Cozumel Incident 9/4/11

[DiverG]

Would you? It's pretty hard, even if the reason was he was trying to protect his friends.

I'm not the one saying has recanted? I've seen several people on different boards saying he has recanted.

 

[DandyDon]

Is it "normal" (I get that there's nothing particularly normal about this dive...) in Cozumel for captains to allow two separate groups of divers with completely different dive plans dive simultaneously? Seems that it would be incredibly difficult (maybe even impossible) for a captain to keep track of the location of two groups....especially if run times and planned depths vary widely between the two.

Sometimes, yeah. Divers often get scattered anyway, surfacing all around, popping sausages. The captains still know where to watch for them and at times talk to other boats about surfacing divers.

It sounds like this was a total cluster of a dive....poor planning, crap hitting the fan, boat captain allowing divers to go back in even though they were showing symptoms of DCS (I have no good reason to not believe Gabi's story that the captain changed gear to full cylinders and didn't notice as Opal jumped back in, as he was open about the other mistakes that had been made....but it does sound a bit fishy that the captain would do that).

Some have asked if it was indeed the first dive of the day? Hypothetically, the boat might have taken a DM and a few customers out of dive 1, returned to home dock for the SI as this Op does when diving Villablanca wall as #2, and the other 3 divers might have boarded then - but if the captain changed tanks in habit, then that would suggest it was the first dive of the trip at least.

The captain really had no way of stopping the divers from going back in.

I sure hope others who are doing these types of dive or are thinking about it consider the consequences....and opt to get the proper training instead.

 

[Jax]

Given the additional info, that the Cap'n & boat had to wait for the second group of divers to surface,

Did the divers' attempt at in-water recompression have any benefit?

I understand that the recompression shinks the bubbles and relieves pain, even as unwise as the whole "under 60fsw while experiencing DCS".

 

[Mike]

I do not think luck (running out) applies when a known outcome will eventually be the resulting outcome. If divers persue deeper & deeper dives on air or for that matter the correct gas but push it's use beyond it's limitations the outcome is both predictable & disasterous. Risk takers are a part of our population, and some will accept the final outcome but most won't, and they'll make excuses, expect our help & support, and wish they could try it again thinking they'll get it right next time.

Deep bounce dives on air I think isn't a death wish, there is plenty of documentation and history of lots of this being done successfully for a long time.

Deep bounce dives on air with a single tank to me is relying on luck. All it takes is a broken / malfunctioning gauge and your probably going to stand a good chance of ending up bent.

The fact Opal jumped back in the water hints to me she's got a long history of doing these deep dives, probably even has gotten un-bent once or twice using UWR. She was obviously really hurting on the boat and trying to UWR probably was a logical move in her mind.

 

[WSOPFAN]

Thank you! I thought the practice was old school bravado, as well!

When was the last time you have been in Cozumel? BTW JAX feel free to look up George Carlin on youtube and do a search for his religion bit it is hilarious.

 

[ScubaSteve]

I know all of that, but where has the Heath recanted? Has he done it on any of the message boards?

More than likely people are using words that are unknown to them because they saw it elsewhere. I cannot guarantee anything but I do not think Heath has admitted to constructing a story that made them look more responsible than they were (and maybe to look less questionable to the insurance company). I doubt he ever will. I do not think that is what people are intending to say.


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[nauticab]

gabi said the captain was frantic, trying to call for help, another boat, keeping an eye on other divers and the incoming car ferry.
captains in cozumel, as habit (as explained), change tanks immediately upon tanks getting back on the boat. this makes me assume it was the first dive of the day. even working as DM in cozumel, it always amazed me the speed at which they do this.
there were no other boats in the area.
villa blanca is a cool wall dive with a nice slope that gets straight the deeper you get. it is less dived and for that reason a great dive due to the more virgin corals to be seen. i have done several 160-190ft dives there. you can dive closer to the start of the wall, which is where the other divers were probably diving.
gabi told me that when he got opal, he could actually see the bottom, just below 400ft. it was much lighter in color. obviously he did not confirm the depth. this confirms claims from a tech diver friend of mine who dove to those depths (planned, with serious backup) years ago and that the "bottom" goes about 50 or 100 yards out, then drops to the abyss. kind of reminds you of the movie "abyss". who knows, but maybe in the state of narcosis, opal was "there" and wanted to hang out.
and yes, DAN docs are amazed he was able to react in a rescue at that depth.
BTW, gabi's thigh twitched on it's own for the first time. still no feeling, but it twitched and the docs are very happy.

 

[ianr33]

Deep bounce dives on air with a single tank to me is relying on luck. All it takes is a broken / malfunctioning gauge and your probably going to stand a good chance of ending up bent.

Ya think?
Or a blown hose,blown O ring,freeflowing reg................

As regards the divers in the water,if the Captain had realized the seriousness of the situation could he not have just left them in the water and radioed for someone else to pick them up ?

 

[nauticab]

Ya think?
Or a blown hose,blown O ring,freeflowing reg................

As regards the divers in the water,if the Captain had realized the seriousness of the situation could he not have just left them in the water and radioed for someone else to pick them up ?

maybe you posted this before reading my reply... villa blanca is NOT a frequented dive site so no, no other boats were within quick reach as the other divers were expected to return shortly, and they did just that.
as someone said, very much the dilemma for the captain. as soon as all divers were on board and the severity was clear (tanks were already changed out), the capt was calling for help and seeing that the worst hit (opal) had O2. i can't imagine the pain they all were feeling. so bad to feel one has to jump back in to relieve the pain. wow.

 

[Jax]

Ya think?
Or a blown hose,blown O ring,freeflowing reg................

As regards the divers in the water,if the Captain had realized the seriousness of the situation could he not have just left them in the water and radioed for someone else to pick them up ?

Believe it was said there were no other boats in the vicinity. Horrible situation.