Diver injured when boat snags SMB line - UK

[DandyDon]

I guess some divers connect theirs to their gear?

Diver needed treatment | This is Plymouth

A DIVER was rushed for treatment for possible decompression sickness after being rapidly pulled to the surface when a boat snagged the line to his surface marker buoy.
The 54-year-old man was among a group diving in Bigbury Bay, off the south Devon coast, when the incident happened yesterday lunchtime.
A dive boat recovered the man and then rendezvoused with the Plymouth lifeboat which took him ashore and was met by a waiting ambulance.
The man was transferred to the hyperbaric chamber at Derriford for treatment. His condition is not known.

 

[Tigerman]

Maybe he was connected, maybe he just didnt let go - question still is why boats seem to think the smb is part of a obstacle course challenge

 

[TSandM]

This is one of the reasons that a lot of us try to advise new divers NEVER to connect anything to their bodies. If something snags your SMB when you're holding it, you're out a bag and you have to do a free ascent without reference. If it's connected to you, well the BEST that will happen is you'll end up in the chamber.

 

[DevonDiver]

Whether he physically connected his reel to himself, got entangled in the line or simply 'forgot to let go'... the incident demonstrates a particular hazard with DSMB use. There are many DSMB related incidents - the trend features prominently in accident (DCI) reports.

The issue illustrates the need for effective risk mitigation through training, procedures and equipment.

 

[RonFrank]

Wow! My best to the diver. What a way to get hit.....

 

[peterbj7]

I do sometimes "clip myself off" - fasten the reel to my gear when a DSMB is deployed. BUT only when I have a QR device between the reel and myself that I know from testing can be released when under high tension. Otherwise I simply hold the reel.

This does sound like an accident that should not have happened.

Picking up on the point that DevonDiver made, it's ESSENTIAL when using a DSMB to ensure there is never slack in the line, as it can so easily snake around and entangle you. I learned that the hard way many years ago. The two ways of doing that are firstly to wind in the reel to keep the line taut, and to weight yourself sufficiently so that you simply hang from the line like a sack of potatoes. The latter makes deco stops so much more pleasant anyway (you don't have to hang vertically).

 

[Tigerman]

It sounds like an accident that shouldnt happen indeed. Both because the boat should know better than run over an SMB and because he should have been able to "detach" from the SMB.

That said - what kinda boat was it? A big transport ship might not have had the CHANCE to turn away from an SMB..

 

[peterbj7]

I've never seen large ships operating in Bigbury Bay, but in the narrow part of the Channel you do have to be careful. The draught of some of the passing ships can easily be 50ft or more, so considerable planning is required before venturing into that area. Not only can't they avoid a DSMB, they can't avoid a diver or even the dive boat.

 

[nimoh]

Although it is most likely that the boat ran over the smb causing the incident, it is possible that the boat was going by at the moment the smb hit the surface, so I am reluctant to blame the boat driver without more detail.

 

[InTheDrink]

No doubt it's possible the diver had clipped off but I've never seen anyone do it down these ways. A more plausible cause IMO is entanglement. In any event, clipping off is not SOP here. Best wishes for speedy recovery to the diver.