From: mango@nova.esd.sgi.com (Eric Manghise)
Newsgroups: rec.scuba
Subject: Re: Article in Current _SCUBA Times_
Date: 21 Aug 92 22:45:24 GMT
Reply-To: mango@nova.esd.sgi.com (Eric Manghise)
Organization: Silicon Graphics, Inc., Mountain View, CA, USA

In article <1992Aug21.210317.3532@news.miami.edu>,
spindler@rcf.rsmas.miami.edu writes:
|>
|> There are situations that occur in diving that can prevent a single
diver from
|> extricating himself/herself from danger.  Being prepared to save yourself is
|> good practice, and being self-reliant will help you to deal with an
emergency. 
|> But the fact remains that even the most experienced and professional
of divers
|> can encounter a situation that is more than he or she can handle alone.  A
|> buddy is not there just to share in the adventure.  The buddy is
another level
|> of safety-netting to be available in case of an emergency.  While
this is close
|> to the standards as taught by PADI, NAUI, SSI, or any of the certification
|> agencies, it is also simply conservative wisdom to be applied to any
hazardous
|> activity (although I don't think I'd want to share my bungee cord with a
|> buddy... 8-) ).

	These situations you refer to are rare. Usually these kind of accidents
	are because of some gross neglect of protocol. How many buddies have you
	dove with that posed more of a threat to you that if you were diving solo.
	Yes, it is true that even the most experienced and professional of divers
	can encounter a situation they cannot handle, but hey, whoever said diving
	was a totally safe sport. There is an inherent element of risk involved,
	as a very good friend of mine who is a cave instructor once told me, when
	you dive you need to be aware that death is sitting on your shoulders all
	the time. Not that you should worry about it, but that you need to be aware
	of your environment and be responsible about the choices you make while
	diving.
|> 
|> You are correct that there is now and will in all likelihood continue to be
|> solo diving.  I beg to differ that solo diving is a goal to aspire
to, however. 
|> Those that choose to solo dive do so in the knowledge that they have
one less
|> level of defense in the event of an emergency.

	Hey, nowhere did I ever mention that solo diving was a goal to aspire to.
	Solo diving is not for everyone, as well it should be. There are always
	those people who are a little more adventurous and willing to take a 
	calculated risk. What is the one less level of defense that you refer to, I
	am not sure I understand. In a crisis situation with someone else not
	only do I need to worry about getting them out of there, but I also
	need to worry about my self. When I solo dive I am totally redundant
	ie. pony bottle with seperate regulator or whatever. Short of my having 
	a heart attack or being attacked by a shark I think that I can extricate
	myself from just about any situation.

|> > >
|> >	People are solo climbing mountains, kayaking down class IV and V
|> >	rivers, jumping out of airplanes, jumping off 400 ft high towers
|> >	with bungy cords attached to them, racing cars around tracks at
|> >	200mph+, skiing off cornices, are these people stupid. 
|> 
|> Regardless of the experience and competence of people engaged in these
|> activities, the fact remains that these are high-risk activities. Each year
|> people are injured and killed while participating in these activities.  Like
|> diving, these sports can be very unforgiving to mistakes and are prone to
|> unforeseen  events.  Whether the participants are highly-trained and
|> experienced people, or just casual participants, one of their common
goals is
|> to reduce the risks to acceptable levels.
|> 
|> Without continued effort in this direction, diving could conceivably end up
|> like bungee-jumping, which was recently banned in Florida (although I think
|> they may have lifted the ban for commercial jumping facilities)
because of the
|> spate of bungee-jumping deaths and accidents around the country a couple of
|> weeks ago.

	I think there is a protocol for solo diving that can reduce the risks
	to a calculated level.  
|> >
|> >	If Marty penetrated the wreck without a line and a buddy, then
|> >	I would have to say that was stupid. But if he just swam around
|> >	the wreck and had a redundant setup than he was doing it by the
|> >	book. 
|> 
|> Again, not true.  "The book" as stated above does not advocate
neglecting the
|> buddy system.  This is not to say that Marty is stupid.  Far from it!  As a
|> professional he simply evaluated conditions and chose a somewhat higher
|> risk-level for his diving.  I would not, however, recommend this practice to
|> anyone, as choosing to increase the risk in diving is not something I
would do.

	The buddy system again is not mandated anywhere, it is a suggested practice
	preached by the certifying agencies. The term buddy is deceptive and I think
	it should be changed to partner. Buddy refers to someone you can count on, 
	and I think this can give people a false sense of security. Have you heard
	the term "same buddy same ocean". Diving is a solo activity in a sense that
	you share with your "partner". You should make every dive safe in your mind
	that you can handle any situation that arrives. You cannot and should not
	rely on the fact that your buddy/partner will be there to help you. Your
	saftey is ultimately in your hands.


         ______          ______ | Discover the best two thirds of the world...
    _  o(_||___)________/___    | Eric "mango" Manghise
  O(_)(       o  ______/    \   | (mango@esd.sgi.com)    1-415-390-1588
*______/------o-'            \  | PADI DM #51370  NACD #1263   ANDI #2807 
Newsgroups: rec.scuba