13 year old diver dies - Oahu, Hawaii

[Dan]

Maunalua Bay has a number of dive sites that are fairly benign and easy to dive most of the time. Like many sites, as vis reduces and currents pick up, things can go sideways.

Having worked on Oahu as an Instructor and guide for a short period, I can tell you that a lot of "vacation divers" that arrive to the island having never been there, will usually have conjured up dreams of calm, blue, Caribbean-like waters. This not the reality on most days and when combined with dive skills that may or may not be a bit rusty and the internalized pressure to actually do the dives, it can lead to some compromising situations. None of this is speculation as to what actually occurred, just my personal observations from when I worked on the Island.

Without any further information, this sounds like another unfortunate incident of a diver diving beyond their capabilities. My sincere condolences go out to all involved.

Well, the DM / Instructor should have called off the dive, especially involving discover scuba experience with a 13-years old.

When I was in Raja Ampat, even experienced divers, who would not feel comfortable diving in current would skip the dive. DM would actuality look at the ripple on the surface and if he still was not sure about the underwater condition, he would make a quick skin dive into the water from the skiff to check the current & visibility. I remember at one time he made a dip & came up a minute later a bit of a distance from the boat & yelled ”it’s 2 knots, let’s go elsewhere” to the skiff pilot.

 

[Erich S]

That’s pretty heartbreaking to me. I lost my 16 year old a few weeks ago in an auto accident. It’s a pain no one should ever have to endure.

I wish I could tell the family that I know how they feel, but there’s nothing anyone can say that will make it any better at all.

If you have people you love, spend as much time as you can with them. Never miss a chance to be near them or take a photo or video with them. You’ll kick yourself for missed opportunities if they are snatched from you.

I’m sorry for your loss.

 

[kelemvor]

Excuse me? This child was on a Discover dive, meaning he was not trained and certified?! I bite my lip to keep quiet about training and certifying children as young as 10 to Junior level, but taking a 13 year old on a Discover dive in the ocean upsets me.


And the child was in a group lead by one DM or Instructor, not even one-on-one? I guess the parents signed up for this on assurances from the operator, and the operator goes along with agency standards, but it stinks.


Now look! Even if the operator went along with weak agency standards, once they got to the chosen site and found that - the operator/DM or Instructor should have canceled or at least searched for a safer site. This was all much too risky.

Yikes. If this is all really true, then hopefully some good can come out of it. Either a lawsuit "forcing" a standards change or some kind of legislation. I thought that the standards for discover scuba were pretty stringent, but I guess there are truckloads of agencies and who knows what the DM was operating under.

Actually.. can DM's even lead discover scuba? I thought it needed to be an instructor.

 

[Marie13]

Actually.. can DM's even lead discover scuba? I thought it needed to be an instructor.

I think they can in a pool. Mine was lead by a DM. Not sure about in open water, though.

 

[oly5050user]

I believe DM can lead a discover scuba dive, after an instructor does first ow dive. Do not have instructor manual here at home but standards do exist when participant is a child. Maybe one to one ratio. Sounds like big lawsuit on the way.

 

[peeweediver]

Well, the DM / Instructor should have called off the dive, especially involving discover scuba experience with a 13-years old.

When I was in Raja Ampat, even experienced divers, who would not feel comfortable diving in current would skip the dive. DM would actuality look at the ripple on the surface and if he still wa not sure about the underwater condition, he would make a quick skin dive into the water from the skiff to check the current & visibility. I remember at one time he made a dip & came up a minute later a bit of a distance from the boat & yelled ”it’s 2 knots, let’s go elsewhere” to the skiff pilot.

Same experience in Raja, Dan_T. Was there in December on a LOB. The guides went out first before every dive to check conditions. On the very first dive of the trip they went out, came back and said, "we're changing sites, current is too strong". This one hits so close to home for those of us who teach, have kids or just love scuba and hate to see these tragedies.
Rob

 

[GreyhoundsAreFast]

Excuse me? This child was on a Discover dive, meaning he was not trained and certified?! I bite my lip to keep quiet about training and certifying children as young as 10 to Junior level, but taking a 13 year old on a Discover dive in the ocean upsets me.


And the child was in a group lead by one DM or Instructor, not even one-on-one? I guess the parents signed up for this on assurances from the operator, and the operator goes along with agency standards, but it stinks.


Now look! Even if the operator went along with weak agency standards, once they got to the chosen site and found that - the operator/DM or Instructor should have canceled or at least searched for a safer site. This was all much too risky.

Sorry for the confusion. The article I linked to said that stuff. Not me.

 

[yle]

Actually.. can DM's even lead discover scuba? I thought it needed to be an instructor.

For PADI only an instructor is allowed to conduct a first dive for an open water DSD with a ratio of up to 4 to 1. An assistant instructor or DM can then conduct a second dive with a ratio of up to 2 to 1.

In any case, the leader is responsible for choosing a site with conditions appropriate for the skill level of their DSD participants.

 

[DandyDon]

Sorry for the confusion. The article I linked to said that stuff. Not me.

Right, I intended to quote the statements from the article, but not attribute them to you. Sorry.

 

[KevinNM]

. They left on a dive-boat at around 9am on 5 January for a shallow-reef Discover Scuba experience with Island Divers Hawaii.

This is absurd. How the hell does this happen?