Am I very conservative?

marine521 · February 25th, 2008, 09:50 AM

This weekend I had to cancel a dive. Although I wanted so much to visit this wreck I was forced to cancel it.

The reason?

Lack of uniformity of the dive team. I usually dive with a friend of mine and we make our own dive plan. We have uniformity in the equipment as well as in our behavior during the dive. We were invited by a cameraman diver to join him at the shooting of the wreck since we are going to use it to our new article for next months wreck files.

Unfortunately my divebuddy couldn’t make it this time and I was offered to join the cameraman alone as his divebuddy for the dive. Upon discussing with him about the plan I was going to follow I found out that he didn’t have any plan and he was counting on what his dive computer going to tell him for the dive.

He couldn’t follow my plan since I was doing Nitrox and he was diving on air. Also the configuration was completely different.

Since I was unfamiliar with the dive site and the dive was a decompression dive in open water with current and also a wreck dive I thought that for safety reasons it is better to call it of for this weekend and transfer it for the next one together with my divebuddy

Is this too conservative?

**neilh** · February 25th, 2008, 10:32 AM

Quote: (Originally Posted by marine521)

Is this too conservative?

Reading between the lines it sounds as though you don't know this diver that well. Given it was a deco dive with an unfamiliar buddy who would be concentrating on filming the wreck and not necessarily you, no I don't think it's too conservative.

You clearly felt a little uncomfortable doing the dive so it was the right call. As you say you can always do the dive another day with conditions that you're happy with.

trimixdiver · February 25th, 2008, 11:43 AM

You made the wright choice, better to be save than sorry.....

Rob Dobson · February 25th, 2008, 12:10 PM

If you weren't happy doing the dive then calling it was the only real option you had IMO. Based on what you have said I think that personally I would have done the dive but that's me - I tend to jump in with pretty much anyone once (if they turn out to be an utter liability then I won't dive with them again).

duikgek89 · February 25th, 2008, 12:32 PM

Quote: (Originally Posted by Rob Dobson)

I tend to jump in with pretty much anyone once (if they turn out to be an utter liability then I won't dive with them again).

So you jump in with anyone, even in a decompression dive in open water with current?

I can imagine that you will jump in once (or a few times if that's needed) with someone in easy circumstances to get familiar with eachother, and when tuns out that this buddy is an liability than you tell him that you won't dive with him/her again.

Rob Dobson · February 25th, 2008, 01:33 PM

Quote: (Originally Posted by duikgek89)

So you jump in with anyone, even in a decompression dive in open water with current?

I can imagine that you will jump in once (or a few times if that's needed) with someone in easy circumstances to get familiar with eachother, and when tuns out that this buddy is an liability than you tell him that you won't dive with him/her again.

Pretty much... But then if I am not prepared to do a dive solo then I am not prepared to do it in a team. Self sufficiency in a team environment and all that...

LCF · February 25th, 2008, 01:44 PM

I always feel a little better in a team of three, if I'm diving with someone whose whole purpose for the dive is obtaining some critical photographs or video footage. There's no way the person doing that has their situational awareness at the same level as they would if they weren't filming. Having a team of three, you have two divers who can keep track of one another, and both of them can watch the photographer. I also believe this was the answer given on Quest some time back about how to run a good DIR photographic dive.

So, no, I don't think you were too conservative.

Diving Dave · February 25th, 2008, 09:16 PM

Everyone has their own comfort level and their own idea of what is acceptable risk. IMHO, if you weren't comfortable doing the dive then you made the right call. Anyone can call the dive at any time for whatever reason and as far as I'm concerned this starts before you even get in the water. Whether others consider it too conservative should (somewhat idealisticly) be unimportant to me as I'm not going to function as well if i'm stressed out.

I probably would have done the dive provided we could work out a reasonable plan before hand but I'd have enjoyed it far less if I felt I was there with the sole purpose of looking after someone else (dont know the details so i dont know if this is a fair comment). I dont think anyone can tell you whether its too conservative or not as it's entirely subjective. At the end of the day it's your call.

rjack · February 26th, 2008, 08:21 AM

What depths/time is your typical plan for this wreck?

marine521 · February 26th, 2008, 09:11 AM

The plan was for 30 minutes at 42 meters but the place where the wreck is located has strong current and low visibility (at least for us)

February 25th, 2008, 09:50 AM	#1 (permalink)
marine521(Offline) New Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Athens Posts: 61	Am I very conservative? This weekend I had to cancel a dive. Although I wanted so much to visit this wreck I was forced to cancel it. The reason? Lack of uniformity of the dive team. I usually dive with a friend of mine and we make our own dive plan. We have uniformity in the equipment as well as in our behavior during the dive. We were invited by a cameraman diver to join him at the shooting of the wreck since we are going to use it to our new article for next months wreck files. Unfortunately my divebuddy couldn’t make it this time and I was offered to join the cameraman alone as his divebuddy for the dive. Upon discussing with him about the plan I was going to follow I found out that he didn’t have any plan and he was counting on what his dive computer going to tell him for the dive. He couldn’t follow my plan since I was doing Nitrox and he was diving on air. Also the configuration was completely different. Since I was unfamiliar with the dive site and the dive was a decompression dive in open water with current and also a wreck dive I thought that for safety reasons it is better to call it of for this weekend and transfer it for the next one together with my divebuddy Is this too conservative? __________________ Hellenic Underwater Times: Everything is Different Down Under

February 25th, 2008, 11:43 AM	#3 (permalink)
trimixdiver(Offline) New Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Australia (Brisbane) Posts: 35	You made the wright choice, better to be save than sorry..... __________________ Que Pasa !

