Canadian woman presumed dead - Roatan, Honduras

[Texas Torpedo]

Thanks a bunch for sharing this information, Terry..

While we may never know, this sounds like a medical issue... Had it been a BCD issue - whether it be a bladder failure, jammed inflator button, or gross over-weighting, I doubt she would have just rode it down in a calm fashion, such as the DM later reported.. More likely there'd be panic and lots of movement. I seriously doubt narcosis would put her (or anyone) at ease at 200' dealing with an issue like that...

 

[redacted]

Why did he solo bounce so deep? Did he think he could help? I don't guess any of y'all wear diving doubles, or even a pony? And where did you get the idea that in water decompression was a good idea. I know we hear about it, but it's not safe, and a short recompression followed by ascent can make matters worse.

Sure, in water recompression as a treatment for DCS may not be a good idea but what is the problem with in water recompression as a preventative measure given a failed deco stop or an unknown deco obligation?

 

[Terry Harrison]

I want to thank everyone for their comment, yes even the harsh ones. I tried to answer the questions everyone posed and if you have others, I'll do my best to address them. I think the emergency recall (banging on the ladder/tank) is the only major issue that I personally wish would have been addressed in the briefing.
The other thought that I had while the incident was in progress was to stand by around 80' to assist (DM, Clay and victim may need air) but with two other divers of unknown training, I changed my mind and we all moved to the boat. I don't know if this was good or bad, but felt that three less people in the water may be three less victims if things went any more wrong.

 

[Steve_C]

One other possibility non-medical. If she was overweighted (or doing a hot drop) and her tank valve was off or not fully on. She might have panicked as she found herself sinking and without air and drank some water in the first few seconds of the dive and quickly passed out.

Don't know about the deceased but I see lots of folks on boats checking their regs incorrectly on boats. They take a couple breaths without looking at the gauge.

 

[Texas Torpedo]

I wonder what others would have done

After Opal's incident (I won't call it an accident) in Cozumel, where Gabby (one of her DM's) went after her to a great depth (400, if memory serves) and ended up paying the price for it (paralyzed from the waste down), I gave this question some serious consideration. A lot of it would come down to how far into a dive I was / how much air I had left, how much diving I had been doing, leading up to it.. In a scenario like this where I had a full tank, I'd have chased a stranger down to 225-250.. Someone I loved, 300.. Especially with a chamber close by and plenty of tanks on the boat above (and in sight) for me to clear the deco obligation I'd rack up...

That's just me though... I have quite a few dives between 150-215 on air before I tasted trimix for the first time (and wizened up), so I know how I handle narcosis at depth... For the vast majority of divers who haven't been past 130', don't have tech or at least deco training, going after someone in a situation like this should usually be left up to the DM, and certainly not any deeper than they are comfortable and have experience diving. I'd say a rescue cert would be a pre-req as well... It would be a rude awakening to get to the person only to have them snap out of it and freak out on you.. Deep rescue isn't part of the curriculum for that class but it'll teach you how to handle / control a diver during a rescue.

I applaud both Terry & Clay for their effort to assist the DM and I'm glad both of them made it through the situation physically alright.. I know it has to be mentally tough on all of you that were there that day...

Thanks again Terry for sharing things with us and I hope you'll stick around and be part of the SB community. Lots of great people here.

 

[Jack Hammer]

@Terry Harrison , Thank you for posting your 1st hand account of events. Please ignore the arm chair crowd and any criticism they offer, it is extremely easy to talk about what should/could be done different/better when they're not there. It is much more difficult when you are actually there to and have to make choices.

This incident resonates a bit with me as my first rescue was at Mary's Place. It was with a new diver who's total focus was on equalizing their ears and wasn't watching depth or slowing their descent. The body posture was exactly as you described in this incident. Fortunately we were able to bring it under control by 125' and all ended well. Looking back there is probably plenty the online crowd would criticize with that too.

 

[Jack Hammer]

The other thought that I had while the incident was in progress was to stand by around 80' to assist (DM, Clay and victim may need air) but with two other divers of unknown training, I changed my mind and we all moved to the boat. I don't know if this was good or bad, but felt that three less people in the water may be three less victims if things went any more wrong.

It can be interpreted several ways, good or bad . If they needed your assistance, it's seems the right thing and thankfully you were there. If you or the others helping had an issue, it was suddenly a bad choice. If neither those, pick whichever suits your feelings.... etc.

I would have likely followed too

 

[Texas Torpedo]

One other possibility non-medical. If she was overweighted (or doing a hot drop) and her tank valve was off or not fully on. She might have panicked as she found herself sinking and without air and drank some water in the first few seconds of the dive and quickly passed out.

Possible, but the way the DM reported last seeing her seems odd to me, with regard to an OOA event.. Arms crossed, I mean.. I've seen people go OOA.. Never have I seen anyone just chill after it happens. I've even had a 1st stage regulator fail shut (Poseidon) on me during a dive. I didn't panic but it got my attention and I was steadily working to solve the problem, while swimming hard to reach my friend's backup 2nd.

Don't know about the deceased but I see lots of folks on boats checking their regs incorrectly on boats. They take a couple breaths without looking at the gauge.

Definitely agree... Obviously, a great way to verify that the valve is open before you launch..

 

[RyanT]

@Terry Harrison , Thank you for posting your 1st hand account of events. Please ignore the arm chair crowd and any criticism they offer, it is extremely easy to talk about what should/could be done different/better when they're not there. It is much more difficult when you are actually there to and have to make choices.

+1

 

[DandyDon]

Thanks again Terry for answering several questions. I don't think anyone here intends to be critical even if some posts may sound that way, but some questionable actions did beg explaining. It sounds like the DM was very heroic in his attempts to save her, excessively so really with his fast ascent from the first deep bounce, followed by another - and the rest of y'all did what y'all thought best in the heat of the emergency, but with some dangerous mistakes. Glad the rest of y'all survived ok.

Sure, in water recompression as a treatment for DCS may not be a good idea but what is the problem with in water recompression as a preventative measure given a failed deco stop or an unknown deco obligation?

Well, you have far more diving experience than I so you should know more about the risks than I would. To me, an in water recompression of such a brief period is just shaking the soda can again, and there's the risk of compressing bubbles on the venous side enough that they then end up on the arterial side when they again expand. If you're a days trip from a chamber, little or no medical oxygen available, can use a full face mask, and have the assistance of experienced rescue divers with a large number of tanks and regs available, it may well be a good idea. With O2 on the boats and a chamber nearby, nope - and they had those.