Bonaire Diving Death

[Tom Smedley]

If you look at it - all funerals, memorial services, and such are there for the living. The dead don't care but ceremony allows the living to heal and carry on.

I don't think it is "dopey???" to think that I would like to go doing my favorite activity. There are some very painful ways to die and having your heart stop is very humane.

I 'm sure that the diver in question wouldn't have gone out there if he knew a terminal event was in store. If you don't know it by now life is a terminal disease that no one has ever survived.

When my smite button is pushed, most men want to be 106 years old and overexerting themselves with a 19 year old blonde. Since we know that won't happen I want to be out there on the reef. Even if it does sound "dopey???"


Both are just a way for the living to try to feel better about it - the two ideas are just on opposite ends of the dopey spectrum.[/quote]

 

[Darol]

I'm sorry for this and please pile on....
Who would better know the "Dopey Spectrum" than a guy sitting in a floatie ring
holding a foo foo drink.... Just an observation.....

 

[dkatchalov]

I didn't realise you needed a PhD in philosophy to provide your opinion on anything other than diving on here.

If you're dead, you're dead and it is a devastating event for everyone involved. No point trying to sugarcoat it with "doing something she/he loved" tagline.

FWIW, if you read RJP's other posts on SB they are often amusing and usually very informative - even if he's sitting in a floatie drinking a "foo foo" (??) drink.

 

[Gdog]

I agree with Dandy Don....the focus of this thread has drifted to side issues, and my input did not help. Sorry all.
Heart attack is something that has been on my mind more and more. This incident has helped me resolve to pay closer attention to my own health.

 

[Darol]

No one said anything about needing a PhD, did they?
Philosophy- study of the principles underlying conduct, thought, and the nature of the
universe. General principles, of a field of knowledge.

PhD- Jokingly referred to as Piled Higher and Deeper, in reference to Bull ****.

Word Merchant- One who ejaculates his eloquent verbal opinion on the unwilling masses.

Proverb- a short popular saying expressing an obvious truth.
example- "those who can do, those who can't teach......."

I'm not here for a long time, I'm here for a good time.....

I'd rather be diving.....

 

[mrlipis]

The current was
rippin' and they were aborting the dive, and he went to the surface and
was shouting for help. With the surface conditions being wildish, it took
a little time to get him to shore and he wasn't able to help much

If this is an accurate description of the events, it is very likely that this diver was in full panic on the surface and suffered a heart attack through over exertion. I am in no way a medical expert but I would not think someone who has suffered a heart attack is going to be yelling, therefore it is possible that his heart attack happened after he was first spotted on the surface... in panic mode. Our training teaches us to rest and relax if we find ourselves in a situation like that. Raise the sausage, lay back, rest and wait.

My condolence to his family and friends.

Bruce

 

[DandyDon]

It's possible, Bruce - and that could indeed be the take-away for learning here. Many people die from shoveling snow this time of year, so even without panic - exertion may have played a part of it. Many divers like the shore diving there, but I do like a boat that will chase me down if needed. Being caught in current without a boat could perhaps increase the likelihood here as he possibly may have been driven by that idea. I'm speculating, tho...

Some people enjoy working out at the gym, but I find it borrrring - at least the first 20 minutes of aerobics, and have to push myself to go. I missed a line last summer in current tho and found myself working with all I had to get back to it - finally grabbing my bud's fin and pulling along his body to get to the line. The liveaboard had a chase dingy, but I wanted to complete the dive - not float until they got around to coming for me. This still could have been me overexerting myself. I take aspirin daily as a prophylactic at my age, and most certainly on dive trips...

 

[mrlipis]

and that could indeed be the take-away for learning here.

That is certainly why I enjoy this board. Sooo much to learn. I am in the middle of my rescue diver course and I am learning a ton. This incident just screams panicked diver.

Don, when I was on the EX1 at conception island in Jan, we did a dive that the current was ripping. Hand over hand to get down the anchor line. 3 minutes off the anchor line, into the current and I was exhausted. I aborted, went back to the anchor line and rested prior to making an ascent. Without something to hang on to and rest, I can see how quickly things could get dicey, especially knowing there is no boat at the surface. On the same dive we had a couple who aborted half way down and then had to be picked up by the tender as one of them missed all of the lines. This guy did not panic, he established buoyancy, put up his sausage, relaxed while waiting to be picked up. Stuff happens fast... be prepared... assess think and act.

Bruce

 

[CUDA_Rick]

My condolences go out to the family.

I just returned from Bonaire; was there from Feb. 16 to March 1. We did two dives at Red Slave during that time. The first was under good conditions with little current. We tried another dive during the second week of the trip and things were entirely different. There was no indication based on weather or surface conditions that warned of problems, but as soon as we submerged near the shore we experienced a strong Southerly current which was also pulling slightly away from shore. We attempted to swim against it and work our way to the edge of the reef to see if the current would subside as we got to deeper water. It did not. We aborted the dive and had to kick hard to get back to shore. The dive duration was only five minutes but we were pretty tired by the time we made it back to shore. It's easy to see how someone could become overexerted and/or panic under similar circumstances.

Red Slave can be an advanced dive and you have to be prepared to abort the dive early if conditions are not right. I have enjoyed several good dives at this site, but over the last several years have had to abort this dive twice due to current. Each time we dive this site we confirm that if we get a strong Southerly current the dive will be aborted immediately; otherwise you could end up in Venezuela (this site is near the southern tip of the island). A North current is not bad as long as it is parallel to the shoreline. You can drift north and exit at the end of the dive and send someone back to the vehicle.

 

[Black_3000psi]

first of all the doctor that told you the that isnt any doctor I would want to see for any problems heart conditions are not a sudden thing there are many signs but most of us fail to heed the warnings and some times even doctors miss the signs. secondly it depends on the type of heart condition. I have over two hundred dives after having a triple bypass. I've done some of the hardest sure dives on Oahu the Y.O and the see tiger. one of the biggest things about swimming in strong current is having the right fins.because I do venture into some strong currents I am a great fan of jet fins. theres no way on earth you are going to far well in strong current with weak fins. there is the possibility that the attack was induced by the shear fear of the situation itself. we will all one day find ourselves in a situation that will invite fear. the moment we give into that fear our chance of surviving gets very small. breathing long deep breaths will slow the heart rate and allow us to think. for most of us this is old news but for those who dont dive every day it may not be something they think about so its up to us to remind them of some of these things.

my heart goes out to the family of the divers family and I feel for there loss.the only thing left is for us to learn something from it with out casting blame.