Posted by Ken Kurtis on April 29, 2004 at 23:48:32:
In Reply to: Re: RESPONSIBILITY aka why did THEY leave floating in the sea... posted by Andrew Spring on April 29, 2004 at 23:37:54:
Andrwew said: "According to PADI the diver made the right choice-cant equalize, abort the dive."
Yes, but he DIDN'T abort the dive.
By his own statements he was under for 15 minutes. If you're having trouble equalizing, that's on descent and within the first few minutes of the dive. If you lose sight of the rig because the current's too strong, that's also something probably happens within the first few minutes of the dive.
So in my book, staying under for 15 minutes isn't aborting the dive. That's actually trying to make the dive. He spent time trying to equalize, spent time trying to find the buddies, spenmt time trying to find the rig, and all the time didn't realize he was drifting under and behind the boat.
Had he truly aborted the dive relatively immediately (within two or three minutes of beginning the descent), I'm willing to bet none of the rest of this would have happened.
Once again, this doesn't even remotely address or excuse the DM's failings. But it should underscore that there were TWO failings here, one on the part of the diver and one on the part of the DM.
Ken Kurtis
NAUI Instr. #5936
Co-owner, Reef Seekers Dive Co.
Beverly Hills, CA