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Jammer Six wrote: > > On 8/6/98 9:22, Bill Mee, wwm@sa*.ne* posted: > > >The boat captain is the last line of defense against self destructive > >stupidity and dangerous risk fraught practices. You need to be prepared > >to turn people away if they don't meet basic criteria. You can be sure > >that the attorney for the plaintiff (i.e. the dead diver's relatives) > >will consider you in the same light as the getaway car driver unless you > >have enforced basic standards. > > Uh, no, Bill. > > If a "Captain" turns anyone away, they should contact me, and I will > launch a boat specifically to take them out, for a price. > > Captains making judgements about dives is exactly what's wrong with the > sport, Bill. > > You are encouraging the opposite of personal responsibility, you are > encouraging a dependence on "captains" to determine whether or not a > given diver should make a given dive. So the customer is always right eh Jammer? When I find myself hanging around dive businesses, it's been my experience that the customer is often horrifyingly wrong. Thank God I'm not in the charter business, I don't know how I could tolerate it. Lets see. The last time I was on a dive charter was last summer in Brazil. Oh yes, there was that 350 lb. German tourist wearing nothing but a thong (size small no less). Now he showed good judgment from the start. Man, I stayed on the other side of the boat. I thought that thing was going to explode and put someone's eye out. There was the other guy who put his BC on the tank upside down and couldn't figure out why it didn't fit right. I could go on and on. But maybe you have a point Jammer. There's probably an untapped market out there for a charter boat to take out all the horrifying idiots who get thrown off other boats. You could probably get the "Darwin awards" locked up all to yourself. Be sure to install trawl winches though because you'll probably spend more time dragging the bottom for your "customers" than doing anything else. Shoot, maybe you'd be doing us all a favor. I bet the regular charter guys would even pass the hat and chip in bucks for you if you were going to take all the idiots off their hands. In fact, from my point of view, if I'm looking for a charter boat, the knowledge that the operation doesn't tolerate idiocy is one of the biggest selling points I can think of. The last thing I want to have happen when I'm on a dive at depth is to be "attacked" from out of the blue by a panicked stroke who's having his own personal cluster. That's not an experience I want to repeat anytime soon. Keeping them off the boat to begin with is the best place to start. Oh yes, and it's great fun on a charter when you're supposed to be diving but instead you get to spend 5 hours hanging around on the boat while they run a search pattern for lost divers. That was one of my more memorable dive trips. Maybe I'll be "lucky" enough to watch someone die next time. I want to pay good money for that experience. Turning to cave diving, maybe Ginnie Springs should take your approach. Open that place wide open to anyone with a buck in their hand who wants to go "cave exploring." No screening for cave cards or equipment, we'll just rely on the "judgment" of the customer. That will certainly make it a more pleasant place to dive don't you think? Hey, you could have an actual body recovery scheduled as part of every cave class. Kent Lind Juneau, Alaska klind@al*.ne* (or) kent.lind@no*.go* -- Send mail for the `techdiver' mailing list to `techdiver@aquanaut.com'. Send subscribe/unsubscribe requests to `techdiver-request@aquanaut.com'.
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