The liveliest letters from the Diver mailbag...

---

Scrap medical, says doc
Colin Buckle's letter about diving medicals (January) raised some interesting points. I have long held that the Body Mass Index (BMI) is a crude and inaccurate tool, but it is meant only as a guide. Most medicals are done by doctors who have no training in diving or hyperbaric medicine and are unable fully to assess the risks.
The idea of the BMI is to determine which divers need to be referred on to a doctor with these skills. When I see divers with high BMIs, I look for general fitness, flexibility and experience.
More fundamentally, is a medical necessary at all? In most situations it is not. The pick-up rate in a fit person is almost non-existent, as most screening medicals are done by doctors who have no idea what they are looking for. People lie on the forms, and also during the medical. That is their choice, so long as they understand the consequences!
I believe the medical should be scrapped as a routine measure and replaced by a PADI-style questionnaire. Only divers with problems picked up on the questionnaire would need to pay to see a doctor versed in diving medicine.
Dr Ian Sibley-Calder, Hornsea, Yorks

Anglers more clued up?
My husband runs a licensed charter vessel and takes parties of up to 10 sea anglers and divers out around Oban and the Sound of Mull, on the west coast of Scotland. Some angling clubs make it clear that they will not book with us unless we can satisfy them that we are correctly licensed and that they will be covered by adequate insurance.
They also seem to be on the ball about where to check such details. In our experience, the anglers also understand that what is included in the charter cost reflects the required standards of safety.
Dive clubs more often than not do not appear to be as informed or to care about licence standards with guaranteed insurance and safety certificates. Nor do most understand what constitutes a charter - how many divers realise that it is illegal for anyone with a boat without a licence to accept payment, even a few quid for fuel, to carry passengers?
The British Sub-Aqua Club was part of the committee that drafted current licence charter conditions, so I am surprised that some divers appear to be less clued up than anglers!
Elaine Lauder, Benderloch, Oban

Solo chorus
What would be illuminating is to know how many fatalities are suffered by experienced divers diving solo when they had planned to go alone, as opposed to having become separated from a partner. No one is seriously advocating solo diving except when carefully planned by experienced divers.
David Moss, Heywood, Lancs

What Dying to Dive (February) had to say about solo diving was not convincing. The cases brought up have nothing to do with solo diving the way it should be done - by experienced, self-reliant divers, well-planned and with adequate back-up equipment.
Solo diving has never caused incidents, only possibly affected the outcome of incidents if not done properly. The right kind of solo diving is safer than the wrong kind of buddy diving which we see so often.
Erik Bjurstrom, Kalmar, Sweden

With reference to Martin Prosser's letter (February), I dive 90 per cent of the time alone because I know my equipment and limitations and had very good training. I do a little training near the end of a dive, or make the whole dive training. And I enjoy diving alone.
Every instructor taking a student on an open water dive is diving solo because he has to be able to correct a problem himself. My advice to Mr Prosser is to get some training in self-sufficiency.
T J Smith, BSAC Rheindhalen, Garbsen, Germany

I dive solo at times, particularly back in the USA, where this is accepted as safe when practised properly. In the UK, solo diving occurs clandestinely, but bigotry will not even allow us to have a sensible discussion of the subject, or for very experienced divers to learn the safety procedures and practice associated with solo diving.
I find it amazing that in the same issue of Diver as Martin Prosser's letter, the Diver of the Year Award should deservedly go to Kevin Gurr, who is doing extreme diving near the edge of technical diving practice, while an experienced diver solo diving well within the safe practices developed for this activity would be slagged off as stupid.
The bias against solo diving is also distorting the interpretation of increased fatality rates in the past year. A diver going back into the water to retrieve a mask with no fins and 50 bar in his tank died "because of solo diving". Would two divers going back together with no fins and 50 bar each be acceptable practice?
I would ask buddy divers to respect those competent solo divers who gain a special pleasure from pursuing this aspect of our sport.
Howard Kornstein, Cheltenham

Abuse form an abuse
On receiving my BSAC Membership renewal form I was deeply offended to be asked to declare that I had no convictions for abusing or being violent to children. Anyone who had such convictions would hardly be likely to admit it. This procedure serves only to alienate long-standing, decent club members.
What next? Will one be asked to admit to convictions for fraud in case one becomes branch treasurer, or to confess health and safety offences because one might, some day, be diving officer?
This measure is purely cosmetic, doing nothing to protect children. All it does is to confirm that control freaks are very much in power in the BSAC, and are losing touch with the membership.
Andrew Phillips, Thanet 106, Sandwich, Kent

