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#252
Calling a Dive - Should this be part of instruction?
ScubaTeve - 4/23/2009 3:23 PM
Category: Training
Replies: 11

The Problem:
How many divers continue a dive where in reality and for safety sake the correct decision should be to abort the dive but they don’t because 1. there is the perceived pressure to continue and 2. we really may not know how to abort the dive (yes the obvious process is signaling your buddy or DM).

The question is:

Should a program of instruction, I would suggest at the OW level, include and perform an open water cessation of the dive with the objective being to involve this aspect of safety and proper process to a full class of students and to as much as possible dispel the perceived stigma of aborting a dive; do you feel that this should be part of a curriculum, which would include a class / instructor / DM discussion (preferably on the way to the next dive site :)?

Further Background:
There have been some articles lately about issues that might occur during a dive; see for example Alert Diver May/June 2009, Fathoms of Fearpg42. In many of these articles we read about mitigating a situation early on to eliminate escalation of problems / eliminate complications due to poor decisions.

We probably at one time or another have felt anxious, perhaps near panic, at some point in our diving careers; maybe our first "low vis" dive, first cave / cavern experience, first underwater surprise (self defined :-) ). Most likely this feeling lasted for a short set of seconds as we worked through our calming process.

My dive training experience I feel has done a great job of giving me the tools to react to dive issues and to perform problem management and especially reacting to anxiety or panic situations, I am not an instructor.
#20384
LatitudeAdjustment - 4/23/2009 3:37 PM


I thought it still was but I was certified before the course was split up into itty bitty pieces.


It’s always been the rule with any dive groups I’ve been with from local NJ beach dives up through international trips with D2D and SingleDivers that if you are not comfortable with the situation call the dive and I have never seen anyone belittled for it.


If the rest of the group wants to continue fine but get that diver back to the boat or land first.
#3936
seawolfdiving - 4/23/2009 4:35 PM
In response to your primary question “Calling a Dive - Should this be part of instruction?”. I feel that the answer is a resounding YES. In fact, of the two agencies’ whose programs I have been privileged to teach, this issue is addressed. However, I do feel that this point is not emphasized nearly enough.

You are correct in observing the reasons why dives are not aborted even though conditions are (or may be) beyond the skill level of the divers involved. However, allow me to suggest a few additional reasons. Ego, which goes hand-in-hand with “ there is the perceived pressure to continue”. Additionally, the ever present economic pressure to continue the dive. Lets face it, dive boat charters are not cheep. And if the dive is cancelled, both divers and boat crew stand to loose money, depending on the refund policy. Remember, even though conditions might be ok for more advanced divers on the boat, conditions might not be ok for “everyone” on the boat.

Some instructors simply state, rather briefly, that the diver “agrees to only dive in conditions that are as good as or better than the conditions in which he/she was trained” or words to that affect. Other instructors, more correctly, will go into detail about the process a diver should use to determine what the diving conditions are and if they should be diving at that spot and at that time.

I realize that, as instructors, we can not make every decision for our students once they are certified and out diving on their own. I do believe that, as instructors, we need to give them the decision making tools that are necessary for them to make the correct choices with regards to the go/no go question. Because when it comes right down to it “each diver is ultimately responsible for his/her own safety and survival” so they need to be well equipped to make good decisions in this regard.
#3091
divemaiden - 4/23/2009 6:58 PM


Yes, I feel that calling a dive should be part of instruction. But more importantly, I feel that DMs/AIs should be taught how to accept a diver’s decision to abort a dive.


e.g, I was at a DUI dog day trying out drysuits and I was having issues. First, the air went to my feet and I shot up to the surface feet first, the air popped the boots and fins off my feet and I couldn’t get them back on. The DM, or whatever he was (I wasn’t clear on what his level was), said he’d help me put them back on under water on the platform below. Descending for a second time, I was having trouble clearing my ears so kept trying to go up to get them clear, but the DM kept pulling me down. (I could have smacked that #&#%!) I kept signalling that I wanted to abort the dive, but he still kept pulling me down, until I actually did smack his arm away from me to make him let go and went up.


It’s one thing when you’re embarrassed about calling a dive. It’s quite another when you want to but aren’t allowed. One reason why I’m taking solo diving certification. (Don’t get me started on the others.)
#3936
seawolfdiving - 4/23/2009 7:22 PM
I like to use the “10 second rule” when deciding if I should make the dive or not.

