Cozumel Incident 9/4/11

[DandyDon]

I believed this forum permited freedom of speech, I was wrong, but it is very important to inform the people how dangerous is to dive under 40 m with air, Please don't do it any more.

There are rules for SB sharing and for this forum in particular. Good to read and abide.

This is a community and we share space here, something like on a dive boat.

 

[Texas Torpedo]

I believed this forum permited freedom of speech, I was wrong, but it is very important to inform the people how dangerous is to dive under 40 m with air, Please don't do it any more.

Gotta love this complaint.. I deal with it all the time in the forum biz... Sure, you have freedom of speech.. Just like any person who decides to walk into a crowded movie theater and screams FIRE, or one who threatens to assassinate the president. Our use of this community is governed by terms of service, aka "rules". Violate them and you may be sanctioned or removed, whereas you may be thrown in jail for the other things I mentioned.

Of course, if you doubt it, go ahead and go to the airport and talk about... uhm... explosives?? Then let them know about your freedom of speech.

 

[WSOPFAN]

Originally Posted by WSOPFAN View Post
We now have confirmation from a first hand source.....

No, this is second-hand.

allenwm reports having heard a first-hand account. That makes allenwm's report second-hand.

I trust that he is not lying so I called it that way. It was confirmation from a first hand source but I did not say it was reported here first hand.

 

[stevep4444]

To the vast majority of vacation or recreational divers, diving to 200ft and beyond on air, is just not something that would be even remotely considered. As well, most recreational open water divers probably would consider anyone who would willing go there to be insane. I have talked to a number of dm's and instructors about deep dives and have been very surprised at the number of them that have gone to 200ft and deeper on one tank of air. I would be very interested in getting feedback on that subject from the Cozumel dive professionals that are following this incident in this forum. I'm guessing that it is just not that unusual in Coz and many other dive locations.

 

[ianr33]

I believed this forum permited freedom of speech, I was wrong, but it is very important to inform the people how dangerous is to dive under 40 m with air, Please don't do it any more.

Edit. If you would like to add "without appropriate gear and training" then I could agree with you.

 

[sealkie]

I don`t think the events as posted by Texas T completely contradict the post by one of the divers involved - in fact they agree for the most part

It is possible a mild - moderate down current could have taken a diver suffering from narcosis deeper with them reacting. This is really the only differing aspect of both posts.

The post by the diver involved does not mention planned or actual depths - it just says they were taken beyind the planned depth. It also said that they were forced to breath off one tank all the way up - consistent with Texas Ts post. For one person to have sufficient air left to support 3 divers it would imply they either had a larger tank and/or did a shallower / less stressful profile. Granted experienced divers can have wildly differing breathing rates - but this is not usually the case. The seriousness of each divers injuries also seems to be consistent with the events as reported.

I think there are lessons here - someone raised the point that there is a wife and 2 kids suffering because someone can not work now. The effects are likely to be much more far reaching than that. I`m sure the dive shop involved is not going emerge from this unscathed in terms of reputation damage and lost business - this could mean there are more staff and their families who will be without an income who were also completely uninvolved. Other dive shops may loose business if people start to believe this is an unsafe place to dive.

This may also serve as a wake up call to any other ex pats working in places like Coz that carry no medical insurance.

 

[scubafanatic]

I am shocked and saddened by the total lack of compassion and humanity displayed by some posters.

Judy, this is the 'frank discussion/keep it real' discussion thread that was set up separately from the 'compassion' thread. I wonder if a mod will move your comment over to the 'compassion' thread where it belongs ?

Honestly, it's not a lack of compassion issue.....no sane person would wish this outcome to happen to anyone. A 'see no evil/speak no evil/hear no evil' / politically correct thoughts only discussion is unproductive, this thread will have served a useful purpose if thoughtful/insightful observations are made across a broad spectrum of subjects this accident touches upon......I learn more from a 'devil's advocate' than I do from any Pollyanna perspective.

 

[Texas Torpedo]

I would be very interested in getting feedback on that subject from the Cozumel dive professionals that are following this incident in this forum. I'm guessing that it is just not that unusual in Coz and many other dive locations.

No matter how interesting that information might be, the chances of active dive professionals working in Cozumel coming here and discussing this topic is pretty slim (IMO), especially in this thread.
The only way you would get a baseline on that is to become one and live down there for a while..

While it does happen, it's not the general mentality of the DM's that I know in Coz to want to do these types of dives just for the heck of it. They do this for a living.. If they get bent they are going to be out of work (especially tips) for a number of months at a bare minimum, depending on the hit. Most of the DM's that I know and have met are very conservative and responsible. They prefer the shallower depths. Remember, most have seen and done all of it before 100's of times.

It's usually the visiting diver(s) who want them to take them on deep dives, and some accommodate for a variety of reasons.

 

[Ron Lee]

Other dive shops may lose business if people start to believe this is an unsafe place to dive.

This has been alluded to in other threads or forums. Personally the initial mention of a down current did not bother me much. I have never experienced one but my exposure to all sites throughout the year is never going to be close to that of the Cozumel dive community.

Perhaps Cozumel dive ops should document what down currents have been experienced (if any) with enough details to make it a well understood condition. That along with recommended actions if one is encountered removes this as a concern

Since this has apparently impacted the view of Cozumel as a dive destination...and there is no hiding the apparent fact that they engaged in a high risk dive and lost, then one or more of the dive shop folks need to release their dive computer data showing depth as a function of time. Present the data, discuss what happened in a factual manner, then get on with their lives.

Doing this should minimize any adverse publicity for Cozumel and may prevent other divers from a similar or worse fate in the future.

 

[WSOPFAN]

This has been alluded to in other threads or forums. Personally the initial mention of a down current did not bother me much. I have never experienced one but my exposure to all sites throughout the year is never going to be close to that of the Cozumel dive community.

Perhaps Cozumel dive ops should document what down currents have been experienced (if any) with enough details to make it a well understood condition. That along with recommended actions if one is encountered removes this as a concern

Since this has apparently impacted the view of Cozumel as a dive destination...and there is no hiding the apparent fact that they engaged in a high risk dive and lost, then one or more of the dive shop folks need to release their dive computer data showing depth as a function of time. Present the data, discuss what happened in a factual manner, then get on with their lives.

Doing this should minimize any adverse publicity for Cozumel and may prevent other divers from a similar or worse fate in the future.

I agree......maybe the dive shops could collectively note sites and times of year those currents happen for safety. I also saw it mentioned that a diver in another area of the world also witnessed a pre-dive in water inspection of the dive site for safety. I have personally seen this done in Cozumel but maybe not every operator knows to do it.