3241

I’m not blaming you Kalle, not at all. It does all seem very simple and safe, and is providing nothing big happens. And you’re probably aware enough that you wouldn’t be the one to panic and shoot to the surface with your lungs clenched and an hour of bottom time.

But folks do it all the time, including certified divers I’ve seen, when things get a little weird. The modern dive tables are designed to allow you to completely flip out without getting bent, in theory. In practice, there’s a significant risk, plus embolisms, plus just plain ol’ underwater blackout followed by death a minute later. So this is the PSA: Don’t dive without training, period.

Things that can cause you to panic/die:

Regulator stops delivering air
Lost your regulator, can’t find it, don’t have octo
Animal/plant/coral sting
Getting caught on bottom feature
Bad air in tank
Tank runs out of air (very common among new divers; they don’t check and you use less air the more experience you gain.)
Tank/BC falls off
Weight belt comes loose, you’re on a rocket to the surface and likely bends
Drop your mask
Can’t clear your mask
Mask has leak
Suck in seawater, have to vomit
Vomiting
Ear squeeze
Nosebleed
Lose the group
Cold
Slammed into rocks by tide
Another diver has a problem/freaks out and starts clawing for your regulator

That’s just my quick and dirty list, and I have seen/done/suffered from nearly all of them in only a few dives. Without complete confidence in your skills it’s very easy to let one of these snowball until something bad happens.

H.

Oh, and one big one: Regulator starts free-flowing. This is what they’re designed to do if anything breaks, and let me tell you, it’s like drinking from a firehose. I don’t know if the instructor showed you how to do it, but it’s very difficult and terrifying to try, even under controlled circumstances.

3242

Sounds like a great hobby.

I think I’ll stick to firearms and automobile sports, for safety.

3243

Now that’s an awesome list of scary stuff I don’t expect to see advertised up front.

Vomiting underwater in particular sounds like a nightmare.

3244

Everyone knows which end is the shooty end of a gun. Most people don’t know how to dive or what to watch out for, so it’s a different beast. It’s also one of the most peaceful, beautiful things you can do. Like finding a forest of animals that are completely unafraid of humans and colored like Disney threw up on them.

H.

3245

Yep, haven’t had to do it, but I’ve seen it happen. You’re supposed to vomit THROUGH your regulator, btw. Did they mention that?

H.

3246

For the awesome parts, swimming past a school of Barracudas was up there along with the sensation that I was literally flying as I swam over a cliff.

Nope. No mention of vomiting. Hearing about it, and all the other stuff, does make me wonder how one-day diving trips are legal though. I mean, it was Greece so I’m conditioned to expect lower standards but they’re still part of the EU.

3247

FWIW, you’ve made me want to go diving again. Hard to do in Kentucky, needless to say, unless you really like bass and bluegill in silty quarry water.

H.

3248

Incidentally, the reason I never did much SCUBA diving is that I’m of the opinion it isn’t really necessary to see a lot of the interesting stuff. You can have a great time snorkeling (and there’s a big difference between knowing how to snorkel well and just jumping in the water), and since a lot of the pretty stuff in in shallow reefs, in some cases you’ll have a better time than you would’ve if you’d gone deeper.

Of course, the experience of being completely underwater is very different, but if you mostly want to see pretty under-water wildlife, SCUBA is less necessary than you might think. It certainly depends on where you are though. Point is, don’t dismiss snorkeling just because it’s less James Bond-y.

3249

I was on Crete for a month last July. Beautiful place but holy shit. I heard ‘eh, it’s Greece!’ more times than I’d like whenever a safety violation/ridiculously off schedule whatever came up. Including the time when one of our workers tried to force himself on one of the female volunteers at a gathering one of the first nights. Awesome way to encourage people to come back, guys! F minus minus.

3250

This is certainly true if you’re around coral reefs.
But as you say, the feeling of weightlessness and total immersion is totally different… and if you want to see the bigger stuff, then SCUBA is necessary.

Let me just say that I agree with everything Houngan said. You did something really stupid, Kalle… but it is the instrucors, who should have their license stripped. You have an excuse in not knowing better, they don’t.

SCUBA-diving is easier than driving a car… but much more dangerous if you fuck up. I personally know three people who died diving (and know off a handful more through diving buddies). One were on her final certification dive in a harbour with a doctor present. The two other were experienced but dived a new wreck and never surfaced.
I’ve learned to take this shit seriously. Even so much that I pay good money to retrain in a fucking pool before any dive trip if I feel it’s been too long since the last time (something that isn’t required, but suggested).