I figure that if it takes my buddy and I more than 10 seconds to decide whether to dive or not, then we probably should not make the dive. The idea behind this is that if it takes us more than 10 seconds to make the decision, then there is probably something about the conditions that we are not comfortable with.

Yea, I know… It’s just a silly “rule of thumb”. But it has kept me and my dive buddies out of trouble for more than 30 years…

The other rule that I use is that anyone in our diving group can turn a dive back, once it has started, and for any reason. I may ask "why" once we get to the surface, but that’s for information only. The reason given could be as simple as "things just didn’t feel right". But whatever the reason, it is never "challanged" and that person is never judged, condemned or otherwise put down because of their reason.

If the reason for turning a dive back can be resolved and the dive continued, then great... If not, then that’s ok too...

Tomorrow is another day, and another opportunity to dive again.
#3062
Indiana - 4/23/2009 10:30 PM


I found that the best way to handle a called dive is talk to your buddy or who ever you are diving with before the dive and let them know they can call the dive at anytime.I always try to make my buddy feel comfortable about calling a dive.Money can not replace a life.I can always go on another dive.A instructor can only tell you that you should call a dive but your buddy needs to be ready for that.If somebody makes me feel uncomfortable about calling a dive I would not dive with them.DIVE SAFE
#4853
Granitehawk - 4/23/2009 10:32 PM


I was certified in 2005 and the Instructer said flat out " if you do not feel like diving Do not, You feel something is wrong during the dive abort"


We were told not to pressure any one to dive and as As a Dive master I have worked with some people who had to abort the dive for various reasons.


 


Some of the reasons:


Equilization trouble


Panic


Unsure of suroundings


Intimidated by drop off to deeper water on one side or the other


Imtimidated by aquatic life


All of these divers were wise in aborting the dive and will be safer divers in the future in my opion.
#5919
SCUBASMITTY - 4/23/2009 11:38 PM
when in doubt, get the heck out !
#3091
divemaiden - 4/24/2009 6:13 AM
From Granitehawk:

. . . We were told not to pressure any one to dive and as As a Dive master I have worked with some people who had to abort the dive for various reasons.

Some of the reasons: Equilization trouble; Panic; Unsure of suroundings; Intimidated by drop off to deeper water on one side or the other; Imtimidated by aquatic life. . . .



I wish all DMs were taught that way. What do you need, 50 dives to be a DM? A lot of the DMs I run into with 50 dives or so think they know more than I do about what’s right for me just because I’m not a DM, even though I have 150 dives, and counting.

Even when I was a newbie, it was the DMs who put me at risk of DCI because they didn’t have the patience to wait for me to adjust to my conditions. [I better stop here before I start ranting.:
#1920
ArchimedesPrinciple - 4/24/2009 12:32 PM


 


I agree that this should be stressed even more in our training.


That being said, when all of this training has been provided it still takes some good old common sense and a level head to make that decision at crunch time
#1001
h2ofria - 4/27/2009 2:12 PM


I called off a dive in La Paz Mex. last year. Strong current, rough surface conditions and my regulator was bleeding small amounts of air.


Everyone else on the boat went in. One ended up needing decompression stops and an extra air tank had to be taken down to them. Three more drifted a mile or more from the boat as we took care of the first individual. It took some looking to find them but we were successful and no one suffered any serious harm.


I did not hear a single person comment one way or the other about my reluctance to dive in those conditions. But on that same trip I overheard a guy pressuring his girlfriend to make a deep dive that she did not want to do. I stuck my nose in and advised her not to dive if she wasn’t comfortable. She made the dive anyway then later spent the rest of the trip mad at the boyfriend for pressuring her.


I agree that there should be more emphasis on training divers on when to call a dive and how to recognise and remedy the tendency among, mostly male divers, to be more macho than the next guy.


 
#625
JoDan - 4/28/2009 9:09 AM
Im loving the 10 second rule. Makes alot of sense. The group of guys i dive with operate under the "ANY" rule. ANYone can call ANYdive for ANYreason without ANYquestions! I thougt initially that we would be aborting a sensless number of dives but it turns out that the comfort of knowing that you can "Call" the dive without consequence had the opposite effect. In my experience, I’ve noticed a willingness to resolve the issue calmly knowing that aborting the dive is OKAY!