Another CZM diving death Nov 21.

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My wife is also my dive buddy. She is the more experienced of the two of us & is my security blanket....so much so, I don't feel comfortable when she is not by my side. Since becoming certified, I have not made a dive when she has not been my buddy. I have full confidence in her abilities to come to my aid, if something should ever arise. Hopefully, I will be able to handle a crisis if she should need assistance. It's a shame that Suzanne didn't have that someone close in her time of need.


Mike
 
We can debate the wisdom of solo diving, but many experienced divers choose to do so, to varying degrees (myself included).... I choose to not be responsible for anyone else and choose to be solely responsible for myself. To reduce my risks, I keep my gear in immaculate condition, religiously check my air every few minutes during a dive, and carry a 6 cu ft pony when I feel it necessary.

Reading these threads I am struck by how in many of these situations a diver has gone out on his/her own and met with disaster, and because of that, what happened to them may never be fully known. Whether the presence of a buddy would have prevented the accidents or not is, of course, one of the unknowns, but I won't be diving without one. YMMV.

Just a note on something that comes to mind as I'm reading the last few posts.

To me it doesn't feel like an apples-to-apples comparison between planned, prepared-for solo diving and a diver who is buddy diving (or is generally prepared for buddy diving) and then either gets separated or goes off on his/her own at some point during the dive. The former is purposeful, while the latter "happens."

I know "solo divers" have problems too, but I just mean that I don't see them as parallel situations.

Blue Sparkle

Note: I don't know why or even if Suzanne was diving by herself; I'm just addressing what I see as a slightly un-parallel comparison of "solo diving" with "separated from buddy and diving alone" and/or "not specifically planned diving alone" (following DM as a string of individual divers, etc.).
 
i got myself tangled up pretty good in some fishing line last may on san juan. rebeltodd, a frequent poster here, got me out. would i have gotten out if i had been alone? i don't know.

In the marine park a run in involving fishing line is doubtful as fishing is a big nono. While Coz is lax about many things, the marine park is not one of them.
 
One post said that group dives in Cozumel commonly did not use a buddy system. That struck me as strange, especially when one diver, according to some here, already stated an intention not to go into the wreck.

There is nothing about Coz that changes the way people dive. When there with a buddy we dove as a pair the entire time. There is also nothing preventing one from using the DM as a buddy but you have to be willing to stay with the DM. Ironically this diver chose not to penetrate the wreck likely for safety reasons. In this case that proved to be the less wise course of action. Who knows, maybe she had a heart attack and nothing could have been done. The Autopsy may provide an answer.
 
when I was there the first week of November, the current on the wreck was kickin'!

I respectfully submit that a dive where ... the current is ripping (which I have heard anecdotally was the case on the dive in question) can be a difficult dive for many divers.

Is this the anecdotal comment you heard? If so, with your experience in Coz, you must acknowledge that currents can change a fair bit in a day, much less a few weeks. It may be that on the day of this accident, current was nominal. We may just need to wait for more fulsome information, unless people actually on the dive can comment on conditions.
 
Is this the anecdotal comment you heard? If so, with your experience in Coz, you must acknowledge that currents can change a fair bit in a day, much less a few weeks. It may be that on the day of this accident, current was nominal. We may just need to wait for more fulsome information, unless people actually on the dive can comment on conditions.
Yes, certainly. My comment was in response to whoever said the wreck was an easy dive. IF the current were strong that day at that location, it wouldn't necessarily be easy to stay on the site and if a diver got swept away, it might not be possible to get back. On other Cozumel dives, you just go with the flow and see more reef.
 
My wife is also my dive buddy."



Same here Budaman. But that wasn't always the case. My first dive in Cozumel was in Aug. 1993. I got into the 6pack early and waited for the other divers to show up. My insta buddy was last and late. She also looked like she had been out ALL night. Turns out that was true.We went to Palancar Caves for my first ever dive after certification. I was overwhelmed. It is still one of my favorite dives in cozumel.My " Dive Buddy " was AWOL for most of the dive. And I certainly wasn't going to spend my time down there looking for her. I was never more than 15 feet away from the DM and was enjoying myself immensely. But, being a Newbie, I went through my air quickly and soon, 30 minutes, I was down to 700 and gave the signal to the DM. He told me to head for the surface. I looked around for my buddy but couldn't see her anywhere. I headed up, alone, no DM and no sausage. I did a 5 minute safety stop at 20 feet and enjoyed the scenery. I surfaced and the boat was right there waiting for me. ......... Was this the way it was supposed to happen? No. But, we are all personally,individually responsible for our dive and our safety every time we dive. I accept that.
 
I dove Cozumel in 1991 and 1995 and back then, a single low air diver going solo to the surface was standard procedure and part of the dive brief. That clearly had changed when I was back this last August and we were told that buddies go up together.
 
I dove Cozumel in 1991 and 1995 and back then, a single low air diver going solo to the surface was standard procedure and part of the dive brief. That clearly had changed when I was back this last August and we were told that buddies go up together.
That can vary a lot.
 
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?

Done hundreds of dives in and around CZM as well as hundreds more around the world. In CZM, I've been w/ 5 dive ops. "Protocol" is contingent upon the OP and is often lax if regulars are involved. THAT'S part of the problem. If there are 8 people on a boat and 2 are newbies and they don't get the rundown, that's a recipe for disaster.
 

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