Casino Point - Avalon, Diver Death 9/5/11

[D_B]

I very much still remember the stress of learning the information for OW , it was all SO important

 

[Okie Mike]

I took Open Water I (NAUI) as an HPE course in college at ORU. We met once per week for 7 or 8 weeks for 3 hours each session with a mix between class time and the pool. We were tested multiple times and graded for college credit, not just a c-card. I took Open Water 2, Rescue and Master Diving Techniques the same way. The weekly discussions and review really helped the information sink in and I still remember most of the information 20 years later. We did so many repetitions of removing masks and regulators in the pool that I do not remember my OW1 check out dives in the lake being that big of a deal.

Master Diving was a great class. Nothing made me more comfortable in the water than repeatedly spending an hour underwater in a pool with a buddy with only one set of gear (including one mask) between the 2 of us, swimming laps and swapping gear at the bottom after each lap. We took our test underwater on grease boards with the questions scattered around the bottom of an Olympic sized pool under a serious time restraint.

I shudder to think how little is learned (and especially absorbed) in a weekend scuba class with 4 hours of class and 4 hours of pool.

Perhaps there should be required continuing education requirement in the form of reading this forum on a regular basis.

 

[buddhasummer]

How do you define rare?

More people die every year playing golf, and perhaps even bowling. People die skiing, snowboarding, bicycling, skating, surfing, swimming, kayaking, rafting, hiking, climbing... Even whale "watching" has fatalities.

Divers who have had the best training also die; life is not without risk and for me a full life is full of risk.

Perhaps, but I suspect not from lack of training or lack of specific skills.

 

[MauiScubaSteve]

I thought my friends accident was a rare thing but it really sounds like its not. Are OW certs are being given to those without the proper training and skills?

How do you define rare? How do you define without the proper training and skills?

More people die every year playing golf, and perhaps even bowling. People die skiing, snowboarding, bicycling, skating, surfing, swimming, kayaking, rafting, hiking, climbing... Even whale "watching" has fatalities.

Divers who have had the best training and skills also die; life is not without risk and for me a full life is full of risk.

Perhaps, but I suspect not from lack of training or lack of specific skills.

OK, I needed to include more than the quote I was directly typing to, and more than I actually typed, to see where you might be coming from ...

Is someone saying this fatality was due to a lack of training or specific skills? Was the planned dive within the recommendations for the diver's training &/or experience level?

When I was 5 years old my dad told me I should always follow the "three point rule" when free climbing. He did not then hover over me to make sure I followed the three point rule the next 17 times I made a move on a cliff. He did usually ask me if I had followed the three point rule the next dozen or so times he had to come assist me out of a jam.

You can suspect as much as you want, but if the vast majority of scuba deaths fall within these common groupings <over 40 years old, poor conditioning &/or health, exceeding/ignoring training &/or experience> and the vast majority of golfing and bowling deaths fall within these common groupings <over 40 years of age, poor conditioning &/or health, ignoring/exceeding doctors recommendations> and the fatality we are discussing also falls within most if not all those same groupings ...

 

[K_girl]

I completly understand.. the reason I originally sought out this forum was to gain insight into what might have gone wrong.. I have. Lessons I have learned for the day I dive.. 1. Being OW certified does not mean you have the experience required to handle situations in the water, take it slow and stay with the experienced until your really comfortable in the diving environment. 2. Be certain yuou keep track of how much air you have left and surface before you even think you might be short. 3. Try not to pannick stay calm in emergency situations, weights can be dropped as well as gear to make it to the surface (although I believe the other diver was also running out of air). 4. Take a rescue diving class, it could save a life. ps.. I do wonder why they were outside the confines of the park... drifting maybe..?? I know I drift when I snorkle.. Do some use air more rapidly than others.. because of size and perhapes fitness levels as well as exertion???

Another word of advice. Practice, practice, practice dropping those weights. Do it with your eyes closed and your heavy gloves on. If you are having a problem and cannot ascend - dump just one weight pouch first before trying another. Work on getting the right amount of weight - over-weighting is typically a problem in these types of accidents. Keep reading the forums - you will learn a lot. An air-integrated dive computer will compute the amount of time you have left at the depth you are at, according to how fast you are breathing, as well as the non-decompression time you have left and will give you the lesser of the two. The deeper you are, the more time you need to get to the surface. Rule-of-thumb as a beginning diver - start your ascent with 1,000 pounds or more. If you need to get back to a certain spot before you begin your ascent (i.e. anchor line) add more time. Then experience will teach you what your personal threshhold should be.

So sorry for your loss.