Belize: Death of Corey Monk

[UnderwaterBumbleBee]

Doing a search on Google, I saw Cory was certified to be an instructor about a year ago with Rainbow Reef. I would assume he had solo certification but can't say for sure. I am sure that he, along with other crew members had a somewhat regular practice of diving solo. I will agree that diving solo is probably not what killed him. I think the point that most people are trying to make is that if he had someone around we would know where he is, how he died, what shape his equipment was in exactly and they might have possibly been able to aid him. The worst part about this incident is him not seeing his family for however long it had been and then he dies and is never recovered. That is a horrible thing for your family to have to go through, everyone wants some kind of closure when an accident occurs and they have none. At this point they have no idea if he was just being really reckless or if he had an unavoidable condition that would have occurred regardless. I guess you have to weigh your decision when it comes to family. Another similar incident was that diver in Seattle that recently died, diving alone in like 30 feet of water while his fiancee watched from the shore. Fortunately people were close enough to respond once his fiancee started screaming for help. He died as well.

This is what I originally posted about his accident:

He may have been diving alone, possibly below recreational limits, crew members say he was not wearing an glow stick or nighttime identifier. Crew members also said his computer may have been broken and he was not diving with a computer or a depth gauge. Another guest, also diving alone and at 92 feet along the wall, may have seen his light much farther down the wall.

I would say we knew for sure he diving alone, we were told his computer was broken and he had no depth gauge from that last crew member to see him in the water, He had at least one light but not sure if he had a backup. He (along with a couple of us) was diving over the wall. We only went to about 32 feet but we did that wall during the day and it easily drops off to hundreds of feet below. One guest (who I recall he said he was certified in FEB 2007) was also diving on his own at 92 feet. We know this because it was the first thing he said when he got out of the water "I was at 92 feet and there was someone really far below me" almost like someone personally bested him. This diver has a goal to become a rebreather diver in the next year or so also...YIKES

Recently, an article that I think was posted in Cory's home town said that he used to mountain climb in Peru and he had a pulmonary embolism which ceased his hiking days. I have no idea why he would have taken up scuba or if a doctor would have advised that but he was obviously a guy who loved life and adventure. It could be very possible something like that happened to him. At least if he had a buddy we could have recovered his body.

 

[sweatfrog]

Recently, an article that I think was posted in Cory's home town said that he used to mountain climb in Peru and he had a pulmonary embolism which ceased his hiking days. I have no idea why he would have taken up scuba or if a doctor would have advised that but he was obviously a guy who loved life and adventure. It could be very possible something like that happened to him. At least if he had a buddy we could have recovered his body.

If this is true and he had a spontanious pnuemothorax, he should not have been diving at all, much less an Instructor on a liveaboard.

UBB, all of what you say is scary, but for anyone with a medical problem like that to be guiding others is bad for the industry.

 

[Darol]

I would'nt put a lot of faith in what is said here, period.
Why in the world is a boat crew talking what if's, and
maybe's, to newbie tourist divers, about someones death?
How unprofessional, and how sad someone's perhaps poor
judgement, or lack of the right working gear led to this.

 

[robint]

If this is true and he had a spontanious pnuemothorax, he should not have been diving at all, much less an Instructor on a liveaboard.

UBB, all of what you say is scary, but for anyone with a medical problem like that to be guiding others is bad for the industry.

In order to become an instructor, he had to have a full medical done. So either he did this and the doctor cleared him for diving OR he lied to the doctor to get the paperwork. My guess is that the doctor cleared him as I have seen this numerous times working in a dive shop - people who have had heart attacks and heart bypasses done and some dufus doctor clears them for scuba... Too many doctors out there don't do the research to understand what it means and what the consequences are when they check off and sign those papers.

Also, I have seen people fill out paperwork, take it to their doctor to get signed and the doctor refuses. So they come back and get another set of paperwork, lie about their condition on it, and take it to another doctor who signs it. (About 3 yrs ago we had a diver die here locally for doing just that - she had a heart condition and was refused at one dive shop so she went to another and lied on the paperwork. Her first dive was her last. The instructor was brought up on charges but was cleared when the truth came out.)

