Unknown Coasties searching for missing diver - Pompano Beach, Florida

[Biotech Diver]

Very sad. Most diving off of the Atlantic side of SoFla is not for beginners. Currents can be strong and surface conditions can be rough. Most dives are drift dives and quite often they are hot drops. Then you can have a lot of boat traffic on top of all that. I don’t recommend inexperienced divers go diving off the Florida coast without an experienced diver going with them watching them carefully.

Once your inflator hose gets disconnected it can be hard or impossible to reattach because of the pressure. If that happens there are things you can do like using your mouth inflator or even ditching your weights.

 

[tekkydiver]

I only know a little from my friend who was on the boat. He said they were a pair of brothers, possibly new divers with rental gear. He said his inflator hose was disconnected, he panicked, and drowned while sinking. The brother surfaced yelling for help. That another experienced diver went looking for him and could not find him.

The mother was at the dock screaming at everyone.

This is from the perspective of someone who probably didn't see it happen since he did a full dive. He most likely learned about it once he got back on the boat and everyone was talking.

Take it for what it is, nothing which can be proven as fact, but from someone who was on the boat that day and this is what they interpreted as the events.

Completely avoidable....

 

[chillyinCanada]

Is that what we’re aiming for on ScubaBoard, speculation?

How about accident analysis instead?

Perhaps I’m overly focused on syntax and definitions but speculation in the world of accident analysis and risk mitigation conveys idle curiosity and/or superficial fascination. Speculation is the enemy to figuring out what happened, how it could’ve been prevented and how to make positive, procedural changes to ensure avoidance of a repeat accident or fatality.

Accident analysis focuses on gathering facts, conducting dispassionate analysis and examining procedures.

Big difference.

I was going to use the word analysis but expected to get this kind of reprimand for using that language. In retrospect, I wish that I'd gone with my first instinct.

My apologies to all.

 

[runsongas]

is 6ft seas normal operating conditions for boats from pompano? or is it rougher than average that conditions may have factored in?

 

[Johnoly]

is 6ft seas normal operating conditions for boats from pompano?

It depends..... Sea conditions are not 1 single factor, but rather a combination of height, wind direction, wind speed, wind gust, wave direction, wave period, and especially Depth/location. On Saturday off Pompano, winds were off the leeward land from the westerly and wave direction was from the northwest. I don't have the exact numbers for the others. Pompano diving has many sites very close to shore that could be diveable (but not optimal). Usually, we love west winds and northwest wave direction, but if you choose a dive site way off shore(which we like) that can make the difference between Go-NoGo. I did see boats on the water saturday when looking at the Deerfield beach cam and it looked rolly, but doable near-shore & shallow by the buoy line.

Remember, all accidents are a long 'chain of events', and if just one link was changed{broken} the accident would not have happened.

 

[Jollymon32]

is 6ft seas normal operating conditions for boats from pompano? or is it rougher than average that conditions may have factored in?

So the conditions in the morning were favorable for diving. The wind shift was expected in the afternoon. It seems to have arrived earlier than expected. Of the operators that I know, all were out in the morning. Hydrotherapy, an operator in that same area, as reported by a member of Scuba board, gave the option to the divers to go out or cancel their trip for a refund. It is unclear if Hydro therapy went out or not. There are those divers, who like sporty conditions and thus will go out. Personally, I don’t go out when it’s 3 to 5 or worse.

 

[Steelyeyes]

I set up my own gear. If dive staff does it I still do a once over. Every time I don my BCD/tank I check pressure on my computer, backup computer and analog gauge, I breathe off of both air sources, and put a few puffs of air into my BCD before I ever stand up. I stay focused and don't talk to anyone while I'm doing any of it. I really wish people were more thoroughly drilled on the importance of these few things, and focus on it. RIP to the deceased.

 

[NothingClever]

Hydrotherapy...gave the option to the divers to go out or cancel their trip for a refund. It is unclear if Hydro therapy went out or not.

Close but not quite right.

Hydrotherapy's Captain cancelled, informed us of the cancellation and did not depart the slip on Saturday.