BUDDY LINES: LETTERS TO THE EDITOR, AUGUST 2010

Thoughts and feedback on what constitutes a safe diver, tipping your dive crew, adaptive scuba diving, and remembering Andy Letourneau, all in this month's edition of "Buddy Lines."

EDITORIAL, JULY 2010: SPILL, BABY, SPILL

By Cathryn Castle Whitman

By the time you read this, we may be in the midst of what could become the biggest environmental disaster in US history. Then again, if we can turn off the spigot, maybe not. Of course, what I’m referring to is the oil spill—or what Florida Governor Christ Crist has more aptly termed the “oil volcano”—off the Louisiana coast.

EDITORIAL, JUNE 2010: WHERE THE BUCK STOPS

By Alex Brylske

I dive off charter boats frequently, so I have lots of opportunities to observe divers. I see good divers and bad, experienced pros and neophytes, and locals as well as tourists. With such variety, it’s tough to draw any uniform conclusions. But there does seem to be a trend and, from my vantage point, it’s not a good one: My admittedly unscientific assessment tells me that divers are assuming less and less responsibility for their own well-being. In fairness, it’s not really restricted to divers; it’s been a societal trend for some time.


When something goes wrong the answer is to blame anyone but ourselves. Abandoning responsibility even happens when nothing goes wrong, as I saw on a recent dive.