So first, the facts: the viz WAS exceptional on that day– over 40m/130ft, in fact– so yes, I could clearly see the other divers below. We even have pictures to prove it! Maybe the dive group did have a sling tank, in which case, good, that’s pretty responsible. But did they know their turn pressure? What was their contingency plan if they exceeded their bottom time? Did they even have a bottom time? Or were they just following the magic numbers on their computers?

I was following a standard dive plan that I always do on Black Rock– max depth 33m/110ft, swing out along the garden eels, pass wide around the bulge, swim out over the Josie J, and then ascend up to 15m/50ft for the next level. I didn’t “bring” my group “to” the other divers; I just followed my standard profile and happened to come across a the scene on the Josie J.

I don’t fault divers for wanting to explore the Josie J, but I do fault them for irresponsible dive planning. The top of the Josie J (50m/165ft) is barely do-able as a bounce dive without incurring massive deco (and it IS beyond the recreational dive limit). The bottom of the wreck (60m/210ft)– where I saw the divers– is outside the oxygen toxicity limits for air (1.6 ppO2), so it doesn’t really matter IF you have a sling tank when the gasses in BOTH tanks are toxic at that depth. That’s trimix territory, period: anything else is cowboy diving.

If you would like to discuss the safety hazards of oxygen toxicity, mandatory decompression, gas emergencies at depth, extreme narcosis, or any of the other many things that can kill you– and quickly!– when doing wreckless deep diving, please come talk to myself or Monty at Coconut Tree Divers. We’ll be more than happy to teach you how to mitigate these dangers through proper planning, training, and equipment. We’ll even let you take a standard tec rig in the bay for a spin– for free!

So yes, I will continue to stick my nose in “other people’s business” when said business affects the professional scuba diving reputation of West End. If someone dies here doing a stupid dive, the headlines won’t read “[insert name here] dies”, it will read “Roatan Dive Instructor Dies.” Bad news for this whole community, and grossly selfish of the people participating in the dive for forcing the community to shoulder the burden of their irresponsibility.

Lastly, you will notice that I deliberately avoiding naming either dive shop or divers I saw on the Josie J. This is deliberate. I am not out to flame people, just to draw attention to dangerous behaviors in the community. Your attacks, however, were personal– not to mention wrong. It was Monty, not I, who blacked out during a breath holding competition; I rescued him from the pool. I had nothing to do with securing or distributing the nitrous oxide balloons at the old (thankfully closed) FUBAR. Essentially, we’re looking at two counts of libel against you, and let me assure you that the Roatan Municipal frowns upon defamation of character charges.

But that’s okay, I’m not going to press. I figure that simply by allowing your comment to appear on my website I can provide my readers with a clear comparison between a professional dive instructor and a wreckless dive cowboy and let them choose with whom they would rather dive. Thank you for being the latter.