Search on for lost diver... New Smyrna Beach, FL

[DandyDon]

That's not a bad idea, actually, especially since people with Integrated systems have a bit more work to do than those who are diving with belts.

If an emergency DID arise for those with Integrated, how long do you expect it would take for the person to ditch to get positive? Without factoring in the continually having to fight to stay up while ditching, what's a good estimate?

Not sure I understand your question, but as soon as I drop one weight pocket - I'd expect to float up. Dropping the other one would be next unless I was totally comfy with the situation.

One thing that could discourage divers from ditching a pouch is the high replacement cost, but - in some "accident" cases, DAN will pay for those. Either way, do it - and I want to get in the habit of being ready.

 

[Gradual Ascent]

One thing that could discourage divers from ditching a pouch is the high replacement cost

"Trust me they'll make more!" That's the motto that was drilled into my head by my buddy's dad when I wrecked his motorcyle trying to learn to drive it.

That's the motto we should have for lead, and pouches....

 

[coldwaterglutton]

Bumping this ancient thread because the remains of the diver have just been identified.

Missing Diver Identified After Nearly Two Decades Off Florida’s Coast - The Scuba News

Human remains found in 2007 confirmed as those of New Smyrna Beach diver who vanished during an offshore dive near Ponce Inlet in 2006

www.thescubanews.com

 

[Steelyeyes]

Unless the bladder in my BCD ruptures I don't want my weights ditched. A fast ride to the top is likely to be a problem. Then again if I'm unconscious or dead no worries.

 

[DandyDon]

Unless the bladder in my BCD ruptures I don't want my weights ditched. A fast ride to the top is likely to be a problem.

Most dead, recovered divers are found with their weights on. I'd rather risk injury on the surface than drowning. I'd start with dropping one weight pocket tho which could be as much as ¼ of my weights, which would yield a slow ascent, or maybe two pockets, which might be as much as ½ of my weights dropped.

 

[NSB-Diver]

Here's an update to this story... https://www.wesh.com/article/florida-diver-medical-examiner-solves-20-year-cold-case/65060523 Oops just saw the posting above.

 

[Nick_Radov]

Most dead, recovered divers are found with their weights on. I'd rather risk injury on the surface than drowning. I'd start with dropping one weight pocket tho which could be as much as ¼ of my weights, which would yield a slow ascent, or maybe two pockets, which might be as much as ½ of my weights dropped.

Ascending usually isn't the problem (except in rare cases of really extreme overweighting). More commonly, recreational divers in distress make it to the surface without ditching weight but then fail to establish positive buoyancy on the surface and sink again. From the story linked above it seems like that's what happened in this incident. Panic is often involved so the victim doesn't even think about ditching weight: there isn't a rational calculation of risk versus equipment replacement cost.

 

[USdiver1]

Another possibility could be an arterial air embolism, caused by inhaling compressed air at depth then not exhaling during an ascent. Bubble of air can form in the arteries and rupture or block blood from reaching a vital organ such as the brain.

 

[boulderjohn]

Most dead, recovered divers are found with their weights on.

I cannot estimate how many times you have written this over the past two decades. I cannot estimate how many times I have responded by pointing out a study I did of several DAN fatality studies showed not a single case in which ditching weights at depth clearly would have made a difference. The only cases in which it could be said it might have made a difference are those in which the diver was found with no clear indication of what happened.

 

[boulderjohn]

A friend witnessed a very near fatality that sounds almost exactly like this one.

My friend had gotten on the boat after a dive at the popular Spiegel Grove dive site and taken off her gear. She heard their DM shouting to another boat, telling them they had a diver in trouble. The boat did not respond. Someone was struggling on the surface, trying to get to the boat. He was fighting to keep his head above the surface. The DM shouted at him to inflate his BCD. He didn't. When he finally went below the surface, the DM jumped in and swam to where he had sunk. He caught up with the unconscious, sinking diver and brought him to the surface, using the inflator button to make him buoyant. Back on the boat, CPR fortunately revived him.

He needed to achieve buoyancy on the surface. All he needed to do that would have been to put a puff of air in the BCD. A quietly panicking diver will not think of that, and such a diver will not think to ditch weights, either.