute chewing gum
> in Singapore.
> 
> For the serious divers out there, the ultimate issue so aptly posed by
> George in another thread, remains unanswered : "who is our  last line of
> defence?"
> 
> Nick,
> Singapore
> 
> Michal Alaniz wrote:
> 
> > If the divers drowned during this accident, then the question is where
> > in depth.  I have heard of people drowning in 10 feet of water and 130
> > ft of water.  The end result is a drown person.
> >
> > What is not clear to me is if the team were using recreational gear or
> > tech gear and what type of dive (recreational or technical)they were
> > performing. Just because someone is signed up for a course does not mean
> > that intellectual and experiential interest predisposes someone to a
> > mishap.  Many factors need to be taken into consideration such as dive
> > site conditions, divers phyical and mental conditions with dive goals
> > and dive objectives.
> >
> > It would be best to have more information than "new tech divers die" to
> > assess the actual causes in this case.
> >
> > Michal
> > --
> > Send mail for the `techdiver' mailing list to `techdiver@aquanaut.com'.
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