Winter2016AlertDiver

17 / 118

Mark, you are correct — the photo
should have been structured
differently for inclusion in Alert Diver.
The child is my daughter, and the
photos were taken some years ago (she
is 22 now). She was well supported
by our dive instructor and me just
a few feet away. But the point is not
the relative safety of the moment but
the message communicated by unsafe
diving protocols when published in
the magazine of Divers Alert Network.
I apologize for the oversight.
— Stephen Frink, Publisher,
Alert Diver
SKIN DIVING
It seems you’ve been hoodwinked.
You end your nice article on
snorkels (Gear, Summer 2015)
with the statement, “When military
personnel were required to bring
mask, snorkel and fins to water
sessions, the acronym SKIN was
posted on the roster to stand for
‘swim kit is needed.’” A cute story,
but I’m afraid it’s just a myth.
— Sam Wheatman, via email
Sam, I think you are correct. I hate
being the purveyor of myth, but it
looks like I am guilty this time. I
read a claim to this more than 15
years ago, filed it away as trivia and
brought it out as what was supposed
to be an interesting nugget in the
snorkel article. After seeing your note
I reached out to those I know with the
longest memories of military diving.
I have not found any familiar with the
idea, so it is time to eat crow. We want
to be accurate, and we appreciate your
sharp eyes and willingness to engage to
help us stay on track.
— Neal W. Pollock, Ph.D.,
Research Director, DAN
THE INCREDIBLE COELACANTH
The shots in the last issue were
amazing, especially the coelacanth
shots. When I was a student
somebody brought a pickled
coelacanth to Scripps, and I had
one of its scales for a while. They’re
amazing critters, and I never
thought I’d see a photo of a diver
looking one in the face. Phenomenal!
The picture of the nautilus close up
was also pretty wonderful. Overall it
was a great issue.
— George Lewbel, via Facebook
CAVE CONCERNS
I wanted to bring something to
your attention. The cave image on
Pages 94 and 95 is very upsetting
to me. As a professional cave
photographer and filmmaker I
find this image stunning, but the
cameraman in the image shouldn’t
be sitting on the floor of the cave.
The caption says it is an off-limits
cave, it’s obviously fragile, and I
think it looks very bad to have a
professional pictured in such poor
form in a fragile environment. It
is similar to seeing a cameraman
kneeling on a coral reef. I’m pleased
to see Alert Diver focusing on some
more tech diving locations and look
forward to more in the future.
— Becky Kagan Schott, via email
ENHANCED CONSERVATISM
I read the article on gradient factors
in the Fall 2015 issue (Advanced
Diving). Are we attempting to
take scuba diving backward? The
training agencies have spent tons
of time and money to make diving
safer and open to almost anyone
by streamlining the requirements
and training, including making
dive profiles easier to plan and
understand. It seems the article
is trying to complicate dive
planning and reduce conservatism.
Leave that to the techies, and
keep recreational diving for the
enjoyment of the dive.
— Les Culbertson, via email
Diving is certainly easy when
simply following a computer or
a divemaster, but easy is not a
guarantee of safety. Your note
suggests that you see gradient factors
as a means to remove conservatism,
but they were developed primarily
as a means to add conservatism. A
fundamental reason for the article
is the fact that gradient factors
and other conservatism strategies
are increasingly being used in dive
computers. Divers should understand
why the schedule given by their
computer may differ from someone
else’s. Not knowing that the limits
are written more in sand than
stone can lead to frustration and
misunderstanding. Knowledge is a
good antidote.
Adding conservatism is smart,
particularly when few truly know
their individual susceptibility to
decompression stress, or when our
dives start to push beyond the most
benign basics, or as time takes its toll
on our physiological fitness. Tools
such as gradient factors can help
individuals build buffers to ensure a
lifetime of good diving health. AD
— Neal W. Pollock, Ph.D.,
Research Director, DAN
| 15
WRITE US
Tell us what’s on your mind
by writing us at:
MAIL
Alert Diver
6 West Colony Place
Durham, NC 27705
ONLINE
Send email to:
All letters included in this
column are subject to editing
for length and content.
THE MAGAZINE OF DIVERS ALERT NETWORK FALL 2015
Blue Water
RED SEA
TASMANIA:FORSOMETHINGCOMPLETELYDIFFERENT / DCSUNCERTAINTY / ARCTICADVENTURE
LAURENTBALLESTA:BLENDINGSCIENCEANDART / CHILDRENANDDIVING
Cover1_Fall_2015_REVISED-2.indd 1 10/8/15 10:12AM