My husband is an instructor and he has denied to teach someone even though paperwork clears the person for scuba diving. The reason: even though my husband has ZERO liability if the doctor signs off, my husband doesn't want to teach someone to dive if their health is a problem. Not everyone has those ethics, sometimes its all about the $$$.

Cory's death is tragic and we will most likely never know what happened. Diving solo didn't kill him, something else did. Whether it was his own stupidity about diving with improper gear or a medical condition, we just don't know.

 

[Nesher]

Today Robert and Connie Monk are conducting the memorial service for their son, Cory Monk.

Just in case anyone is interested.

 

[fda483]

Have held back posting on this but just want to say I was on the Pilot with Corey in early November. From the time we talked during that week he seemed like a great guy. Real sad to think about it. I remember that site well it was the best of the trip.

And yes I dove 2 night dives solo during the week. Yes all my equipment was functional, two dive computers, and a 19cuft pony, over 500 dives logged, but who knows...... Really need to think twice before I do that again.

 

[peterbj7]

Too many doctors out there don't do the research to understand what it means and what the consequences are when they check off and sign those papers

In the UK at instructor level you must have an annual medical, and that medical has to be performed by one of a handful of doctors country-wide specially trained and certified by a government agency (the HSE, sort of like OSHA but with much bigger and sharper teeth). Mine used to take at least 90 minutes, and was really useful as a general health check. From what I can gather about the US any doctor can do a dive instructor's medical, so it's no surprise if things slip through the net.

 

[cakayakdiver]

I don't know if this is the right place for this, if not then I apologize.

I've seen a lot of rules and good\bad practices discussed over the years that I've been a member of the SCUBA community and it suddenly occurred to me this evening that something has been missing, or at least I've not seen or heard it discussed.

Why don't we know exactly where Cory's body is and a great deal more about what happened. I've seen the SCUBA computer technology change rapidly in recent years. I've even been on live aboard cruises where very little DAN devices were attached to the BCs (voluntarily) so DAN could do research using everyones dive profiles.

So here is my question\suggestion:

If we can pass a law that everyone is supposed to wear a helmet when riding a motorcycle or a bicycle, then why don't we have a law that all scuba valves are built with a device that:

1) Records the details of the last dive
2) Broadcasts a locater signal (like the ones we see on the Discovery channel being attached to all manner of animals for research).

We could call them Monk devices in Cory's memory and then build automated searcher devices (Rovers?) that could move on the surface to the point where the device is broadcasting. Maybe even a few more expensive models (like ROVs) that could actually do retrievals. I really don't understand why we're still doing searches by boat and helicopter like it was still the dark ages.

We all keep talking about statistics, good and bad practices, giving condolences, but this all seems like we're accepting of the situation the way it is. Why can't we do something simple to make the situation better? I can't believe that we don't have all the technology already available to make this work. Certainly there would be some cost, but I'd be willing to pay a bit more for this kind of system.

 

[pilot fish]

I'm gonna guess, it's economics? Sounds like a good idea though.

 

[kombiguy]

Thank you Peter. I think you have nailed on the head what the crux of the argument is. Most of the people posting seem to have issues with a person diving alone without carrying the appropriate equipment, first and foremost, not just whether they are certified as a Solo Diver or have the requisite experience.

Most of the solo divers, OTOH, have been defensive from the beginning of the previous thread as well as this one, even before criticisms were levelled. They also appear to have disregarded the main issue of suitable equipment for the dive and changed the argument to become their right to dive alone.

Wouldn't it be nice if our actions didn't affect others. However, when any of us has a dive accident, we put others at risk trying to save/recover us; affect dives in that area that day or even week; cost taxpayers a lot of money for EMS; take up space in a chamber/hospital that others could use; divert the resources of medical personnel to take care of us instead of others; leave behind family and friends; and haunt all those who witnessed our accident/death. Most of us think about how we can reduce the risk of diving and make our dives safer to avoid not only dying or hurting ourselves, but also negatively affecting others.

That's true of anything we do. "No man is an island, entire unto himself..." However, I don't ask that you live your life so as not to inconvenience me, and I ask the same of you.