Why don't you just stick your hand in a wood chipper?

[Bruce]

http://www.grindtv.com/outdoor/outposts ... ark-diver/

The search for a shark diver who did not surface with his group after a night-diving excursion Sunday in the Bahamas has ended after authorities determined that John E. Petty was attacked by a shark.

A friend just got back from a weeks trip to the Bahamas and when he returned was surprised no one heard this story local. Since most of the local media goes to Abernethy for stories, I'm not surprised.

What's this make 2, 3 who have been killed diving with him?

I mean come on who in their right mind makes a NIGHT shark dive. Especially a diver who just got his advanced certification. And why wasn't a dive master making sure everyone was in a group?

Thanks Jim for the waste of tax payer dollars for one of your casualties. I hope the Bahamian authorities seize your boat and throw your ass in a Bahama prison.

[Navatech]

Another nominee for the Darwin Awards...

Walk along... Nothing to see here...

[Carl]

....my question is where was his dive buddy?

[Bruce]

Carl,
The recreational dive industry at least down here has taken an every man for himself attitude. When I last dove on a commercial boat about 45 days ago there were three dive masters who were off spearfishing paying no attention to anyone including a 10 year old girl who wasn't even certified diving with her mother. How the boat operators insurance even permitted that I don't know except for the fact everyone signs a release. Most of which can be torn apart by a good lawyer.

The utube, Jackass generation doesn't want rules. And the dive industry is willing to accomodate them.

[Pete Fallon]

Bruce,
How many more people are going to drown while diving from his boats either here or in the Bahamas, that makes at least 6 that I can count in the last 10 years, there are probably more that I don't remember. Shark diving at night is like playing in traffic on I-95 on a Friday night.
Pete Fallon

[Carl]

Carl,
The recreational dive industry at least down here has taken an every man for himself attitude. When I last dove on a commercial boat about 45 days ago there were three dive masters who were off spearfishing paying no attention to anyone including a 10 year old girl who wasn't even certified diving with her mother. How the boat operators insurance even permitted that I don't know except for the fact everyone signs a release. Most of which can be torn apart by a good lawyer.

The utube, Jackass generation doesn't want rules. And the dive industry is willing to accomodate them.

In good conscience I as a boat owner, instructor or Dive Master would never allow that...waiver, no waiver or amount of money.

That aside...going in without a buddy is a personnel decision that should not be left up to others...as a Certified Diver...Advanced, no less, he knew what he was doing and made a fatal decision diving alone...or ditching his buddy....or if his buddy ditched him he should have hit the surface. Not that it would have saved him...but another set of eyes in a dangerous situation...at the very least could have been some help or let authorities know exactly what happened.

Dive alone, at night blame goes on the dead guy for going in the water.

Another bit of wonder...the distress call went out at 8pm. That means they were diving at dusk...

Looking for adventure and danger...he found it.


Responsibility for ones own actions...

[Preston Burrows]

Bruce:

Coincidence you posted this, I almost did post news of it as a response to one of your recent Darwin Award threads.............but thought the better of it as my English usually fails me on this subject.... and it had completely failed by the end of my attempted post, so I aborted.....................

Local news is reporting the usual protestations etc however it's unlikely anything will come of it.

[Bruce]

Responsibility for ones own actions...

In the end your 100% correct.

[Navatech]

Yes, in the end the end it's all about personal responsibility... I got my Admiral and the two older mates certified... The two younger ones are too young... When they grow up they too will be certified... We were once on vacation in Eilat (a resort on the Red Sea)... I took the boys for a couple of dives... An old Israeli Navy buddy of mine ran a dive school and rental business there so, obviously, I was going to take my money to him... When we got there he was really in a pinch... All his instructors and dive masters were out and he had a group of 6 divers (various European nationalities) who wanted a guided dive... So I offered to help him out...

We get equipped, and get into the Jeep that's going to drives us out to the spot on the beach... I suddenly see that two of the group were getting ready to open a couple of Heineken... So far I hadn't let on that I was fluent in Dutch (everything was in English)... So I tell them that if they drink before the dive (27-30 meters) there wasn't going to be a dive... One of them says to the other, in Dutch, you watch, he's not going to do anything... So I said in English, believe me when I say that I plan my dives and dive my plan...

They drunk their beers and when we got to the spot on the beach I told the driver to take them back... That they were NOT going into the water... When I got back to the school the two idiots were raising hell... I told my buddy what hat happened... He backed me up, did not refund their payment and when they continued making a scene he had their certificates revoked...

Diving is serious fun but that can be understood two ways... It's real fun and it's serious business...

[Carl]

Yes, in the end the end it's all about personal responsibility... I got my Admiral and the two older mates certified... The two younger ones are too young... When they grow up they too will be certified... We were once on vacation in Eilat (a resort on the Red Sea)... I took the boys for a couple of dives... An old Israeli Navy buddy of mine ran a dive school and rental business there so, obviously, I was going to take my money to him... When we got there he was really in a pinch... All his instructors and dive masters were out and he had a group of 6 divers (various European nationalities) who wanted a guided dive... So I offered to help him out...

We get equipped, and get into the Jeep that's going to drives us out to the spot on the beach... I suddenly see that two of the group were getting ready to open a couple of Heineken... So far I hadn't let on that I was fluent in Dutch (everything was in English)... So I tell them that if they drink before the dive (27-30 meters) there wasn't going to be a dive... One of them says to the other, in Dutch, you watch, he's not going to do anything... So I said in English, believe me when I say that I plan my dives and dive my plan...

They drunk their beers and when we got to the spot on the beach I told the driver to take them back... That they were NOT going into the water... When I got back to the school the two idiots were raising hell... I told my buddy what hat happened... He backed me up, did not refund their payment and when they continued making a scene he had their certificates revoked...

Diving is serious fun but that can be understood two ways... It's real fun and it's serious business...

Kudos to you Navatech!
...and Kudos to your friend for backing you up! But then if you wanna know who somebody is...look at his friends.