On Tue, 20 Mar 2001 00:17:17 +1100, David Strike <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:

>On Monday, March 19, 2001 11:16 PM, Reef Fish wrote:
>
>(snip)
>> >This, to my way of thinking, is where the system often falls over.  A
>large
>> >number of people are quite happy to abrogate responsibility for their
own
>> >safety and - as a paying customer - place the onus on an Instructor or
>DM.
>
>> I MORE THAN agree!  :-)
>
>> They also abrogate responsibility for their own safety to many CODES
>> and REGULATIONS that are not necessary if they merely exercise their
>> OWN responsibility.  To cite three well-known ones:
>
>> CIWOA (Cayman Islands Watersports Operators Association):
>>        100 fsw max recommended;  110 fsw max required.
>> Mexican Law:  90 fsw max.
>> Queensland Code:  80 fsw max.
>
>You've mentioned the Queensland Code as being 80 fsw max before - and I'm
>not quite certain where this impression comes from?

It came from a composite of posts in Scuba-L about "scuba cops" and
what I read from newsgroups from people who have dived liveaboards in
Oz.  As best as I could tell, the 80 fsw max was NOT specifically
mentioned in the RECENT (web archives) posts in Scuba-L or -SE.  But
other equally-or-more ridiculous rules were, such as:

*>Another passenger pulled a 9 meter reverse profile and he was banned
*>from diving for 12 hours. Kinda put a crimp into his diving plans,
*>but thems the rules.

or

*>All boat dives in Queensland are logged for each diver and the
*>use of computers is encouraged. Periodically they even want to
*>see the read-out upon re-boarding the vessel. Any anomalies are
*>usually discovered pretty quickly. (Like Birdo's faux pas that
*>particular day!)


>My copy of the Code reads, "Certificated Divers ..... not to dive
>to depths greater than that to which they have been trained or have
>experience."

If the Code had stopped right THERE, I would have absolutely NO
PROBLEM with it.  'To my way of thinking <g>', it strikes me as
just another way of saying (for DEPTH), "Know YOUR limit, and
dive WITHIN it."  :-)

>Although the Code does
>recommend a 40-metre (approx. 131 fsw) limit for recreational diving
>*on air* this is only a recommendation.  :-)

That must have been relaxed considerably since I read/heard about the
80 fsw rule actually USED on liveaboards.  40 meters?  Incredible --
that's 131.23 ft, and it broke even the 130 ft rule!  ;-)  Not many
of us in the Coz99NEDfest have not broken that rule, and EVERYONE
in our Maracaibo boat broke that rule, by at least 20 fsw, to as
much as 100 fsw.  :-)   My point reamins -- there no NEED to set
any depth rules (call it recommendation if you like) indiscriminantly
for ALL divers.

Emphasis should be on the DIVERS being responsible for THEMSELVES
and set their OWN rules (for themselves;  and not for others).

-- Bob.