AmbergrisCaye.com Home Forums The Cayes Ambergris Caye People who are Overweight who dive

I just wonder what happens if there is an accident in the water -How do you get a person out of the water who weighs in excess of 280lbs -especially if the boat does not have a transom at the back-please give ideas

Throw in a Pedroone and use as a floatation device.

Yell SHARK!!!

Every good boat should have a gaff.

Someone who is 7ft 10ins tall has an ideal body weight of 281 lbs. Go to http://www.halls.md/ideal-weight/body.htm to work it out.

Pedro1, are you trying to discriminate against very tall people? If so, SHAME on you!

On a serious note pete has a very good point I had a group leader that bought a group a year ago or so and when he showed up he as at least 360-400 pounds had every certification under the sun plus was an instructor and was leading a group from his shop.

I thought about it at the time but never said anything even though i was concerned about his gross overweight plus those tights they wear for bad circulation all signs he should not be diving but he was a dive shop owner dive instructor and had more C cards than the whole group together

he went diving which was fine but on going comig donw the stairs of the Penthouse one of his knees gave way and collapsed on the weight and he fell down the stairs chipping his tibia and breaking his leg.

Now forget about getting him onto a dive boat we had a helluva time even getting him to town we had to get a dolly and a piece of Plywood and slide him on the plywood and get him donw the beach onto the dock then onto the boat which was an absolute nightmare.

it bought up the exact point pete is bringing up how do you handle that when you get a diver check in that is clearly grossly overweight and additionally since they are prone to heart attack how would you get them on the boat in an emergency THE ANSWER we would of never got him onto the boat and it would of been a very bad situation and possibly fatal.

he was flown out the next day and had surgery his group said they go with him every year and wonder when they will bring him back in a box

i said after that never again and while it would be very awkward to refuse a diver because of there weight it is better than dealing with a situation that is not manageable or a possible fatality.

gaz

We've had men and women as grossly obese as this, giving major equipment fitting problems, tho' fortunately Pedro's scenarion hasn't arisen. Someone started a similar thread on Scubaboard recently but from the other perspective - an over-weight person complaining of being discriminated against. The bottom line is that if we couldn't help someone in these circumstances we would be irresponsible taking them out. We probably would, though, as no-one wants to be publicised as "the operator that only deals with thin people". A very tricky one.

P1 - what brought this up?

Pedro is assuming since he opened his new restaurant that this will soon be a problem in San Pedro. :p

Well I will discriminate from that point and i will deal with being labeled a discriminator as you are correct any lawsuit will celarly show that i knew that he was overweight and I should not allow them to dive.

it is clearly a tricky situation but what do you want to deal with

A FATALITY

or someone being pissed off because they are not following the statement of understanding and are being denied the opportunity to dive because they are unfit to do so and a danger to all involved.
its not a case of discrimination its a case of being safe and i learnt a lesson right there and will never dive someone grossly overweight in the future, that does not mean i only dive thin people but i try to only dive people that follow the rules of diving which states i am fit to dive


gaz

Does this also apply to people who drink too much Lighthouse and Jaegerneister !

Also surely that additional weight would provide ballast.