An Experiment: let's pretend I died while diving

[Jocasseegirl]

I've been in a discussion today with my dive buddy about the merits of discussing diving deaths on the boards. I actually came close to potentially drowning in 37 feet of water last year. Let me give you the details that my buddy would have been able to provide if I had died. (Leah knows all the details of what really happened, but she isn't allowed to give hints, because theoretically she wouldn't know for sure what really happened.) Then, let's see what discussions ensue, what speculations, and, hopefully, what lessons could be learned. My buddy would have said:

We dove earlier that day, and everything was fine, despite a rather strenuous surface swim to get to the downline. Other than that, we had a great time. The weather was beautiful - a little hot - but the cold water was very refreshing. The boat picked us up around 2:00 and shuttled us back across the lake. We enjoyed lunch around 3:00 with a group of fellow divers, then geared back up around 4:15 for our last dive of the day. We wanted to add some "stuff" to a collection of skeletons in the cove, so Deb volunteered to take a lawn chair down. We had met a young man who had just gotten certified the week before, and he wanted to come with us. The viz was poor, because in the afternoon, the silt has been kicked up pretty good. We agreed to stay together (because that's the safe thing to do). When I got to the site, Deb was nowhere to be found. I surfaced and found her bobbing on the surface. (Note: obviously, I wasn't dead, but let's pretend I was.)

Take it from here. What would you guess happened?

 

[24940]

Someone screwed up.

 

[mkutyna]

Lawn chair was too heavy for you to stay at the surface and you didn't have your reg in your mouth yet?

That'd be my first guess.

 

[Jocasseegirl]

Actually, I would not have been found on the surface. She would have found me under the water.

 

[DarkCoffee]

Did the new diver actually accompany you such that there were 3 divers? If so, was the new diver with Deb at the surface when your 'shade' surfaced?

 

[Jocasseegirl]

the new diver was with us. I misspoke when I said I was found on the surface. Had I drowned, I would have been under the water, not on the surface.

 

[Teamcasa]

Food poisoning or other physical problem.
Tangled up in the (folding lawn) chair.
Mysterious new buddy panicked with disastrous complications.
Bad air in your tank, passed out.
BC failure, uncontrolled decent.
The Lake Jocassee monster?
Copper-bellied water snake bite?
The list just keeps on going

 

[DandyDon]

Threesomes are dangerous enough; taking a newbie in a poor vis dive worse; mostly they separated to die alone. My bud turned lose of a jon line in no-viz water once, leave me below alone, not realizing he wasn't with me. Chewed him out good, but he does that at times. He needs a good scare, doesn't take risk seriously enough.

 

[scubajcf]

Where was the last place the deceased had been seen underwater? What depth?
Was there any problems?
How much air was in the tank? Was the tank turned on?
Where was the new diver (the third wheel)?
How long into the dive had you realized Deb was missing?
How long into the dive did you resurface to find the person bobbing in the water?
Was the BCD inflated? Was the weight system still on the deceased?
Was the regulator in her mouth?
Where was the chair?
Is there any history of health problems (diabetes)?
What was the dive plan? Was there a dive plan?
Victim was bobbing at the surface, unconscious, I assume? Was the victim breathing? Face down? Face up? Any visible signs of distress or entanglement?

The agreement was to stay together? Who failed in that agreement?

 

[UnderSeaBumbleBee]

Well I can tell you that there were pleanty of mistakes made and a lot them were mine. When Deb gives the me go ahead, I really would like to comment on what I think went wrong for her and what I know that I did wrong.

After that incident, I became a regular reader of this forum and I think it has more value for divers to learn than many of the other forums put together.

Experience is the best teacher, but it is also the most expensive. As much as I can, in living my life I like to learn from the mistakes of other rather than make my own if at all possible.