I have talked to the instructor mentioned below.  The instructor has never
actually trained these people.  He has been corresponding with them and
helping them get some, but not all, of the gear mentioned below.  They did
not get the v weights, hip weight or tanks from him.  He ws under the
impression that they would be diving dry, and was under the impression,
from the conversations he had with them, that they had more experience.

I think what we have here is a failure to communicate.  The instructor
admits he should have gotten more background info, but can he really be
blamed for sending these guys a light and a BC?  I don't think so.

Nonetheless, CaptnDale makes an excellent point.  Walking the walk, talking
the talk, and wearing what the big boys wear does not a DIR diver make. 
The only way to get there is to dive, and in the beginning it needs to be
little dives, supervised and in a controled setting.  I started cave diving
in '89, and most people say I am still a huge stroke.

Anyway, thanks to the Capt. for his post, and the rest of you guys need to
be careful.

Trout

----------
> From: CaptnDale@ao*.co*
> To: GarlooEnt@ao*.co*; Kevin@So*.co*; s_lindblom@co*.co*
> Cc: techdiver@aquanaut.com
> Subject: Re: A Call to Arms
> Date: Monday, August 31, 1998 2:49 PM
> 
> I'll share with you all this story (true):
> 
> A couple of weeks ago a young man came into my store in Illinois.  He
told me
> that he and his wife had been diving about six months and that he had
just
> purchased some new dive gear and he wanted help in putting it all
together.  I
> said, Sure, I'll help you out anyway I can."  Well, I did not get the
whole
> story for quite a while, but it turned out that he had met a cave
instructor
> in Florida and this instructor had sold him a whole package of gear and
then
> shipped it to him here in Illinois, all unassembled.  He had two complete
sets
> of double 95's along with four ScubaPro mk20's and four G250's.  I
assembled
> the regulators and tanks for him - he did not know how.  
> 
> He knew he wanted to go DIR but had no experience with it yet.  He said
that
> others had told him that they did not think he and his wife should be
using
> the DIR equipment configuration but he wanted to be doing things the way
that
> this cave instructor had told him they should be done.  I could tell that
> anything I could say would fall on deaf ears - he was already sold.  I
> cautioned him that the transition from recreational diving to technical
diving
> should be done slowly, gaining experience in small steps.  He agreed and
asked
> if we had any Lake Michigan dives planned on which he and his wife could
> practise with their new equipment.  I signed him up for a shallow wreck
dive
> the next week.  
> 
> I took him and his wife out to a wreck in 50 to 60 feet of water.  It was
a
> perfect day, sunny, virtually no current, only 1 to 2 ft waves, 74 deg F
on
> the surface, 54 F on the bottom.  These two divers showed up with their
double
> 95's,  They had added 11 lb V weights,  a cave light on one side and a 5
lb
> hip weight on the other.  When I checked their c-cards, *surprise* their
open
> water cards were less than a month old.  
> 
> We were ready to respond when they hit the water.  Neither of them could
> support the weight of their equipment on the surface, even with their
wings
> fully inflated.  Neither had any weight that they could drop.  The wife
> dropped her regulator from her mouth.  It was on a long hose wrapped
around
> her head and when she dropped it the hose unwound and she could not
retrieve
> it.  She had to be told to go to her backup which was on a necklace.
> Meanwhile her primary was dangling, freeflowing, behind her.  We got her
tanks
> off of her, which was not an easy task.
> Her waist strap held her light cannister and she did not want to loose
it.
> The buckle of her waist strap was threaded through a 2 inch crotch strap
with
> no quick release.  It was hard to get the buckle passed the crotch strap.
 Of
> course lifting two full 95's with a steel plate, V-weight, hip weight and
> light back onto the boat was not exactly easy.  He managed to climb out
with
> his equipment on under his own power, but by the time he did he was too
tired
> to make the dive.  
> 
> After their aborted first dive, they were ready to listen to some advice.
 We
> had them get rid of their lights and hip weights.  This got them to a
point at
> which they could manage the weight of their tanks.  To their credit- they
made
> the second dive and did reasonably well.
> 
> In their open water course, divers are taught to use a weight system
which can
> be ditched.
> In their open water course, divers are taught to dive with equipment with
> quick release buckles so that they can get out of it easily.
> In their open water course, divers are taught to breath from a short hose
> which is easily retreived.
> In their open water course, divers are taught to locate their alternate
air
> source on their chest.
> In their open water course, divers are taught to start their dives
neutrally
> buoyant with their BC's empty.
> 
> Why would anyone encourage a diver who has only just been certified Open
Water
> to violate all of these training criteria without additional instruction
on
> how to do it safely?  
> Why would anyone sell technical dive equipment, mail order, to a newly
> certified Open Water Diver without any instruction in its use?
> 
> These divers, if they had gone off on their own, could have gotten
themselves
> in serious trouble -   it would not have been their fault.  I took them
out
> because I knew they were going to have problems and I wanted to be there
to
> help them out.  They are motivated and truly in love with the sport.  I
want
> them to learn to Do It Right without it killing them in the process.
> 
> Good diving,
> Cpt. Dale Bennett
> Captain Dale's Dive Center
> Enterprise Marine Dive Charters
> CaptnDale@ao*.co*
> www.captaindales.com
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