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Paul Smith wrote: > >On Thu, 27 Jul 1995, Mark Welzel wrote: >> I can understand why the statistics on the Doria roughly >> approximate deaths in some Florida caves. Of course, I am talking >> about deaths of untrained divers.> - George Irvine >> >> Lack of training and experience seem to be the leading cause >> of death for divers. Although stupidity is trying to catch up. >> Mark > >In cave diving (the only type I have knowlege of), the vast majority of >recent fatalities have been fully trained. Most of them would even be >considered experienced by most people. It seems to me that "stupidity" >is not a sufficiently accurate description. >I think that years of telling divers that training will make them safe >has lead to a condition of overconfidence. Once they receive the coveted >"full cave" card they are ready for anything. >After a few dives, so much improvement has been made, the diver tends to >think he has arrived, not realizing the massive amount of improvement >still left to go. >The main thing that keeps novice divers alive is a good healthy fear. > >((((((( Edited for Brevity ))))))) > >All too often it takes a close call (or a direct hit) to make divers >"see the light". > >You Can"t Be A Good (Cave) Diver Until You Have Had > The Shit Scared Out Of You > >Paul Smith > Yes & No Paul.... I have known some pretty "good" divers who have played everything by the book and (from their account) have never had the crap scared out of them. (But would I go into the middle of a silt filled wreck (or cave) with them at 50+m????...NO!!!!!!) The difference is between a "good" diver, and an "learned" diver, experience is somewhere in the middle. A good diver may have done all the PADI courses (@PADI used without licence & no flame intended, only an example), always dived within his & their limits & shows excellent in water skills (buoancy, out of air, trim, etc) with a couple of rescues on other divers. He (or she) could have 100+ dives over two years, all in clear coral water with calm conditions. By all definitions, a good diver, quite competent! An experienced diver could have done the "advanced" dives in Nitrox, decompression & even Cave & Wreck, but all over one year....the last 4 months with nothing but tech & deep. Prior to that did 20 dives all up! He has been bent (I'd say that is a BAD experience!) and has been scared. However, just how useful is that experience? IMNSHO it is how we assimilate the experience we gain that allows us to put to full use what we have learnt. A learned diver has both the experience & time with THAT experience. EG: put someone on a race track in a Ferrari (me,me,me,me,me) and let them drive around it for two weeks 12 hours a day. 168 hours behind the wheel! Now take someone else (Joe Driver) & give them the same car to drive, instead of their normal car, for 168 hours. Considering the daily drive to work & weekend runs, I'd estimate about 17 hours per week, thus 9-10 weeks. Who do you think would be the "better" driver? In my book, Joe Driver! Why? Because he had the opportunity to assimilate the experience he got, to review it each day (even subconciously), before his next run. When I leant to dive you started out as a rookie...shore dives, every weekend away with a group, watching the older guys (and ladies), looking at gear & generally sussing it out. You could earn your C-cards, but that still did not let you on the dives. You had to earn your Time as well. We spent years learning about diving, watching us all make silly mistakes, but nothing life threatning at the depths we were at, but getting some pretty good friends along the way. But we learnt...and talked about what we learnt & THOUGHT about what we learnt. And then there was the "guru diver" (no copyright to DeepTech intended)...I think every group had one. You know, the guy who took the risks, laughed at danger, had the experience & led the way......ha!!! Yes, he got the shit scared out of him.....but did it do him any good? No....in the end, for all his "experience" he still paid the Reaper his dues. It is what we do with our experience, our knowledge of self that will take us somewhere & allow us to come back. In the end, that is what I call attitude. You either have it because you have earned it, or you don't. There are guys out there who are much better divers than I am, older (and younger) with more dives, more experienc & more qualifications. Fine...good on them. But to this day I still beleive that if you can't learn something every dive then you have you eyes closed! And if you don't learn from it then you have your mind closed! So, how do you make a "good diver"? Take a new diver...introduce him to a bunch of "experienced" divers & then take him along to one of their funerals......no doubt there will be one!!!! Cynical? Maybe...but unless Students (past & future) are reminded that they are ALWAYS students then someone may one day introduce a new diver to you! (Think about it). Happy postings compadres.....and good diving. Regards Richard T ---------------------------------------------------------- DIVER: Fragile Packaging, Do Not Bend ---------------------------------------------------------- PS: Seen on Dry Suit Zipper: "If on Surfacing no reply, open this end".
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