Rust merchants
Pete Harrison regaled us with tales of Pseudoexpert marinebiologicus (Talk, March) but did not mention its distant but much more abundant relative, Diverus ignoramus. Despite spending large amounts of effort, time and money to enter a world inhabited by a fantastic variety of weird and wonderful creatures, members of this species take pride in knowing as little about those inhabitants as possible.
I sometimes imagine how groups of Diverus ignoramus would behave on a non-diving holiday to the plains of Africa. One can only assume that they would ignore the lions, elephants and antelopes, and instead spend all their time looking for rusty abandoned Land Rovers.
Paul Naylor, London

Kit inversion ups and downs
I am disappointed by the insistence of certain divers on deriding the skills and equipment selection of others. A letter from Stuart Morrison in February attempts to portray the thought-provoking article on technical configurations by Nick Herbert (A Turn-up for the Bottle, November) as a lesson in how not to do it. If there is one thing I have learned in technical diving, it is that while there may be a number of wrong ways to configure one's kit, there is never a right way.
Mr Morrison bemoans Mr Herbert's use of inverted twinsets and non-standard-length hoses. I have yet to find anything in technical kit configuration that could be considered standard. If the use of inverted sets is to be discouraged, why do our armed forces find it acceptable?
Manifolds also come in for a bashing. Mr Morrison suggests the use of independent twins. What would his response be if after a 30-minute dive to 50m (the Moldavia, for example), and having almost emptied one tank, he experienced a free-flow from the full one just before starting his ascent. A manifold would allow him to shut down the free-flow, switch to the back-up and still be able to execute a proper ascent, including decompression.
Mr Morrison announces that DIN valves are virtually bomb-proof, hence no need for valve protectors. But the success of a scuba system relies heavily on O-rings, which have a nasty habit of blowing at a critical stage. DIN-fittings may be preferable to A-clamps, but they are not bomb-proof!
Let's try to encourage an atmosphere of co-operation, rather than waste time and effort inflating the egos of the minority who falsely believe themselves to be superior.
Duncan Jones, Haverhill, Suffolk

I can't remember when the Royal Navy introduced the technique of decanting from one tank of a twinset to another, with the tanks inverted so that you could reach the valves, but it was regular practice in the BSAC more than 40 years ago!
In 1955 Jack Atkinson, then Diving Officer of the Club, had twinsets arranged this way and taught us the operation.
One problem encountered after a couple of seasons was that the "donor" tank of each set became corroded, due to the sudden cooling of the air exiting that tank and leaving moisture on its wall. Some had to be scrapped.
One other problem was that we had no O-rings - connection of tank to manifold and manifold to regulator was by a leather washer! These would blow quite often, requiring a hurried return to the surface.
Lloyd Poulton, North Nowra, Australia

Table talk
Too many people with too little experience are relying on computers instead of tables, as they allow them to dive deeper and longer.
I have been diving for 18 years. Last year I bought my first diving computer, as I did not want to be a loner, having to trust a very inexperienced diver with my life. Most divers these days do not use tables, and do not wish to dive with divers using them. This could be part of the reason for the reported increases in incidents and deaths.
A Clark, Chelmsford

Quarry quarrel
I agree with Alan Milligan's letter (February) that Stoney Cove's Diverlog cards will not help to avoid accidents or be of much assistance after an incident, and could well be out of date soon after purchase. What do we do then? Pay for another card. That's all very well for those of us who have achieved all the qualifications we want, but what about novices?
We would do as well to spend 10p on a photostat of our medicals, write other relevant info on the back and keep it in a waterproof plastic bag in a side-pocket of our dive bags or in the car. What is the valuable service being provided by the company selling these cards? None!
Around 50,000 divers attend Stoney Cove in a year. At 15 a card that amounts to 1,125,000! At a cost per card of 20p or less, it leaves one astounded at the gall of the architects of this scheme. And where is this vast profit going? Not back into the diving community or to a worthwhile organisation such as the RNLI.
After two years we have to pay all over again, and who's to say it won't cost 16 next time? A very nice little earner. I agree that some form of diver registration is a good idea, but not this one. If it becomes compulsory, I for one will not dive Stoney again.
J Cross, East Midlands