3251

Perhaps it’s time to resurrect the potential QT3 dive trip…?

3252

I had a friend in college who took a certified class and then died diving in a lake during Thanksgiving break. Apparently it was a freak thing, but still. So yeah, doing it without even that level of training isn’t a good idea.

3253

Yes.
If Tom’s going I’ll call it networking and write it off as expenses in my newly formed game reviewing one-man-company…
(I’ll better get an auditor before trying that)

3254

The fish LOVE it though… if peas up at Leah Marine Reserve north of Auckland are anything to go by ;)

Also, is it safe to dive close to flying on a plane?

3255

24 hours is the necessary gap between diving and flying. This is covered in training as well.

H.

3256

I get a puppy tomorrow! I can not wait (Its only for a day, its a friend’s puppy but i’m watching her while she’s out of town)

3257

I threw a surprise birthday party for Geoff. He was utterly stunned - it was so delightful and well worth the effort it took to pull it off. Such a good group of people, and if I say so myself, good food and drink. My brother (who drove down to the Philly area from Boston just for this), Geoff and his brother are in the other room playing Castle Crashers, and I am basking in the warm glow of a successful party.

3258

As a quick aside on this, most PADI shops will offer ‘try dives’. This is basically a chance to get into very shallow, calm water (for example, Maltese law says you can only go to 6m) to basically get an idea of what diving is all about. There should be no problem with trying one of those as you will get a full and proper briefing beforehand and be practically fixed onto your instructor the whole way through. However, this is not the same as basically jumping off onto a full day’s diving, which is far more hazardous, as Kalle was unfortunate to find out.
Hope it hasn’t put you off diving Kalle - it’s a great hobby (although it will make you poor!).

As for the QT3 dive trip, I’m still up for it sometime next year.

3259

Just about five weeks ago I was bored and decided to go looking for date possibilities on internet dating sites. I found one that seemed to be geared towards the age group I fit into and did the normal basic profile that most require before letting you search their files. Only after that did I realize that I would have to “upgrade” my membership to a paid one to actually see much about the people that showed up in my searches. Since there are plenty of free dating sites, I signed off and moved on.

As of today I have received 87 responses to my profile (I turned on the email notification so I get told about this each time.) What’s funny is that the vast majority are totally absurd. It’s very clear that many are not even reading my profile. Others are pure “hook up” messages. Most aren’t even anywhere near my area of the country.

Some examples (I’ll skip the more explicit ones):

Im a sexy lady always happy and like honest,faithfull and caring people,my friends describe me as a hot gal.like outdoor service and like fun with my man.just looking for a prince that will treat me like a princess that i am.

Who doesn’t like outdoor service?

Hi, I’m Kate. I’m a young, energetic student living in Washington. I’ve wanted to pursue a sub. lifestyle for quite some time now, but I’ll admit I have much to learn! In D/s situations, I’ve been described as shy and obediant. I’m willing and eager to learn, and have not been trained fully before. I’d love to hear from you, so please don’t hesitate to contact me! :)

Wrong number Kate.

It u like what you see why waste people time.i am adventure come to the wilderness. I like a men who not insecure with himself who have conferdence with himself. I dont need to know a man who snoop around on his girl crap. U will not regret meet me

You gotta like women who refer to themselves as “adventure come to the wilderness.”

I strong, but at the same time a tender lady, who is dreaming about love and romantic relationship with a kind, loving, sincere, open-mined and tender person. I always try to be cheerful, because I love life and I think it’s great! My friends say that I am a good cooker

My mother told me to marry a strong cooker.

I’m divorced raised two wonderful sons by myself. My oldest has cerebral palsy and is a paraplegic he also give me my one and only grandchild don’t ask I’m too young to be a grandmother . . .

Whoah, whoah, whoah! What!?

Will you marry me? It’s not so easy to describe myself in few words, but I’ll try. Among the most important features of my character honesty and simplicity in everything take the first place. My heart is full of tenderness and I want to give it to my beloved man. I’m decent, easy-going with people, I like those whose hearts are open and I dislike betrayal

Isn’t it a bit early to be talking about marriage?

You gotta love internet dating! :-)

3260

Hey, hey, hey! Get back to the internet dating thread!