Fatality in Rockport, Ontario - 4/Feb/2006

[Web Monkey]

I don't understand the comment about a single tank not being enough for an 80-90' dive, unless they were planning on a penetration.

Is there any info on what the actual error/malfunction was?

Terry

Properly internationally accepted date format. Common sense at last on this board!

As for the incident, not something anyone wants to come across BUT do the laws/guidelines differ over there to here?

If you come across a body here you are meant to leave the scene as untouched as possible, mark the location with a smb/reel or whatever you have and leave the rest for the police divers to recover/record.

If you do bring someone to the surface we're told not to touch a thing on the kit, no turning tanks off, undoing clips or connectors etc and leave it in as near to original condition as possible to help a coroners investigation.

 

[mattroz]

As tempting as it would be once you reached shore to surface and try to help I think I would respect my deco obligations especially if i saw someone on the surface swim out to get the body... The first lesson in any first aid course is to make sure you're not putting yourself in danger by trying to save someone...

No Fire, No Wire, No Gas, No Glass, No Poisonous Snakes or Insects.... I guess in this case No Bends..


Great Job Guys Sorry it had to happen!

 

[artw]

the wreck is about 800 feet from shore, it takes a person who's done it before about 12-15 minutes to get to the wreck. the line out to the wreck is at from 70 feet to 80 feet deep. the water temperature nowadays is 34F which means after about 20 minutes if your not prepared for it, things are going to suck

 

[mattroz]

beat me to it

 

[Web Monkey]

Thanks, that would do it.

I couldn't figure out how it would take much gas to drop out of a boat, 80' to the bottom.

A 2 way 15-minute swim would suck up more gas than I'd be willing lose.

Terry

the wreck is about 800 feet from shore, it takes a person who's done it before about 12-15 minutes to get to the wreck. the line out to the wreck is at from 70 feet to 80 feet deep. the water temperature nowadays is 34F which means after about 20 minutes if your not prepared for it, things are going to suck

 

[Jay Roy]

I have about 15 dives on that wreck, never from shore tho, always from a boat. But based on my experience diving it, its possible that you would be fighting a pretty good current going out to the wreck, or returning to shore, increasing gas consumption...
Also, the guy that recovered the body (Andre) is a Navy diver from what I understand...So I'm sure if there was any chance at saving the guy, he would have tried....I'm just guessing here, but I'm sure a navy diver would be well trained in emregency response, cpr, and dive accidents in general...

Thanks, that would do it.

I couldn't figure out how it would take much gas to drop out of a boat, 80' to the bottom.

A 2 way 15-minute swim would suck up more gas than I'd be willing lose.

Terry

 

[Jay Roy]

The buddy said that the plan was to turn the dive at 1500 psi..On an aluminum 80, thats exactly half the tank..So on the return, if everything goes flawlessly...You get to shore with ZERO....

 

[Web Monkey]

I don't know anything about what happened. I was just wondering what was special about it that a shallow wreck couldn't be done on a single 80.

Terry

I have about 15 dives on that wreck, never from shore tho, always from a boat. But based on my experience diving it, its possible that you would be fighting a pretty good current going out to the wreck, or returning to shore, increasing gas consumption...
Also, the guy that recovered the body (Andre) is a Navy diver from what I understand...So I'm sure if there was any chance at saving the guy, he would have tried....I'm just guessing here, but I'm sure a navy diver would be well trained in emregency response, cpr, and dive accidents in general...

 

[FreeFloat]

What a sad story, I bet the diver who observed the guys with what he thought was inadequate gear, now wishes he would have at least talked to the guy prior to the dive.

Actually, I believe AF said in a subsequent post on the other board that he had spoken briefly to the two divers when they first arrived on site - he went over to them because he thought the car might've been one of his buddies'. This was evidently before he saw the unfamiliar divers putting together their single tank gear.

Even so, that site has a fairly popular Wall Dive literally splash-in-go-down-to-wall. So seeing people with single tanks would not have been an immediate tip-off that they were planning to swim 600' out at a depth of 70-08', to the wreck, without enough gas. For all anyone knows they might have been planning the wall dive and seen the line-out to the wreck and decided to "see where it goes". Only the dead diver's buddy knows and no doubt he's having to tell the story plenty of times.

 

[FreeFloat]

I don't know anything about what happened. I was just wondering what was special about it that a shallow wreck couldn't be done on a single 80.

I daresay neither would a lot of other divers who don't know the other conditions surrounding the dive - that it's that far out from shore, that the line to it runs at depth, that there's poor viz and a sometimes-screamin' current, and to top it all off, it's not exactly the warm season here in Canada (temp that day was 34°)

In the summer, the wreck can only be dived by boat, since Rockport is a very popular (and busy!) tourist boating center (and no diver wants an Evinrude Haircut); in the winter, typically there's a layer of ice over the site around this time of year. Thus, the locals all treat the site as Overhead no matter the time of year (unless diving off a boat moored right at the wreck in the summer)