(5/01/05) Diver missing in Florida

[reefsavers.org]

The diver was a doctor, clearly a man who would be able to make rash decisions even in panic situations. I think there were clearly some other medical conditions that may of led up to the accident.I recently spoke to one of his instructors and he was a good swimmer and in good physical condition. We may never know exactly what circumstances played a role in his death. There are so many factors to consider and only after all the medical questions have been answered will we know what really happened. Where was his dive buddy? Were conditions favorable for diving this wreck on that day? Did he have an illness at the time of the dive? What else could of been done to save him? Was his equipment operating properly?

 

[Web Monkey]

Have you (all members and non-members of this board) been practicing your safety drills?

All the time, except during the "hard water" (lakes iced over) months of January and February

Terry

 

[sharpenu]

I see the "rip the reg out of your mouth" thing all the time. Not on divers.

Have you ever seen someone in respiratory distress? An asthma attack, perhaps? Even as we are putting a mask to deliver oxygen and medication on them, they try to rip it off. They won't sit down or even get in the ambulance for the ride to the hospital. The "fight or flight" response has been ingrained into humans by eons of evolution. Training and practice go a long way to reducing it, but even then cannot overcome it entirely.

 

[DiveGolfSki]

Not putting air into the BCD, and not dropping weights, is far more common a reaction of paniced divers than we like to see.

Drill, drill and when you get it right, drill some more. ....

Have you (all members and non-members of this board) been practicing your safety drills?

If not, what's the hold up? Waiting for more evidence of it's value?

I agree with practicing safety skills but which drills would have prevented or trained the diver in question? Out of air? Dumping weights (how would you drill for that? ... give the weights to your buddy)? Inflating your BC at the surface (I would think that should be SOP)?

Perhaps, a quick refresher course on what drills should be in order AND WHEN you can do it. I like the idea of practicing while on safety stop but what drills can be practiced while your hanging (I can think of mask removal/donning, removing regulators from your mouth, turning on/off 1st stage ... for DIR)?

 

[paulwall]

I agree with practicing safety skills but which drills would have prevented or trained the diver in question? Out of air? Dumping weights (how would you drill for that? ... give the weights to your buddy)? Inflating your BC at the surface (I would think that should be SOP)?

I recently switched to an integrated bc and practiced all of these skills in a pool. I had to be comfortable with finding, and dropping the weights. after pulling them out, I held them, so as not to missle to the surface (Although that might be a skill for another day-flaring in an underweighted ascent). I would expect you could do the same things with a belt in shallow water. Pull the belt, and hold it free of your body. Combine skills, flood the mask and ditch the weight, flood mask and drop regulator (simulate getting a fin in the face). Swap from regulator to snorkel on the surface. Deploy your SMB. Have your buddy drop your weights while holding onto you. Get neutral on the surface, and have your buddy hand you 5lbs of weight, and see how you recover.

You can't practice under panic situations, but you can get comfortable with the gear and responses.

 

[DiveGolfSki]

I recently switched to an integrated bc and practiced all of these skills in a pool. I had to be comfortable with finding, and dropping the weights. after pulling them out, I held them, so as not to missle to the surface (Although that might be a skill for another day-flaring in an underweighted ascent). I would expect you could do the same things with a belt in shallow water. Pull the belt, and hold it free of your body. Combine skills, flood the mask and ditch the weight, flood mask and drop regulator (simulate getting a fin in the face). Swap from regulator to snorkel on the surface. Deploy your SMB. Have your buddy drop your weights while holding onto you. Get neutral on the surface, and have your buddy hand you 5lbs of weight, and see how you recover.

You can't practice under panic situations, but you can get comfortable with the gear and responses.

After switching to an integrated BC, practicing "equipment familiarity" skills makes a lot of sense. You're also right about not being able to practice under panic situations. I was curious as to what one can do DURING a dive (obviously not one involving an emergency). Practicing all basic diving skills is a good policy. During a dive, I practice swapping regulators between my bungeed secondary and my primary (buddy breathing practice sessions would also cover this). So many things to remember ....

However, what always gets us is complacency combined with an onset of panic. There are things one can do about complacency but I wonder if there are ways, drills or whatever one can practice in minimizing panic? Deep breathing exercises, constant awareness of one's surroundings (i.e., air consumption, depth, current, etc.).

 

[adjuster-jd]

I've read this entire thread - perhaps I missed a detail somewhere -
Where was this diver's buddy? I haven't seen this mentioned in the thread. Did he come up alone somehow separated from his buddy?

 

[Stirling]

Boy has this thread really gotten off track !!!!

Oh, yeah. Sorry about that.

I am still wondering if there will ever be an answer to the question why somebody who reached the surface and was apparently holding on to a buoy ended up on the bottom after trying to swim to the boat. If the BC was functioning properly, the biggest question in my mind is why it wasn't inflated. If the diver was distressed when he was holding on the buoy, all the more reason to get positive buoyancy before letting go. I just don't get it.

 

[Rick Murchison]

I'm closing this monster temporarily while I split it into more manageable and (hopefully) more coherent "daughter" threads..
Shouldn't take long.
Thanks in advance for your patience.
---
First cut's complete - if you're interested in the discussion on Jonlines & clips it is now here.
Rick

 

[Rick Murchison]

reopened