Product Description

The ultimate guide to help you understand and prevent diving accidents, based on 20 true-life reports

Diver Down reveals how scuba diving accidents leading to severe injury or death usually result from a chain of events that can and should be prevented before a tragedy occurs. Recognized diving safety expert Mike Ange provides postmortems of 20 true-life scuba diving accidents and details the links in each chain of events that caused the tragedy. This uniquely formatted learning tool features an eye-opening introduction to diver safety and includes safety sidebars throughout.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #21738 in Books
• Published on: 2005-11-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 192 pages

From the Back Cover

True Tales of Trouble in the Deep and What You Can Learn from Them

One diver, after a seemingly brief period below the surface, discovers that his gas supply has run perilously low. Another, paralyzed, bobs helplessly on the surface, and when a poorly trained divemaster attempts rescue, things go from bad to worse. Two other divers, fascinated by the bountiful undersea life of the Caribbean, fail to notice that a powerful current is sweeping them rapidly away from their unattended boat.

These are just a few of the true stories you’ll find in Diver Down, most of them involving diver error and resulting in serious injury or death. This unique survival guide explores the gamut of diving situations, including cave and wreck diving, deep-water dives, river and drift diving, decompression sickness, and much more. It shows you how to prevent tragic mishaps through:

• Inspection and maintenance of primary and secondary diving gear
• Learning and following established safety protocols
• Confirming the training and credentials of diving professionals
• Practicing emergency responses under real-world conditions

Captain Michael R. Ange is the Managing Director of the Americas Division for the Professional Scuba Association International and contributing writer and technical editor for Scuba Diving magazine. During his diving career, Ange has trained more than 3,000 divers and several hundred instructors from around the world.

About the Author

Michael R.Ange is a senior member of the Technical Training Staff for Scuba Diving International & Technical Diving International and contributing writer and technical editor for SCUBA Diving magazine. He has trained 2,000 divers and hundreds of instructors and has written five textbooks on diving.

Customer Reviews

Having this book on your shelf doesn't automatically make you safe
"Diver Down" certainly provides stories that have the potential to scare the wits out of non-diving friends in their retelling. However, these accounts would not look out of place in "The Darwin Awards". After all, would you drop anchor and then go for a dive in unfamiliar waters without surface cover (i.e. with no crew left aboard) - and with a squall brewing? What is sad is that poor judgement by one person can kill or seriously injure buddies or rescuers. I guess the moral here is to look after 'number one' - in order to avert a daft accident or be in a position to offer assistance to those in difficulty.

"Diver Down" tends to describe `sensational' accidents that carry few lessons for the average diver. Most of the accidents described are in overhead situations, i.e. in wrecks or caves. Most accidents to non-technical divers are usually chalked up as down to poor buoyancy control, due to inexperience, panic, or a combination of the two. But recounting these accidents wouldn't make for a very interesting read. To be fair, Michael Ange lists the 'rules' of diving and under #5 states that "panic is the primary cause of diver death".

If you want to learn from the mishaps of others then the diving press carries accounts of diving accidents or close calls that are highly educational. One that sticks in the mind is an account of a diver who suffered symptoms of secondary drowning when he was simply making a surface swim and breathed in some sea spray ("Dive" magazine, April 2007). So, if education is what you're after, subscribe to one or more of the excellent diving magazines or online forums.

Having said that, the accounts in this book make for compelling reading. It's a real page-turner and I certainly don't regret buying this book.

Safe diving.

Good Read
A good descriptive account of what can go wrong on a dive and the precautions you can do to better prepare yourself. A must have for the experienced diver. Do not allow non-diving partners anywhere near it though. Would not advise for any nervous divers, get experience and build confidence first before reading this.

Diver Down
I have not personally experienced the sorts of "bad luck" that some of the divers in this book have had, and it is very easy with hindsight to say, "well, I wouldn't have done that", but would you?
A really enjoyed this book as did my daughter who is not a diver.
The book has prompted me to review my own technique, but unfortunately it has not encouraged my daughter to take up the sport.