(5/01/05) Diver missing in Florida

[scubamate]

I don't understand. If the boat is moored to the buoy couldn't someone go to the bow and throw a 50 ft to the diver and pull him to the boat, or allow him to go hand over hand to the boat? Report says he was close to the boat so I'm thinking he must have been close enough to get a line to him?

There are several buoys on the Speigel Grove that are up to several hundred feet apart. I would assume he came up the wrong line and was too far away.

It's a sad thing to have happen and I'm very sorry for his family.

 

[pilot fish]

There are several buoys on the Speigel Grove that are up to several hundred feet apart. I would assume he came up the wrong line and was too far away.

It's a sad thing to have happen and I'm very sorry for his family.

What is real sad is that he reached the surface but still perished. If only he could have orally inflated his BC. I can't think of a mechanical problem that would prevent him from doing that? That's a young man that should still be alive to dive another day.

 

[DiveGolfSki]

The dive operator of the N2Deep is It's a Dive and they do have a website complete with pictures of the boat involved:

http://www.itsadive.com/Dive_Boats.htm

Perhaps they'll respond to my email asking them to post some details of what happened (if they're allowed or are willing to) on this thread. I would think it would be in their best interest, from a business standpoint, to do so. Let's see.

 

[dive]

The dive operator of the N2Deep is It's a Dive and they do have a website complete with pictures of the boat involved:

http://www.itsadive.com/Dive_Boats.htm

Perhaps they'll respond to my email asking them to post some details of what happened (if they're allowed or are willing to) on this thread. I would think it would be in their best interest, from a business standpoint, to do so. Let's see.

I would think it would be in their best inerest at this time not to respond at this time from a business/legal standpoint. Just what I think...

 

[DiveGolfSki]

I would think it would be in their best inerest at this time not to respond at this time from a business/legal standpoint. Just what I think...

Perhaps from a legal standpoint ... yes (can anyone spell "lawsuit"...) but from a business standpoint, well, I'd be hesitant in joining their next dive to the Grove. I wonder if all this has affected their business?

 

[pickens_46929]

I have 3 dives on the Grove, each while I was still just an OW diver. I had to show my log to prove I had dove those depths before or else they would not let me dive. You have to show an advanced rating to be able to dive that site, or be an experienced OW diver. The surface entry is a bit dicey since you are out beyond the reef system in high chop, usually, and you have a bit of a swim along the tag and granny line till you get to the buoy to descend. While I had some current on the Grove dives it was not ripping strong, as I heard it can be. After a gear failure, my puter, I came up on the wrong ascent line to the wrong boat but was able to finally make my way to my boat 200 or so yards away.

This site is not to be taken lightely and should not be done by newer divers. I hope the missing diver is found. There go I.....................................

I've done the Grove several times, with both experienced and not-so-experienced divers. The "experienced" divers got into more trouble from what I saw than the non-experienced. The biggest was inattention... not watching depth or air gauges. The warm water and good viz compared with quarry diving can throw experienced divers off. The "not-so-experienced" had a healthy respect, payed attention, used the lines, watched their gauges and were conservative on planning and knowing when to call the dive.

Everytime I'm down there and going out to the Grove, the captain has said it was only a matter of time.

Diving is a dangerous sport, there is no reason to make it more dangerous by not paying attention and having a healthy respect for the fact that you can't breath underwater.

My thoughts and prayers are with the family as well as the others touched by this incident.

Just my observations.

Dave

 

[dive]

Perhaps from a legal standpoint ... yes (can anyone spell "lawsuit"...) but from a business standpoint, well, I'd be hesitant in joining their next dive to the Grove. I wonder if all this has affected their business?

I would get on the boat you can't blame the business a lot of facters cause something like this..

 

[gpatton]

Adding a "little" clarity...

Truely the critical justification to discuss dive accidents is to learn from them.
..........................

Dive more than safe

To add a little more clarity.....

I talked to one of the divers on the recovery dive and an officer (MCSO) that was on the scene and part of the investigation. This is info they related;

1. The diver still had on his weights when found by the recovery team.

2. The diver was wearing a wet suit.

3. The diver was breathing Nitrox (30%).

4. The current was light to moderate.

5. The diver's tank was empty.

6. The wind was

YYYY MM DD hh mm DIR SPD
2005 04 30 18 00 149 8.8
2005 04 30 17 50 148 8.2
2005 04 30 17 40 149 8.8
2005 04 30 17 30 148 9.3
2005 04 30 17 20 148 8.8
2005 04 30 17 10 148 8.2
2005 04 30 17 00 149 9.3
2005 04 30 16 50 149 9.3
2005 04 30 16 40 156 8.8
2005 04 30 16 30 156 8.2
2005 04 30 16 20 156 8.8
2005 04 30 16 10 157 8.8
2005 04 30 16 00 155 9.3
2005 04 30 15 50 155 9.3
2005 04 30 15 40 155 9.3
2005 04 30 15 30 153 8.8
2005 04 30 15 20 157 8.8
2005 04 30 15 10 152 9.3
2005 04 30 15 00 150 8.8
2005 04 30 14 50 155 9.3
2005 04 30 14 40 151 9.3
2005 04 30 14 30 151 9.3
2005 04 30 14 20 152 8.8
2005 04 30 14 10 151 9.3
2005 04 30 14 00 153 9.3
​

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If anyone has more current info to correct this post please do so....

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This info creates more questions;

If a diver is breathing Nitrox at a high rate, will it impair a diver?

Why didn't this diver ditch his weights?

Glenn
for underwater videos & pics of the Spiegel go to
http://www.glennpatton.com/Spiegel/index.htm

 

[StSomewhere]

What is real sad is that he reached the surface but still perished. If only he could have orally inflated his BC. I can't think of a mechanical problem that would prevent him from doing that? That's a young man that should still be alive to dive another day.

I can think of lots of problems. Hole in the bladder? Failed/leaking overpressure relief valve? Failed/leaking pull dump release? If any of these happened and he wasn't immediately aware of it, that might also explain the OOA.

Not to rule out stress, he may not have been thinking clearly, it may not have occurred to him to orally inflate the BC.

As I've said elsewhere, the saddest part is that he left the relative safety of the buoy for the perceived safety of the boat, and without telling anyone.

 

[gpatton]

I can think of lots of problems. Hole in the bladder? Failed/leaking overpressure relief valve? Failed/leaking pull dump release? If any of these happened and he wasn't immediately aware of it, that might also explain the OOA.

Not to rule out stress, he may not have been thinking clearly, it may not have occurred to him to orally inflate the BC.

As I've said elsewhere, the saddest part is that he left the relative safety of the buoy for the perceived safety of the boat, and without telling anyone.

StSomewhere is correct. There could have been numerous problems with the BC.

For what I understand from people on the scene this diver had on a pretty thick wet suit and if he had ditch his weights, he would have had a lot of buoyancy.

The question is - Why didn't he ditch his weights, was he impaired by anything, Hyper-ventilation of Nitrox, embolism, etc. ???