British nurse lost on dive - Red Sea

[Rollin Bonz]

Sad. Hopefully with a little luck, this story has a happy ending.

This seems to point out what I remark about after many simular situations and that has to do with , where was/is her buddy? Most divers do not practice the "buddy system" correctly and that might have prevented this from happening. At the very least, made retrial a lot easier. A PLB might also have helped.

Many (myself included) feel that an over reliance on the buddy system is a bigger problem.

Lynne Flaherty (TS&M) was a very experienced diver. She and her husband (also very experienced diver) were diving a bucket list site in the PNW. They descended, hit the expected current, Peter looked away for just a splint second, and Lynne was gone. She was never found. This happened in 2015. So it can happen to anyone. Lynne was a GUE trained diver. If it can happen to her, it can happen to anyone. By all accounts, they were very good buddies.

Case in point. Especially with a current (horizontal or vertical), low viz, etc, unless you spend the entire dive looking at each other, there's going to be a chance for a "where the hell did they go?" moment to arise. And once you've lost sight of someone in those conditions, good luck finding them without you both surfacing (independently).

 

[DandyDon]

Any idea which area or dive site this happened? i couldnt find that information in the article

This article Devon nurse goes missing after scuba diving in Red Sea mentions Jackson Reef, which is "the most northern reef in the Strait of Tiran." Are those Eqyptian water?

She's been missing since 2pm local time Friday. It's 1am Tuesday there now.

 

[DandyDon]

Many (myself included) feel that an over reliance on the buddy system is a bigger problem.

I don't trust anyone.

 

[Rob9876]

My signaling devices are small enough to fit in my BCD pockets and tethered every one of them (except DSMB) so when I pull them out of the pockets, they won’t sink to the abyss, even the lid & case of my PLB1.

The PLB1 is tethered to its floating jacket, so it won’t sink.

View attachment 692165View attachment 692166

@drrich2 My son and I both have what looks to be the same type of Nautilus as in the pic above (the newer, smaller kind) in the same kind of silicone case. It's not that heavy, and just sits on our waist belt straps -- doesn't dangle, and don't really think much about it being there. A little extra piece of mind for drift diving.

 

[drrich2]

This seems to point out what I remark about after many simular situations and that has to do with , where was/is her buddy?

While some might think people would react to that by doubling down on the buddy system, many will react in the opposite fashion, by rejecting it. Many of us don't want the personal moral or legal liability of being responsible for someone else.

Which makes sense. People who take on a 'duty of care' relationship to others, whether they be physicians, nurses, dive instructors or similar generally have 3 things in common:

1.) They get paid.
2.) They are covered by liability insurance.
3.) Their role in the situation is primarily one of service to someone else; it's the nature of their profession.

Most dive buddies, on the other hand, lack 1.) and 2.), and are there for their own enjoyment. I'm not describing sociopaths who wouldn't help someone in obvious distress; I'm describing normal people who take up diving to have a good time and while willing to make a good faith effort to help others, don't want the responsibility/liability to monitor, maintain and save somebody else.

 

[Altamira]

Stories like this make me even more committed to carrying all of my safety gear, including the ACR View and Garmin Inreach Mini, on every ocean dive where currents could possibly be an issue. While I might look like a Christmas tree, or have my waist strap pockets resemble the Michelin Man, I might get lost on a dive, but probably will not stay lost. Of course, no guarantees about that, but it won't be for lack of planning.

 

[JackOfDiamonds]

This article Devon nurse goes missing after scuba diving in Red Sea mentions Jackson Reef, which is "the most northern reef in the Strait of Tiran." Are those Eqyptian water?

She's been missing since 2pm local time Friday. It's 1am there now.

Yes, that is Egyptian waters.

I know the dive site, strong currents are a daily occurrence.

I hope she is found alive soon... but realistically speaking the chanced are dwindling with each passing hour

 

[DandyDon]

realistically speaking the chanced are dwindling with each passing hour

It's been 3½ days.

 

[OTF]

@Dan @Altamira
You both carry not just one, but two PLB's? Why? Redundancy or do they serve different functions?

I should get one of these. Not sure which. Really don't want to lug around two of them. I'm still bitter that my old Nautilus with GPS flooded and haven't replaced it.

 

[Dan]

@Dan @Altamira
You both carry not just one, but two PLB's? Why? Redundancy or do they serve different functions?

I should get one of these. Not sure which. Really don't want to lug around two of them. I'm still bitter that my old Nautilus with GPS flooded and haven't replaced it.

Nautilus is not a PLB. It’s a line of sight, short range alert signal (< 8 miles), using VHF marine radio signal. PLB is a long range alert signal (406 MHz) all the way to Search & Rescue satellites. I would use PLB as the last resort when my other signaling devices fail.