Another CZM diving death Nov 21.

[twodawghs]

OK, It is sure to come out in much better detail but I was waiting for a more definitive description. But I will try to give a brief of what I have learned from a first hand reference (someone who was on the dive).

Her friends and group of divers wanted to do the C53 wreck and penetrate it (not a difficult problem for any one). At the last minute she chose not to do the penetration and made an ascent toward the surface by herself. She was observed for part of the ascent but not all the way as the group entered the wreck. When the group surfaced they found her to not be in the boat and they started looking on other boats to see if she was with a "wrong" boat. When they determined that she was not on another boat the DM re entered the water to look for her and found heron the bottom just north of the wreck. She had probably been underwater for 1 hour or more before recovery and there was no chance for her.

The police confiscated her tank and gear.


These are the only first hand facts I can report.

Dave -
Thank you. That is the most description that we have gotten to date. In case you did not read some of the earlier posts, I am Suzanne's stepdaughter.
I know my dad was with the police for about 3 hours yesterday and he may have a lot of information, but as he's still in Cozumel and I'm in NJ, I did not want to push him on details.
I know that the family will probably talk this weekend as soon as he gets home and my brother and I go down to him.

I appreciate hearing what you know and would love to know any other information if you get it.
I also sent an email to the owner of the dive shop and understandably, he is not being too forthcoming - which I understand on one hand, but frustrates me on the other. I am hoping to hear back from him today or tomorrow.

I can be reached on my private email - twodawghs@yahoo.com if you have any other information.

Thanks again,
Laura Fitzgerald

 

[Lorenzoid]

A friend who was a friend of Ms. Stevenson's mentioned the incident, so I came here to see if there was a thread and information. I'm at least glad to see that her stepdaughter found this thread and the information that seems to be trickling in. My thoughts are with her family and friends.

 

[scubafanatic]

Diving procedures there do seem a bit lax, I realize it is a vacation spot and all, but really ...

don't read too much into it...statistically, based on pure chance, we might see a grouping of fatalities on occasion, instead of a real 'trend'. Also, being an easy and affordable place to reach, it's probable Cozumel is going to attract a high % of amateur divers (low skill/low experience/low health) so that even in a generally very benign diving environment you will see fatalities at perhaps a higher rate than might otherwise be expected.

 

[Ron Lee]

But I will ask this: when one diver gets it in his/her head to refuse to go with the rest of the group and heads for the surface, what is the DM to do? Call the dive?

Maybe this will be covered in the A&I thread. How long would that diver be alone? 15 minutes? 20 minutes? More? At this point it is using hindsight but at least her buddy should have gone with her. Or if feasible, have them hang on the boat at a shallower depth. Or call the dive.

Let's imagine that I am the one who elects to not go in. Maybe I am claustrophobic. Or scared of balls of silver sides. I would just ascend to a shallower depth, hang on and wait for the group. Ideally I would be able to advise the DM or another diver of that intention. If I go to the surface, I will be nowhere near the group. While I can deal with that situation, maybe not everyone can. I doubt that my normal dive op would be pleased with me if I just floated away.

 

[MMM]

I don't much enjoy the wreck and try not to dive it but I think itk is at about 60 or 70 feet, deepest. About 40-50 feet at shallower parts. It is NOT a difficult dive. Unless the diver was in major distress, best just to hang out at shallower level w/o penetration although hopefully that contingency would have been discussed with DM on the boat before dive began. You can follow bubbles of divers as they move through the wreck over the top of the wreck and meet them when they exit. Even if she stayed at the point where divers begin their entrance, the wreck is small and visibility is usually such that divers can see entering bubbles from the exit point. There's enough to see swimming around the outside of the wreck. Since the report is she didn't want to do second dive, I'm wondering if she felt ill/off and this wasn't a precursor to something else like heart attack, stroke etc.

The Sleeping Shark is a really nice, well-outfitted, well-maintained dive boat. I've been on it a couple of times as it's a "freelance" rented out shops who have an "overload" of divers. I know the DM they typically use and he is a good, careful DM.

 

[Shut up & dive]

don't read too much into it...statistically, based on pure chance, we might see a grouping of fatalities on occasion, instead of a real 'trend'. Also, being an easy and affordable place to reach, it's probable Cozumel is going to attract a high % of amateur divers (low skill/low experience/low health) so that even in a generally very benign diving environment you will see fatalities at perhaps a higher rate than might otherwise be expected.

Five deaths in two months SHOULD be an incentive to see what happened and look at the big picture IF there is one. There is no indication that all were amateur/low skill. Quite the contrary - one was a dive operator - but the facts on that case are known by most here in CZM. Not looking to assign blame but would like to see if any could have been prevented by establishing a clearly defined protocol that operators can adhere to.

 

[TexasKaren68]

Hearing the explanation so far makes me wonder (and another friend of hers and mine talked about this earlier today) ... where in gosh darn heck was her buddy OK great, so they all planned to go into a wreck and then at the last minute one person changes her mind. Her buddy should have stayed with her, period. I know this has to really be hard on whoever her buddy was. I understand she went diving with friends and family so she probably wasn't with an "insta-buddy" but with someone who truly cared about her and is devastated about what happened. Still, this should be a harsh reminder to not leave your buddy even if it means giving up a really cool dive

I know people who are just devastated beyond words over Suzanne's death, and there have been many posts on my Facebook wall today remembering her. This really sucks :depressed: She was such a fun person to be around. She and her husband were an awesome couple.

 

[Thalassamania]

Generally there should be buddies, but short of that someone should at least eyeball her back to the boat.

 

[Gdog]

Shut up and dive, how often have you dove in Cozumel? Having dove in a few differents places, I have found in general the protocol to be quite sufficient in Cozumel, and actually better than a couple operators I dove with in Hawaii.. Just wondering how many different dive ops you have spent time with underwater in Coz?

 

[DandyDon]

Hearing the explanation so far makes me wonder (and another friend of hers and mine talked about this earlier today) ... where in gosh darn heck was her buddy OK great, so they all planned to go into a wreck and then at the last minute one person changes her mind. Her buddy should have stayed with her, period. I know this has to really be hard on whoever her buddy was. I understand she went diving with friends and family so she probably wasn't with an "insta-buddy" but with someone who truly cared about her and is devastated about what happened. Still, this should be a harsh reminder to not leave your buddy even if it means giving up a really cool dive

I know people who are just devastated beyond words over Suzanne's death, and there have been many posts on my Facebook wall today remembering her. This really sucks :depressed: She was such a fun person to be around. She and her husband were an awesome couple.

Yeah, I have no idea what caused the fatality - but real buddies stay together, period. I have seen Coz DM send up divers alone when an airhog like me runs low, I've been the one sent up alone, but that's not buddy diving. I've had buddies do that to me there and I refused to buddy with them again. If I can't count on a buddy, I don't want that responsibility either - I'd just as soon solo dive with my pony bottle.

Years ago on a Florida wreck, I balked at the doorway as 4 of us were going to swim thru the bridge - I just didn't feel comfortable doing it, and my insta buddy stayed with me as we swam over.