(6/18/2005) Diver lost off Jupiter Point

[JWU42]

Not to bash, but JW, you're right. This is very highly speculative, we know nothing of his dive history or when he last dived, whether he had any of the signal equipment you mentioned.

What we do KNOW, current was ripping. We've lost another buddy.

I am very interested to learn more and hope my speculation is just that...

Perhaps it is just a series of events that all went wrong and led to us losing a buddy

 

[nolatom]

I did this dive last December on the same boat, with Randy as DM. It was my first and only time there, and my first time at that depth (139'). We breathed Nitrox 28. I had experienced buddies who had made this dive many times, but it's hard to stay together in the current, we ended up surfacing separately. I started back up with 1100psi and had plenty of time for a half-depth stop and safety stop, and the boat was close when I surfaced. I recall it was about a 24-minute dive for me. I thought it was a challenging dive but a very interesting one too, especially passing through the "Hole". You really have to keep an eye on your gauges throughout. Don't know how the DM would pull a surface buoy and still lead us into the hole. The briefing was very thorough and I'd had lots of pre-dive advice from my buddies..

I probably had the least experience (about 110 dives, Rescue and Nitrox cards) and least sophisticated gear on the boat that day. It all worked out well, but it's a pretty advanced dive at least from my perspective, so I didn't take it lightly, and I'm not sure I'd have wanted to try it with much less experience than I had at the time, nor without a more experienced buddy with local knowledge. With these, I'd do it again if the sea, current, and visibility were favorable.

Don't know if this helps the discussion or questions above, but these were the observations as the basically "average" weekend diver I consider myself to be.

I agree with others that we don't know all the details of this incident except that it's a tragedy, and my condolences and prayers for the family.

 

[BKDiver]

The fact of the matter is that unless the diver is recovered, it is highly unlikely anyone will ever really know what happened or whether there were any pre-existing medical conditions that may have contributed to his problem. Having done this dive on two occasions, both with JDC, I can certainly attest to the fact that it is not a dive for the "occasional diver". Accordingly, JDC limits this trip to advanced level divers and in my experience, conducts a safe and professional operation. The bottom line is that as a diver doing this kind of a dive, you have to take certain responsibilities for your own actions and well being, including staying healthy, knowing your limitations and accepting the consequences for when things go wrong. Speculation in situations like these is never healthly, especially when it becomes the basis for passing judgement on events that otherwise you know nothing about.

USCG Master Lic 50-Ton
NAUI Inst
IANTD Rec Trimix Inst

 

[kabluton]

Thanks for the update Marcus. I was listening to Temptation and Blue Tang going back and forth over the radio from my boat. We were actually in Juno diving a 3 tanker. It's something I suppose I will never get use to hearing. I wish I could say this was the first one I've had to listen too. My stomach still gets in knots thinking about this man and the impact this accident will have on so many other peoples lives. He made the ultimate sacrifice for a high adrenaline dive, I wonder if his family will think it was worth it.

Divers, KNOW your limits! Be that one who will stand alone and say "hey guys, this dive sounds a little out of my league". My heart is broken and I didn't even know the guy.

Baited, I have been to WPB a few times but I don't think I have ever gone to this site. Besides the obviously strong current, what else makes this particular site so tricky?

 

[Talon]

I completly agree with BKDiver. I've done this dive at least a half dozen times with JDC. Luckily I've never seen anyone have any problems on the trip. But it is one that SHOULD NOT be taken lightly. Randy does a good job of keeping an eye on people when he can on the dives. I've seen him swim over to people and escort them to the top of the ledge when they where showing signs of getting narked.

But at the same time, this dive is NOT for the inexperienced or those without the skills. How does a dive shop determine that - I have NO IDEA!!! Just basing it off of certifcation level can't be enough. I know several DM's and instructors that I wouldn't do this dive with.

 

[Talon]

kabluton -- it is the depth... Top of the ledge is about 120. Bottom is about 140. I know I get slighly narked when I dip down below 130. You don't get that in WPB - at least not on any of the usual sites. I know the first time I did that site, it took me a minute to figure out what that dang buzzing sound I was hearing was coming from. ME!

 

[baitedstorm]

The Hole in the Wall is closer to the Stuart than to Palm Beach. The current is usually kicking up, with nice viz. The problem I had doing that dive started out with me getting on that boat. I'm not going to go into the entire story (it's already been posted in a previous thread last yr) but I had no clue what that dive was going to be like. No dive briefing and no Randy down below, he and most of his crew were far to busy spearfishing to pay attention to me or anything else. If his on DM (has an accent) hadn't come back for my overly narced butt, I would have been another statistic. My life was spared that day for some reason, one day I'm sure it will be unfolded to me.

 

[standrod]

the hole in the wall is a beautiful dive but something you REALLY have to prepare for.

if diving air or nitrox you will get narced..but you can still have a great dive. i even started diving in on trimix to avoid that...

i think if you have the experience and have good people with you it can be a safe and very exciting dive...

 

[JWU42]

All these comments about being narced - scary. At least with Rec Trimix becoming more popular perhaps we can make these dives more safely (though that is mostly to 120' max).

@stanrod - glad to see someone is diving it with mix.

 

[Amazz]

It's not something I want spread around the diving community. But it's annoying reading about all of the speculation and finger pointing. It was made very clear before the dives that this is an advanced dive. Before entering the water, Randy did a complete dive briefing. I recall him saying: follow me, don't follow the spearfishermen. We all stayed together. I recall going through the hole along with several other people. I saw Randy waiting outside the hole until everyone went through. The missing diver's buddies told me that he went through the hole and then signaled that he was ready to surface because he was low on air. He apparently started to surface alone. That was the last anyone saw of him. Nobody reported seeing him actually surface. We all made the dive together until surfacing. Because of the current, I think people drifted at different intervals depending on depth. That's how people became separated. You can't carry a float ball through the hole, but a float is deployed while beginning the ascent. We carry our own. This dive was more challenging than usual. The currents were a bit faster, although I did experience it worse one other time. Vis was a fantastic 80 ft. There were a lot of large sharks on the dive. I got narced at first, but it subsided after I rose about 15 ft. and then gradually worked my way back to 120 ft. I can't think of anything that was done wrong by the anyone. We were well briefed, all qualified, and made it to the end of the dive. Something tragic happened at the very end, and it's incredibly sad. It's an aweful feeling looking out at the horizon, just begging to see a diver waving his hands to be picked up. It was a horrible accident. It could happen to any of us. Know your limits and be careful. Angie