Dive Industry
Who Owns You?
True story: A couple has a great time on a liveaboard trip due mainly to the considerate and knowledgeable guidance of the cruise director. The couple wants to remain in contact with the cruise director so they exchange email addresses. After finishing his contract, the cruise director decides to begin his own travel program. He sends out a trip announcement for a trip on another liveaboard (same country), and the couple that knew him from the original liveaboard joins this trip. They have a fantastic trip. But the ex-cruise director just made two enemies: his former employers and the original booking agent, who both who accuse him of “stealing” their clients. Times are hard everywhere. It’s an especially tough market for dive travel when disposable income for things like vacations is not flowing like it did back in the late 1990s and early 2000s. This is a niche market with small profit margins and an even smaller population of divers worldwide who can afford the higher end dive trips. There is a lot of competition for clients, and it’s getting a bit ugly. People like that former cruise director and even people like Burt and I wear a few different hats just to make ends meet. So the other day, when a friend called and asked us to work as a guide for a private client who had chartered a local liveaboard and was bringing a group of friends to Indonesia, we were delighted. That is until the owner of the boat said he didn’t want us there. He was afraid we’d... More »
The Use of Trial Exhibits by Expert Witnesses in Litigation
I did an article for Undercurrent called "Anatomy of A Diving Lawsuit" in 2009 that dealt with the analysis of a specific single case and trial that I worked on as the defense maritime and diving expert. This involved the disappearance of two divers at Cocos Island, nearly 500 miles offshore of Costa Rica. This is follow up piece that expands the narrative. A key thing at trial is being able to use exhibits during testimony to help the jury understand complicated facts, theories, and the geography on an area where an accident or fatality has occurred. It's a complicated process and most trials end up being won by primary expert witnesses during their live testimony. Doing the "grunt" work on the files is fairly routine but takes time and a bit of careful strategy in coming up with a defense posture that can play effectively to a judge or jury. But there is nothing like the pressure of a live deposition or trial wherein the absolute necessity for extemporaneous and calculated quick thought plays such a vital role. As an expert witness, it is impossible to fully anticipate where the cross-examination will go, what ploys are attempted by opposing counsel, what tactic to deceive you about the actual evidence or prior testimony may be taken, etc. It is a very stressful role to play as you must not only protect the defendants' conduct with sometimes very extemporaneous responses, but also remember to maintain control and speak to the jury as a credible, likable, and professional witness in whom they should place their trust to explain the complicated facts and nuance so they choose to favor your opinion over that of the opposition. It is an arena that few people do well in and requires a tremendous degree of control and... More »
A response to “A Divemaster’s thoughtful Rant”
I am glad to see that I am in the good company of Bret Gilliam in wishing to respond to the anonymous JD (are you scared to say who you are, JD?) with a few home truths about divemasters, gleaned from my nearly 50 years of scuba diving. I have experienced all of the following behaviours from professional DMs, some many times: DMs with limited experience, but who think they know it all and treat you like a simpleton DMs who lack flexibility of approach to their job- the 'do-it-my-way or not at all' type DMs who apply silly limitations to one's dive time and depth so one returns to the surface with over half a tank left; some really stupid behaviours in this category DMs who think they are Ian Thorpe & swim like hell, expecting everyone to keep up, thus depriving clients of the opportunity of having a real look around DMs who allocate divers to buddy pairs for their dive, but then insists that everyone start to ascend when the first diver has used their air to 100 bar DMs with no ability to cope with a group with mixed diving skills/experience DMs who do not know the environment they are guiding in DMs who just float around looking bored and making no attempt to look for critters for their clients DMs who use horns, beeps or tap their tank constantly throughout the dive as though they were in the middle of the Paris rush hour traffic DMs who are demonstrably anxious DMs who run out of air before their clients do DMs who give you a harangue at the dive briefing about care of the coral, then proceed to knock the hell out of it themselves because they have no idea where their fins are or who... More »
Room with a View
[caption id="attachment_1056" align="alignleft" width="303" caption="Layne Salvador appreciates the view from main window port"][/caption] Nearly forty years ago I had the chance to spend some time in an ambitious underwater habitat project known as La Chalupa placed on the sea bottom off Puerto Rico. My host was Mike Kilbride (son of the BVI's infamous Bert Kilbride) who had hired on as a project diver after finishing up a commercial underwater blasting job we had both worked on for Hess Oil Co. in the Virgin Islands in 1972. "You've really got to see this operation to appreciate it," he said over the phone. "There's some real bright guys running this thing that are veterans from the Tektite saturation program. You'll get a kick out of what they're up to. And you have to meet my boss, Ian Koblick." So I was off to San Juan on the next plane from St. Croix. Arriving at the remote site, Mike was quick to fill me in. "We're set up to handle five divers in saturation for a month at depths up to 106 feet. But what really makes this different is that La Chalupa can operate up to 10 miles from shore with a minimum of surface support. That's never been done before and we've added a few other twists that are pretty innovative." Koblick, an aquanaut and engineer for both Tektite I and II, had designed the habitat and provided joint sponsorship from his Marine Resources Development Foundation (MRDF) with the Puerto Rican government. He wanted a habitat that would offer more mobility, more independence from topside infrastructure, longer and deeper mission durations, and flexible contingency plans to handle decompression and life support emergencies. While most other habitats of this era were fairly conventional looking using various designs of spherical compartments linked to shore or ship-based umbilicals,... More »
My Top 10 Tips on Teaching Kids to Dive and Diving with Kids
Sharing my strength, experience, and hope with you. Margo Peyton 1. Kids have very short attention spans, they learn better visually and by doing repetitively. Its one thing to tell a child his max depth is 40 feet for example, but go beyond that with kids. Tell them why; and don't make it about their ability or knowledge, make it physical! Tell them what can go wrong and what can happen. Give them an example. Don't scare them but inform them enough to make a difference. There is a fine line here. Kids are competitive and want to outdo their parents and each other at anything they can, so explain the mandates are about safety, not skill. Example: "Jennifer, your max depth is not 40 feet because your just learning or not a good diver, its 40 feet, because based on all the research we have with nitrogen effects on bone growth at your age, internal organ development and tissue saturation limits, that it has been determined to be the safest depth for your physical composition at this age." ( I even explain to 10 and 11 year olds, that it's like when they go to a doctor and get a certain dosage of medicine based on their age, weight etc. The amount of medicine has to be adhered to, because more than that can be dangerous.) I tell them nitrogen is similar, too much can be dangerous.) This takes the skill out of it and puts into perspective for both kids and adults the real risk factor of not following standards. 2. Gauges and depth. Once most kids are certified, it's all about skill to them. The deeper they go the cooler they think it is. They are constantly talking about depth. So I turn this around and try to make it all about... More »
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