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At 06:58 PM 9/08/1998 +1000, Christian Gerzner wrote:
>Folks,
>
>I doubt very much whether we're EVER going to get a consensus of opinion
>here.
>
>I'm (FWIW) inclined towards Jammers philosophy if only because as soon
>as a Captain decides that one person on the boat should not do the dive,
>BY INFERENCE s/he is also saying that the divers that are then allowed
>overboard ARE capable of doing the dive and s/he is therefore accepting
>responsibility for those divers.
>
>If I was that Captain, I wouldn't like that responsibility AT ALL.

Christian, the debate seems to be black and white with the
skipper either permitting or forbidding a particular person
to dive and apparently thereby assuming or abrogating 
responsibility for the competency of that diver to make the
dive.

There are a number of less challenging ways for skippers to 
deal with a less than optimal diver who doesn't measure up to 
the dive he/she is attempting. Of course, it depends on that 
diver surviving the first clusterfuck, following which, the 
skippers' course of action could include any or all of:

a) Let the diver know that he/she should not attempt another 
dive at that difficulty level until the diver has done a 
usefull number of easier, skill enhancing dives.

b) Inform the referring dive shop that the diver isn't 
competent for dives of that degree of difficulty and to 
ensure that diver is, in future, only referred for less 
challenging dive trips.

c) If the diver is a liability AND persistent about doing 
dives beyond his/her competency level, to warn the other 
skippers in the area.

d) If the diver's instructor is known, to make contact with 
that instructor to discuss the diver's problems/faults, so 
that the instructor may contact the diver and offer further 
or corrective training.

One of the more pro-active things a skipper can do is to 
advise newly arriving divers of the suitability or otherwise 
of certain equipment levels and configurations and to enforce 
minimum equipment levels for the dive. (redundant gas, long 
hose, lift bag and reel, etc.) With regard to this last point, 
one day, not too long ago, I was climbing aboard Treasure 
Diver out of Sydney, ready for some wreck diving, when I heard 
skipper Dave Allchin quietly saying "You're not getting on my 
boat with that fucking thing!"

I looked around and there behind me was a diver waiting to 
board, wearing a helmet with torches attached. 

See? No difficult challenge. No ban from diving. Merely a 
simple, clearly phrased request for the offending diver to 
re-examine his equipment choice for that particular dive trip, 
and to maybe consider the option of diving without the 
offending head-piece. 

rgrds   billyw

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