Catalina island diver missing - California

[Baker_Dive]

My PLB was considerably costlier and the canister was around $100. Which are you talking about?

Maybe he’s talking about vhf for $100, I wouldn’t put it in a $10 case though.

Btw, what PLB do you have?

 

[DandyDon]

Btw, what PLB do you have?

I was happy enough with my ACR 2882 (the one that floats if fumbled at sea, not the 2881), carried it for six years, had the battery replaced and the unit tested by a reputable shop, but then I clumsily lost it and the canister after the last day of diving on a trip. My trip insurance paid well tho, so I sprung for the ACR 425 View and a new canister. Pricey, but if I crunch the numbers of the original purchase, the battery service, the insurance claim, etc., it's not so much over the eight years I have carried one. Additionally, it's great insurance for the next few years, and if I ever have to use it, the company will replace it with a new one.

There are PLB1s and other models offered online for less, but even if new, they may be old stock so you may need battery service sooner. Standby battery life starts with manufacture date.

 

[dom262]

Ugh, I am not a fan of reading this type of stuff. Im heading to SOCal Friday for the bugs and don’t want to be left.

Reminds me of being on a liveaboard in Bahamas and they had the diver check in and check out tags that you moved. It was a joke, people would move other peoples tags, or the crew would move peoples tags. Im a firm believer that NO ONE should touch another divers tag, under zero circumstances. That tag is my lifeline and it was just non chalant about it.

Granted the crew were counting the spots divers put tanks/gear in when they returned, BUT how easy would it be for a deckhand to throw an extra tank and bcd in a spot real quick and the count goes awry and they pull off.

I did tell the captain my concerns and emailed the company I would like the divers tag to be more strictly enforced on only touching it if it’s yours.

In the past on the CeeRay, prior to changing locations, they do a visual role call prior to moving. The DM for the trip will go down the passenger list and must see the person answer, in person.
I am not going to speculate on this incident, but if I was able to, I would go out with the CeeRay and her crew tomorrow.

 

[Ken Kurtis]

There are a number of cases of Southern California dive boats leaving divers behind adrift sometimes with fatal results.

Without getting too far into the weeds on this, that is simply NOT true. It is an extremely RARE occurrence, especially given the number of boat dives done by CA divers. If you want to claim "a number of cases" state some of them them specifically.

Caveat for the rest of this: I was retained as a defense expert in both cases mentioned below.

The woman who was left at ship rock

Yes, the boat (not the Cee Ray) left the dive site after completing a roll call that did not include her name because she was perceived as crew that day. However, there's no evidence that she ever surfaced and her body has never been found/recovered. So to imply that the boat leaving the site was the cause of her death is extremely misleading and not supported by any actual evidence.

or the gentleman who was drifting in the channel overnight and noticed by a boy scout doing night watch that happened to be cruising by. Very lucky and I think the settlement in that case was fairly substantial.

Drifiting Dan did not drift overnight. He drifted away (also not the Cee Ray) from offshore oil rigs for a little under 5 hours during the day. He was spotted by Boys Scouts on a sailing ship doing man-overboard drills. He also (IMHO) paid no attention to the dive protocols for the rigs as he surfaced (at the edge of a fog bank) in an area roughly 400 yards away and dnown-current from the rigs, an area where no diver had ever surfaced before and where no diver has surfaced since. Dan made NO attempt to swim back to the boat (by his own testimony) as he felt it was their job to find him. (He had also done this once before on a trip to Fiji.) The trial jury award - not a settlement as this went all the way - was a bit under $2 million but it was reduced to $1.7 million because the jurors felt Dan bore some responsibility for what happened.

 

[Ken Kurtis]

Baker_Dive:
"In the past on the CeeRay, prior to changing locations, they do a visual role call prior to moving. The DM for the trip will go down the passenger list and must see the person answer, in person."

To be very clear about this fatality, it is NOT a case of the boat moving without the diver on board. He didn't come back from the dive. Whether they discovered this through a role call or because a buddy said he was missing, I don't know. But this isn't a case of the boat leaving the site (Torqua Springs) and then discovering the missing diver.

 

[Baker_Dive]

Baker_Dive:
"In the past on the CeeRay, prior to changing locations, they do a visual role call prior to moving. The DM for the trip will go down the passenger list and must see the person answer, in person."

To be very clear about this fatality, it is NOT a case of the boat moving without the diver on board. He didn't come back from the dive. Whether they discovered this through a role call or because a buddy said he was missing, I don't know. But this isn't a case of the boat leaving the site (Torqua Springs) and then discovering the missing diver.

Baker_Dive:
"In the past on the CeeRay, prior to changing locations, they do a visual role call prior to moving. The DM for the trip will go down the passenger list and must see the person answer, in person."

To be very clear about this fatality, it is NOT a case of the boat moving without the diver on board. He didn't come back from the dive. Whether they discovered this through a role call or because a buddy said he was missing, I don't know. But this isn't a case of the boat leaving the site (Torqua Springs) and then discovering the missing diver.

I never implied this was the CEE Ray that I felt was unsafe. If my post led to that suspicion I apologize. CEE Ray would have have us report bunk number and name prior to leaving. They verified boat passengers multiple times. As I have said earlier in this thread, the CEE Ray is a competent experienced crew that is established and is very safe.

The boat I was referencing was in Bahamas.

 

[Hatul]

I get the impression from reading these case reports that they're overly represented by hunting divers, whether it's lobsters, abalone, etc. Perhaps they get distracted and don't realize they're in trouble.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

I get the impression from reading these case reports that they're overly represented by hunting divers, whether it's lobsters, abalone, etc. Perhaps they get distracted and don't realize they're in trouble.

Not abalone, not anymore.
Abalone was a Norcal thing, and yes about 8 freedivers per year on average would die abalone diving.
People can get obsessed hunting and make bad decisions. They could take risks that they normally wouldn’t take otherwise.
I’m not saying that was the case here because nobody really knows what happened.
Condolences to his friends and family.

 

[Dan]

Who cares about others opinions? I dive with plb, , dsmb, dive alert, mirror, and a 25foot long streamer I can deploy. I want to get a marine radio and a laser pointer. My fear is being stranded in open ocean.

When your stranded in open ocean and have hours upon hours to think, you’d kick yourself pretty bad if you cheaper out.

I carry these

 

[DandyDon]

I carry these

I get irritated with the news stories of hikers. I saw one today of a young woman who'd been hiking alone, broke a leg, spent two nights in the wild, made it to a railroad kept open only for tourist trains, but was spotted on the other side of a river by a passenger. Another couple survived a 1,000 foot sliding fall in bad shape and the wife had to go for help since she had fewer broken bones than he. Think that they'll buy PLBs now?

Carrying mine on dives is not at all a problem. The canister is buoyant and floats off of my hip out of the way, so why not? Last weekend I rode with my daughter (whose driving scares me), granddaughter, two greatgrands, and an exchange student thru 600 miles of desert roundtrip and you better believe I had it in my backpack at my feet. Cheap insurance.