Salmonboy97
Contributor
Where was the body found? On the bottom? In the wreck? On the surface? I have not seen where this was posted. Any details?
Anna Maria Island spearfisherman missing
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Jayde323
Contributor
Here is what we have been told:
Not too long after the search began, a set of gear, believed to be Darren's, was found floating on the surface, BC fully inflated, no air in the tank. His speargun was found at the bottom. In Saturday, his body was found inside the Finbarge wreck.
My husband and I were talking to a diver and were talking about Darren's death. This diver states he spearfishes on the Fin Barge and he has taken his gear off to chase after a speared fish that went to hide in the wreck. While we DO NOT KNOW if this is what Darren had done, I hope divers who do this deadly practice think twice.
Not too long after the search began, a set of gear, believed to be Darren's, was found floating on the surface, BC fully inflated, no air in the tank. His speargun was found at the bottom. In Saturday, his body was found inside the Finbarge wreck.
My husband and I were talking to a diver and were talking about Darren's death. This diver states he spearfishes on the Fin Barge and he has taken his gear off to chase after a speared fish that went to hide in the wreck. While we DO NOT KNOW if this is what Darren had done, I hope divers who do this deadly practice think twice.
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Jayde323
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Salmonboy97
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Thanks for the details Jayde323
Missdirected
Contributor
Respectfully, I have to take exception to the blanket indication that Gulf Captains are overall a "relaxed" group. In other words not safety concious or turning a blind-eye? I find that statement absurb. I dive with some excellent captains in this area. I also dive with captains that do not as a practice allow spearfishing and they are not hurting for business. I can name a couple off the top of my head you can barely get a spot on their boat if ya don't book a month in advance.
Speaking as a spearfisherman I can most assuredly tell you my gas management isn't something I toss in the backseat :shocked2: I dive with many, many different people and when planning our dives GM is not taking a backseat. Pushing someone to take a pony bottle... :huh:
I don't even consider that "spare air" Seriously. Further, I am in charge of my dive plan. Not the DM. I am qualified to make my own decisions and would not entrust a DM whom I don't even know to tell me how I am going to dive. I'll find another boat.Lastly, I've not seen posted anywhere this particular diver's qualifications or experience. So stating his practices were "deadly practices" is nothing more than pure speculation. Do we know if he was trained in a closed environment? Tech diver, cave diver, etc. Not so far. Therefore we do not know if he was diving beyond his skill level. If one is trained to penetrate they should be comfortable taking off their gear.
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I'm not saying the captains are "not safety concious or turning a blind-eye". My response was in regards to a comment about spearfishing down in our area.
I am stating that I think any captain who allows a spearfisher off his boat without a buddy knowing that the diver does not have the gear to solo dive (redundant air supply!) is in fact taking a large risk.
While there are dive charters that don't allow spear fishing (for several reasons), I would hope that you agree that most captains like to keep the spearfishers happy and not give them grief about having a buddy, staying with the buddy, etc. You don't go off and upset a large portion of your customers and stay in business.
And are you to tell me that most of your buddies don't have stories of that "one last fish" where they looked down and sure enough, they have 500PSI or less? All it takes is one time to get caught up and you can be OOA without knowing it. It is't just isolated to spearfishers, hunters, photo takers but in general.
I never asked you to let a DM make a dive plan. I am, however, advocating that if a hunter is leaving the boat without a buddy or plans to leave their buddy under water, that person carry the needed gear incase something goes wrong.
I in no way made the claim that his practices were "deadly practices". You're putting words in my mouth.
My position is that if you are going to dive solo you need both the training and the redundant gear in the event an emergency occures. I'm not against solo diving as I've stated but the people who practice it are all too often not qualified to do so due to lack of gear or training.
I am stating that I think any captain who allows a spearfisher off his boat without a buddy knowing that the diver does not have the gear to solo dive (redundant air supply!) is in fact taking a large risk.
While there are dive charters that don't allow spear fishing (for several reasons), I would hope that you agree that most captains like to keep the spearfishers happy and not give them grief about having a buddy, staying with the buddy, etc. You don't go off and upset a large portion of your customers and stay in business.
And are you to tell me that most of your buddies don't have stories of that "one last fish" where they looked down and sure enough, they have 500PSI or less? All it takes is one time to get caught up and you can be OOA without knowing it. It is't just isolated to spearfishers, hunters, photo takers but in general.
Further, I am in charge of my dive plan. Not the DM.
I never asked you to let a DM make a dive plan. I am, however, advocating that if a hunter is leaving the boat without a buddy or plans to leave their buddy under water, that person carry the needed gear incase something goes wrong.
I in no way made the claim that his practices were "deadly practices". You're putting words in my mouth.
My position is that if you are going to dive solo you need both the training and the redundant gear in the event an emergency occures. I'm not against solo diving as I've stated but the people who practice it are all too often not qualified to do so due to lack of gear or training.
Missdirected
Contributor
same ocean dive buddies
Well all I can say is I'm as aware if not more aware of my gas consumption while spearfishing than I am during a non spearing dive. Making blanket statements about spearos being more likely to go OOA doesn't do anyone any good. Truth of the matter is, I see significantly more bad divers without guns than I do with.
Speculation won't solve anything here, I'm sure an intellegent analysis of this tragedy can be done when we have more facts but right now it's far too early and actual facts are far too few to determine a cause. We should be supporting the friends and family of this diver, not pointing fingers.
Speculation won't solve anything here, I'm sure an intellegent analysis of this tragedy can be done when we have more facts but right now it's far too early and actual facts are far too few to determine a cause. We should be supporting the friends and family of this diver, not pointing fingers.
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