6/20/09 - Avalon, Catalina - Freediver drowned...

[Hawkeye5447]

I know i did what i could to help. I always seem to be around when something like this goes down. The part that i always hate to see is the family so sad when they are there and the fact that people just swarm the area and watch someones lifeless body. Its a shame and it has always irritated me. It sucks that Tony was not able to come back from this tradgedy and hopefully some people might learn from this that you should always have a buddy dive with you.

 

[Teamcasa]

I know i did what i could to help. I always seem to be around when something like this goes down. The part that i always hate to see is the family so sad when they are there and the fact that people just swarm the area and watch someones lifeless body. Its a shame and it has always irritated me. It sucks that Tony was not able to come back from this tradgedy and hopefully some people might learn from this that you should always have a buddy dive with you.

What have we learned from this tragic loss of life?
Don't dive alone, even when free diving?
Maybe, but certainly the case could be made that after Scuba diving, even a shallow free dive can be deadly.
Have someone else free dive to retrieve the float (or other missing item) in shallow water or wait long enough to off-gas before doing it yourself.

I see this happen on a regular basis in the Dive park (retrieving an instructors float) and hope the other instructors pay heed.

 

[DandyDon]

I know i did what i could to help. I always seem to be around when something like this goes down. The part that i always hate to see is the family so sad when they are there and the fact that people just swarm the area and watch someones lifeless body. Its a shame and it has always irritated me. It sucks that Tony was not able to come back from this tradgedy and hopefully some people might learn from this that you should always have a buddy dive with you.

Sadly most of the deaths discussed here are divers who died alone, and probly wouldn't have if they had maintained their buddy pair relationship. I just posted about this in another thread here, and the discussion I had with my home bud about this. That thread had involved some discussion about free diving to rescue a down diver, and I ended up with the same as usual Take-Away: Descend together, Swim together; Ascend together - period.

Yeah I know a lot of divers, pros, others, including me, who think they/we are qualified to dive alone. Screw that. It's how most deaths occur.

 

[Rick Murchison]

Sadly most of the deaths discussed here are divers who died alone, and probly wouldn't have if they had maintained their buddy pair relationship.

When you are swimming, diving or freediving alone, you accept the risk of that any debilitating event will be fatal by drowning. If you have a buddy it may or may not be.
Mama's advice applies: "Never swim alone."
One of these days I may take it... if I live long enough.
Rick

 

[fdog]

What have we learned from this tragic loss of life?
Don't dive alone, even when free diving?
Maybe, but certainly the case could be made that after Scuba diving, even a shallow free dive can be deadly.
Have someone else free dive to retrieve the float (or other missing item) in shallow water or wait long enough to off-gas before doing it yourself.

I see this happen on a regular basis in the Dive park (retrieving an instructors float) and hope the other instructors pay heed.

Freediving is such a simple sport - none of the complicated tank and regulator things - that there is indeed a great temptation to freedive alone. The feeling usually is "Without the complexity, what can go wrong?"

So much in freediving is the exact opposite from scuba... except for the buddy team.

If anything, freediving is far and away more buddy-dependent than scuba.

Students in a freediving class practice rescues


For those interested in doing more than a 3' deep reef snorkel, I cannot recommend a freediving class enough - the environment is that different from scuba.


All the best, James



All the best, James

 

[Chuck Tribolet]

I don't think we can know here, but it is too little known it seems that free diving after scuba is an increased risk to DCS. Seen some do it. I asked a DM working a liveaboard about it and he had to think about it - then agreed.

DCS very rarely makes you unconscious on the bottom. And when
it does, it was technical diving. I don't remember the depth profile
at the Catalina park, but it's WELL within recreational limits.

I vote for shallow water blackout.

 

[Anti-Hero]

From what I remember of the dive park you can go from 20ft to 100ft depth with just a few fin kicks.

 

[Rick Murchison]

...I vote for shallow water blackout.

Whether the debilitating event was SWB or not may be of academic interest, but from a mishap prevention perspective it matters little, if at all. Debilitating events can happen under the most benign circumstances, like a little breathhold dive to 20' to free a float. If you have one, and you're alone in water, you're dead. If you have a competent companion (or someone just happens to be there) then you may have a chance at life.
I lost a good friend in six feet of water... he was cleaning out his fish pond. We don't know what happened, as no one was there to pull him out before he drowned, and he's dead. The autopsy could only say drowning.
Whatever other lessons we may eventually learn from this unfortunate mishap, the overriding one remains - "Don't swim alone."
Rick

 

[promocop]

The LA Coroner is doing an autopsy now and toxicology tests. Results in two weeks

 

[DandyDon]

When you are swimming, diving or freediving alone, you accept the risk of that any debilitating event will be fatal by drowning. If you have a buddy it may or may not be.
Mama's advice applies: "Never swim alone."
One of these days I may take it... if I live long enough.
Rick

You're in a different class than most Recreational divers.

DCS very rarely makes you unconscious on the bottom. And when
it does, it was technical diving. I don't remember the depth profile
at the Catalina park, but it's WELL within recreational limits.

I vote for shallow water blackout.

Yeah, didn't mean to muddle the water there. There is still a danger, too often not realized by Rec divers. I forgot for a while in another discussion.

From what I remember of the dive park you can go from 20ft to 100ft depth with just a few fin kicks.

YOU can maybe. I don't know, I haven't free dived since I started Scuba, didn't have a depth gauge before, but I doubt I ever got half that deep and I was always better than any of the other tourists snorkeling. You can get down faster if you're weighted, but getting back up is one of my priorities too. And I don't guess I am going to test my limits because any time I get close to clear water, I scuba - which I won't mix with free diving.

Whether the debilitating event was SWB or not may be of academic interest, but from a mishap prevention perspective it matters little, if at all. Debilitating events can happen under the most benign circumstances, like a little breathhold dive to 20' to free a float. If you have one, and you're alone in water, you're dead. If you have a competent companion (or someone just happens to be there) then you may have a chance at life.
I lost a good friend in six feet of water... he was cleaning out his fish pond. We don't know what happened, as no one was there to pull him out before he drowned, and he's dead. The autopsy could only say drowning.
Whatever other lessons we may eventually learn from this unfortunate mishap, the overriding one remains - "Don't swim alone."
Rick

Thanks