Capernwray quarry pioneered diver registration in 1995. All divers visiting this inland site for the first time are asked to show their diving qualifications and an up-to-date medical certificate when appropriate, and complete a registration form showing name and address, training agency, qualification level, etc.
We ask them to sign a comprehensive disclaimer which includes a number of safe practices that must be followed, eg all divers must buddy up correctly and dive with someone of appropriate experience and qualification.
The membership card records personal details and requires a further signature from the customer, agreeing to comply with our site rules. On subsequent visits, we check divers' cards, ensure that they are observing the rules, and relieve them of their hard-earned!
This simple, well-proven system has met with almost universal approval from staff and customers alike. It allows considerable control over all diving in the quarry and gives us the ultimate sanction of withdrawing the cards, denying entry to the site on the rare occasion that we witness unsafe diving practices.
Stoney Cove is undoubtedly striving for the same goals, to run a profitable business while providing the safest possible facilities for customers. After all, we want you to keep coming back! All we ask in return is that people take care, dive only when physically and medically fit and within the limits of their qualifications and experience, and don't lapse into foolhardiness simply because they are diving "in an old quarry".
The registration process at Stoney Cove is costlier than ours, but then it is a more sophisticated system. What is important is that it is taking steps to improve the safety of its customers. By all means raise an eyebrow to increases in commercial charges, but don't vilify an organisation for trying to make your diving safer.
David Hack, Managing DirectorCapernwray Diving and Leisure, Carnforth, Lancs

Leader pleaders
I can see the logic in moving to a more seamless progression to BSAC Advanced Diver from Sports Diver, but the logic behind removing the intermediate grade of Dive Leader defeats me.
This grade encourages progression, by offering formal recognition of progress. Many divers, myself included, would find the idea of having to move directly to the Advanced grade from Sports Diver daunting, and would simply remain at the lower level.
The notion that Dive Leader is unpopular as it involves an obligation to take out novices on early open-water dives I find rather fatuous, as these are events that should be overseen by Nationally Qualified Instructors. I must therefore support the recent letter of protest posted to these pages by Tony Harriman.
Ian Skingle, Staffordshire

The much-loved Dive Leader qualification has helped so much in improving the skill base of lesser-qualified divers, and under the direction of an NQI they have been able to assist in training. With the advent of Club Diver there is no longer a need for Dive Leaders to accompany a novice, but the grade is the starting block for teaching.
The jump between Sports and Advanced Diver is too big. The proposed one-day course might give the necessary theoretical knowledge but the trainee Dive Leader is the "diver's caretaker" and needs a skill base built up by a recognised course that imparts leadership, rescue and teamwork. Then he or she can progress to the planning and marshalling skills required of an Advanced Diver.
Removal of this level could lead to fewer people wanting to qualify as Advanced Diver. I hope the BSAC reconsiders the scrapping of this qualification and perhaps finds ways of enhancing it.
Hugh South, Chairman, Rickmansworth SAC, Herts

Viva Mexican mantas
John Bantin's article on the life off La Paz in Mexico (Mantas in the Mist, February) brought back memories of a fantastic trip to the Socorro Isles to the south of Baja, where the manta rays can be enjoyed in excellent visibility. They congregate around cleaning stations, staying to hover in the divers' bubbles and inviting "grooming" - a rather painful experience, as their skin is much tougher than ours!
A study of the population is underway, with each manta being identified by its unique markings and recorded. However, this may be too late, as they are being killed for bait. Sea Watch is organising a campaign to demand protection for mantas and whalesharks, and if readers wish to dive with these giants in the future, please support them.
Write to Miguel Sanchez Naverro, President of Pronatura Mexico DF, c/o Sea Watch, 3939 N Marine Drive 12, Portland, Oregon 97217, USA, or send a petition via its website (www.seawatch.org).
Fiona Bowler, Portishead

---

Readers should note that Diver Forum is now open on Divernet for all those of you who would like to exchange messages directly.

---

Appeared in DIVER - April 1999

---

We want to hear from you Write now to diving's brightest, most controversial letters section. There is £10 for the author of the lead letter each month. Address it to Diver, 55 High Street, Teddington, Middlesex TW11 8HA, fax 0181 943 4312 or e-mail letters@divernet.com. Please include your full name and home address.

Go to Beachcomber

---

DIVERNET NAVIGATOR