February 25th, 2008, 12:10 PM	#4 (permalink)
Rob Dobson(Offline) Chillin' with the ninjas Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Oxford Posts: 536	If you weren't happy doing the dive then calling it was the only real option you had IMO. Based on what you have said I think that personally I would have done the dive but that's me - I tend to jump in with pretty much anyone once (if they turn out to be an utter liability then I won't dive with them again). __________________ --------------------- DIR-RA www.deep-ideas.co.uk www.tecdivers.co.uk. www.unifiedteamdiving.com

February 25th, 2008, 01:33 PM	#6 (permalink)
Rob Dobson(Offline) Chillin' with the ninjas Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Oxford Posts: 536	Quote: (Originally Posted by duikgek89) So you jump in with anyone, even in a decompression dive in open water with current? I can imagine that you will jump in once (or a few times if that's needed) with someone in easy circumstances to get familiar with eachother, and when tuns out that this buddy is an liability than you tell him that you won't dive with him/her again. Pretty much... But then if I am not prepared to do a dive solo then I am not prepared to do it in a team. Self sufficiency in a team environment and all that... __________________ --------------------- DIR-RA www.deep-ideas.co.uk www.tecdivers.co.uk. www.unifiedteamdiving.com

February 25th, 2008, 01:44 PM	#7 (permalink)
LCF(Offline) New Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Seattle Posts: 623	I always feel a little better in a team of three, if I'm diving with someone whose whole purpose for the dive is obtaining some critical photographs or video footage. There's no way the person doing that has their situational awareness at the same level as they would if they weren't filming. Having a team of three, you have two divers who can keep track of one another, and both of them can watch the photographer. I also believe this was the answer given on Quest some time back about how to run a good DIR photographic dive. So, no, I don't think you were too conservative. __________________ check out www.divematrix.com "So, it's a good thing to always do the drills the same way . . . but in real life you need to act the right way, whatever that happens to be." LauNar

February 25th, 2008, 10:32 AM	#2 (permalink)
neilh(Offline) Haemoglobin on the bus... Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Barnsley, UK Posts: 1,900	Quote: (Originally Posted by marine521) Is this too conservative? Reading between the lines it sounds as though you don't know this diver that well. Given it was a deco dive with an unfamiliar buddy who would be concentrating on filming the wreck and not necessarily you, no I don't think it's too conservative. You clearly felt a little uncomfortable doing the dive so it was the right call. As you say you can always do the dive another day with conditions that you're happy with.

February 25th, 2008, 12:32 PM	#5 (permalink)
duikgek89(Offline) New Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: the Netherlands Posts: 4	Quote: (Originally Posted by Rob Dobson) I tend to jump in with pretty much anyone once (if they turn out to be an utter liability then I won't dive with them again). So you jump in with anyone, even in a decompression dive in open water with current? I can imagine that you will jump in once (or a few times if that's needed) with someone in easy circumstances to get familiar with eachother, and when tuns out that this buddy is an liability than you tell him that you won't dive with him/her again.

February 25th, 2008, 09:16 PM	#8 (permalink)
Diving Dave(Offline) New Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Muscat, Oman Posts: 116	Everyone has their own comfort level and their own idea of what is acceptable risk. IMHO, if you weren't comfortable doing the dive then you made the right call. Anyone can call the dive at any time for whatever reason and as far as I'm concerned this starts before you even get in the water. Whether others consider it too conservative should (somewhat idealisticly) be unimportant to me as I'm not going to function as well if i'm stressed out. I probably would have done the dive provided we could work out a reasonable plan before hand but I'd have enjoyed it far less if I felt I was there with the sole purpose of looking after someone else (dont know the details so i dont know if this is a fair comment). I dont think anyone can tell you whether its too conservative or not as it's entirely subjective. At the end of the day it's your call. __________________ Dave

February 26th, 2008, 08:21 AM	#9 (permalink)
rjack(Offline) wet behind the ears Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 863	What depths/time is your typical plan for this wreck?

February 26th, 2008, 09:11 AM	#10 (permalink)
marine521(Offline) New Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Athens Posts: 61	The plan was for 30 minutes at 42 meters but the place where the wreck is located has strong current and low visibility (at least for us) __________________ Hellenic Underwater Times: Everything is Different Down Under