August 2012, Rebreather diver lost in the G ?

[DiveTheGalapagos]

I am in Galapagos and even here, info is spotty. It happened at Wolf. I have heard the diver was a very experienced rebreather diver, American and approx 67 years old. I also heard he bit his tongue which the local dive doc seems to think might indicate a seizure of some sort. It was my understanding that the diver went in and kept dropping as though the problem occurred very early in the dive. The dive guide he was with is a very good guide who ended up in the chamber himself after heading to 45 meters on Nitrox to recover the diver. I was told they were going to check his equipment in the US to see if there was a malfunction. Again, this is what I've 'heard', not to be confused with actual facts.

 

[Garuland]

Does it make sense that if his diluentant (sp?) was empty and he had was descending out of control he could not inflate his BC since he had no secondary gas source?

 

[DiveTheGalapagos]

Just heard that a CCR diver was lost off of a liveaboard operation.

Didn't know that any licensed dive guides had CCR gear or were even certified for it.

That's all I got. Anyone?

As far as I know, there are zero CCR certified Galapagos dive guides on the liveaboards which are restricted to Marine Reserve Guides or a Naturalist Guide who is also a Divemaster / Instructor, however the daily tour boats do allow for a Divemaster or Instructor to guide as long as there is also a Naturalist Guide onboard. So, as has been pointed out, liveaboard CCR divers get to stick to normal Nitrox profiles as regulations prohibit diving without a guide.

And ps... Marine Reserve Guides don't even need to be actual Divemasters as long as they continue to renew their original license every 2 years. I'm sure they once were, but PADI can be such a stickler about their annual dues. Don't renew for what, 7 years? and you are no longer a divemaster. I think the last Marine Reserve Guide course was either 8 or 9 years and so many of those no longer dive as guides anymore. Hopefully, the Park will offer a new course at some point and certify new Marine Reserve Guides. So boats have to choose from RMGs without the freedom to choose what might be deemed as preferable guides. Kind of a disconnect, no?

 

[jorge.a.mahauad]

Victim was certified to dive a rebreather in August 2012. Hardly experienced rebreather diver I would say. Accident happened at Darwin’s Arch.

All Galapagos Rebreathers live-aboard Expeditions are done complying with Galapagos National Park regulations. For more information please see website

 

[DiveTheGalapagos]

Wow, that's very different from what I heard, but like I said, 'from what I heard is not be be confused with actual facts'. How horribly sad period, but especially if he was certified in August and taken the same month. To my knowledge, all Galapagos liveaboard departures comply with Galapagos National Park rules. I would imagine you'd agree though that a new Marine Reserve Guide course would be a good thing for diving in Galapagos.

 

[Wookie]

The disconnect here may be that the diver was an experienced rebreather pilot, but only newly certified on the Mark VI.

 

[DazedAndConfuzed]

how does one drop to 45m on the descent? I thought all descents are to the shallows and one quickly swim to the slopes. Maybe he got carried away by the current?

 

[scorpiofish]

how does one drop to 45m on the descent? I thought all descents are to the shallows and one quickly swim to the slopes. Maybe he got carried away by the current?

No. All descents aren't like what you describe, especially in the Galapagos.

No OC bailout? I cringe when people do this. "I'll use my diluent as bail out." Really?

His diluent bottle was empty?

BTW, the Aggressor used to do rebreathers years ago, back in the early days when Chris Merz was running the boat. They used to have Draeger SCR units, but they did away with it when it became too hard to maintain them.

 

[HIGHwing]

No OC bailout? I cringe when people do this. "I'll use my diluent as bail out." Really? His diluent bottle was empty?

That scenario isn't hard to explain with a variety of scenarios. Diver jumps in the water and the loop floods, switches BOV, sucks the dil tank to zero in a heartbeat, and all the sudden there's nothing is breathe. Finished.

 

[jorge.a.mahauad]

That scenario isn't hard to explain with a variety of scenarios. Diver jumps in the water and the loop floods, switches BOV, sucks the dil tank to zero in a heartbeat, and all the sudden there's nothing is breathe. Finished.

...and so easily avoided.

Carrying OC bailout gas, an ABC check on the panga and a bubble check at 6m would have made the difference. This is the standard procedure here for every dive and rebreather diving 101.

This accident shouldn't have happened. It's as simple as that.

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