blobbottlebob
Well-Known Member
I think I've told this story before, but it bears repeating because it is interesting. Plus, it has a great lesson, never dive without the proper training. Sure, at a resort in Mexico, with someone nearby, it can be fun. But it can also be dangerous . . .
My older brother came along to Cozumel with a group of us certified divers. He was there for the sun and vacation. He did not know how to dive (and wasn't all that interested in it). However, after every dive we would talk and talk about the things we saw and did. Before you know it, my older brother wanted to try it.
Unlike many of the resorts - which have nice little pools and specialized classes for visitors, we were diving off of a beach with a tiny dive shack and a dive master. When my brother wanted to learn to dive, they offered to give him resort certification for the day (right at the beach).
As luck (or fate) would have it, some Spanish speaking people showed up and also wanted to learn to dive. So, my brother was being taught simulataneously with a group of people that did not speak english. The rest of us were out already. The plan was that my brother would join us for tank two after getting some training.
What we didn't know was that the training was almost entirely in Spanish. From time to time, the instructor would switch to English and say "Don't hold your breathe" and then switch back to Spanish. They gave the trainees these small tanks (60 ccs) and took them right into the breaking waves and surf at shore. My brother later told us that he couldn't get anything done because the surge of the waves was too rough for him. The entire training session was maybe 30 minutes and was mostly in the wrong language. (For comparison, my training meant reading a 300 page book, watching five videos, and attending over two weeks of classes).
Next, they took my brother out with us for our second tank. They pretty much just dropped him off at about 90 feet deep and let him be. He was still using the same 60 cc tank that he had used in the surf - without re-filling it at all. He was using their old rental gear which included a waist mounted weight belt. He managed to sink down with us, but his belt came off at the bottom. He was holding it with one hand while his body was floating upward away. Someone from our group (and not the dive instructor) quickly got to him and out the belt on correctly. If he lets go of that weight belt and rapidly ascends to the surface, he could suffer an air embellism. Really dangerous stuff.
Next he starts to swim along with us at the 90 feet. He was not trained to relax and let your fins propel you. Instead, he is trying to swim along with something that vaguely resembles a front crawl. All of this arm swinging (which is not helping at all) is making him burn through his already shortened tank of air. After about ten minutes, he runs completely OUT of air at 90 feet. The dive instructor is maybe 50, maybe 100 feet away. In other words, he might as well be 20 miles away.
My brother gives the out-of-air signal (frankly, it's amazing that he even knew it). The instructor signals him to hold still. Too late, my brother begins to swim up as fast as he can (which is also dangerous). As he ascends, the water pressure eases up and he gets a few more breaths going upward and makes it to the surface.
Even an advanced diver does not want to be out of air at 90 feet. Sure, they teach you in class what to do, but this is a very risky situation. You need to use extreme care and get to the surface as quickly as is safely possible.
They never told my brother how to check his gauges - but then they never bothered to watch them for him. He is lucky that nothing bad happened to him.
When we returned to shore, my brother was so excited about what he saw and that he dove. We told him to get certified back home, then he'll know what really happened out there.
My older brother came along to Cozumel with a group of us certified divers. He was there for the sun and vacation. He did not know how to dive (and wasn't all that interested in it). However, after every dive we would talk and talk about the things we saw and did. Before you know it, my older brother wanted to try it.
Unlike many of the resorts - which have nice little pools and specialized classes for visitors, we were diving off of a beach with a tiny dive shack and a dive master. When my brother wanted to learn to dive, they offered to give him resort certification for the day (right at the beach).
As luck (or fate) would have it, some Spanish speaking people showed up and also wanted to learn to dive. So, my brother was being taught simulataneously with a group of people that did not speak english. The rest of us were out already. The plan was that my brother would join us for tank two after getting some training.
What we didn't know was that the training was almost entirely in Spanish. From time to time, the instructor would switch to English and say "Don't hold your breathe" and then switch back to Spanish. They gave the trainees these small tanks (60 ccs) and took them right into the breaking waves and surf at shore. My brother later told us that he couldn't get anything done because the surge of the waves was too rough for him. The entire training session was maybe 30 minutes and was mostly in the wrong language. (For comparison, my training meant reading a 300 page book, watching five videos, and attending over two weeks of classes).
Next, they took my brother out with us for our second tank. They pretty much just dropped him off at about 90 feet deep and let him be. He was still using the same 60 cc tank that he had used in the surf - without re-filling it at all. He was using their old rental gear which included a waist mounted weight belt. He managed to sink down with us, but his belt came off at the bottom. He was holding it with one hand while his body was floating upward away. Someone from our group (and not the dive instructor) quickly got to him and out the belt on correctly. If he lets go of that weight belt and rapidly ascends to the surface, he could suffer an air embellism. Really dangerous stuff.
Next he starts to swim along with us at the 90 feet. He was not trained to relax and let your fins propel you. Instead, he is trying to swim along with something that vaguely resembles a front crawl. All of this arm swinging (which is not helping at all) is making him burn through his already shortened tank of air. After about ten minutes, he runs completely OUT of air at 90 feet. The dive instructor is maybe 50, maybe 100 feet away. In other words, he might as well be 20 miles away.
My brother gives the out-of-air signal (frankly, it's amazing that he even knew it). The instructor signals him to hold still. Too late, my brother begins to swim up as fast as he can (which is also dangerous). As he ascends, the water pressure eases up and he gets a few more breaths going upward and makes it to the surface.
Even an advanced diver does not want to be out of air at 90 feet. Sure, they teach you in class what to do, but this is a very risky situation. You need to use extreme care and get to the surface as quickly as is safely possible.
They never told my brother how to check his gauges - but then they never bothered to watch them for him. He is lucky that nothing bad happened to him.
When we returned to shore, my brother was so excited about what he saw and that he dove. We told him to get certified back home, then he'll know what really happened out there.
