Heard a dive supervisor say something that stuck with me in Port Allen

Was waiting out a rain delay on a barge job down in Port Allen last month. Supervisor was chewing out a tender for not double checking the band clamps. He said, "The surface is where accidents get planned, the bottom is where they happen." Guy wasn't being poetic, he was dead serious. I've been diving for 6 years and I never thought of it that way, but it's true. Most of my close calls trace back to something dumb I skipped on deck, not what I did underwater. Since then I've been slowing down my pre-dive checks, even when the client is pushing. Anyone else have a sup or old hand drop a line like that that actually changed how you work?

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evan2952mo ago

Noticing that applies to everything, not just diving. I've had flat tires and blown motors because I skipped the simple stuff, oil checks and lug nut torque, when I was rushing out the door. Same with cooking, when I skip prepping all the ingredients first, I always burn something or forget a step. It's like the whole world runs on that same rule, the boring prep work is where everything actually gets saved or lost.

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