3 Divers lost on the Spiegel Grove

[HowardE]

No captain is going to require you to carry equipment for a dive, for something that you're not supposed to do in the first place. ie : Nobody's going to make you carry a reel, if you're not supposed to penetrate the wreck in the first place... that would imply complacency

 

[H2Andy]

i think the worry is getting harassed *because* you are carrying reels

 

[HowardE]

i think the worry is getting harassed *because* you are carrying reels

to use with my safety sausage.

 

[diver 85]

If memory serves me, initially it said that area had been chained but someone had cut the chain (not these divers).

Either way, reports keep repeating that area was off-limits. Read the first and sixth paragraph of this report: http://www.miamiherald.com/884/story/45198.html Just about every report is saying they were in an area they weren't supposed to be. Your second to last post states the friend knew they were doing the Pump-room. So they knew they were doing an area they were not supposed to

I asked a question earlier of someone, I was wondering if it is standard protocol to weld, to chain, or both. That was just a curiosity of mine.

About your 1st statement, the article does not state these guys did not cut the chain, it only states it was not done on this dive..............................................."In the report, Coleman said that Spialter admitted the group did not use proper safety equipment. He also said they had ventured into a hatch that had been chained to keep divers out.

The chain was cut, but investigators said it had been done previous to Friday's accident"


We might never know who cut the chain....

 

[mjsylver]

All I can say is familiarity breeds contempt. They were highly experienced divers who knew better, they just didn't follow the rules. Such a personal tragedy for themselves and families that didn't have to happen.

I always pack a reel for saftey's sake.

 

[Rick Murchison]

A dive reel and a single al80 on their back and the boat operator let them get off the boat?

They didn't use reels. That's the point. Had they used reels we wouldn't be mourning their loss.
The lesson from this horrible mishap is that the progressive penetration/strobe protocol for wreck penetration is an abject failure that resulted in three needless fatalities; it needs to be junked in favor of the continuous guideline to open water.
Rick

 

[Buoyant1]

In the first place, what I carry with me to dive isn't any of the boat operator's business, unless it's illegal.
In the second place, the combination of a dive reel and a single 80 is common, and there is no "obvious plan to penetrate" anything inherent in it. I dive that combination whenever I dive a single 80. I dive a dive reel and whatever tank's available, because my reel is part of my standard equipment. So is a lift bag. Does that mean I have obvious plans to penetrate anything? Nope.
Some reel uses around wrecks:
1. Exploring the sand off the structure, especially when there's some current, to make sure I don't get disoriented and unable to find the wreck and ascent line.
2. Laying a transect for my personal survey.
3. Laying a nav aid line in low visibility.
4. Shooting a bag for ascent and as a marker for pickup should I get blown off the wreck.
Reels are very useful in open water. I highly recommend you invest in one and start using it. You'll quickly find that it enhances your diving in ways you never dreamed of, like marking your exit point on a reef for a shore dive in Bonaire.
And lastly, there's nothing beautiful about death in a silt cloud deep in the bowels of a ship.

Exactly! If you are in a no take zone and have a catch bag and a spear gun, then there's a BIG RED FLAG!

A pony/stage bottle etc. shouldn't be a red flag, just redundancy (and for some people an al80 isn't a heckuva lot of gas for a dive that deep especially if diving a mix!) A reel is almost becoming standard gear especially in open water for an SMB.(one guy I quarry dive with a lot carries his because "he always dives his kit")

But...as it was said, if they HAD reels, we wouldn't be having this conversation.

 

[CAPNJAK]

The Key West Citizen List the Instructors who brought up the first diver as Stephen Collins and Joe Kellogg. I know one of these guys and they are from this shop Underwater Adventure in Gainesville, GA. Question- I know that Stephen takes his underwater video camera everywhere, even on student trips; does know whether or not Stephen was running his video camera? , I was just wondering, might shed some light on where and how they found the first diver.
D3Diver

UWARK made a very good post here, he is my brother so I may be a little bias.

Stephen and I did find the first of the three divers and brought him to the surface.

This is a very unfortunate accident and I hope everyone that has read about or talked about this incident learns from all the critisisms, possibilities of what happened or what could have happened and what actually happened.

I assure you all that all of the information that we recalled during the dive and upon the discovery of the unresponsive diver was passed on to all agencies and authorities for thier process to investigate.

Joe

 

[mdmbike to scuba]

Thanks Joe for all you have done....... Mark

 

[ReefHound]

They didn't use reels. That's the point. Had they used reels we wouldn't be mourning their loss.
The lesson from this horrible mishap is that the progressive penetration/strobe protocol for wreck penetration is an abject failure that resulted in three needless fatalities; it needs to be junked in favor of the continuous guideline to open water.
Rick

Why must it be one or the other? Why not both?