Unknown Coasties searching for missing diver - Pompano Beach, Florida

[Steelyeyes]

I don’t understand the technique of lifting inflator to add air, you can’t just press the inflator button where it sits?

I’d have suggested you just cut the cable as to get rid of that feature, tugging on inflator hose to dump air is a dumb feature manufacturers insist on using.

New gear, wearing gloves, made it easier to find the inflator button. I don't do that in my Ranger because I have a few hundred dives in it.

 

[Biotech Diver]

I was thinking his body was carried north by the current. I know people who found lost scooters many miles north of where they were lost by a diver. They knew this because the scooter had identifying information on it that they used to contact the owner and return it. I guess it makes more sense a scooter will travel farther with the current than body would.

 

[Divin'Papaw]

To add to good comments about ensuring your tank is open before splashing, I’d suggest you also ensure your valve is reachable while wearing your gear and that you familiarize yourself with opening the tank from that position.

THIS!!

At least once every diving weekend I reach back, grab the valve, close it a tad, & open it back up. Keeps the muscle memory locked in on where it is, how it feels, etc.

 

[DandyDon]

My OW class taught me to turn the valve all the way on, then ¼ closed, but I've had boat hands turn it off then ¼ on which I didn't notice until I got down several feet so I started asking them to turn it all the way and leave it. That way it was either all on or all off and I knew before striding or rolling. One time my home bud turned mine all the way off which I easily noticed before striding. I did give him a hard time of that: "You turn screwdrivers every day so what part of lefty loosy is hard?"

 

[Biotech Diver]

I was on a dive off of Boynton when they partnered me up with a female. We both entered the water and held onto the the line. She said she couldn't breath through her regulator so she asked me to check her tank valve and I did, and it was closed, so I opened it for her. She obviously had enough buoyancy to stay afloat, but more importantly, her dive buddy (me) was there to help her out. I opened it back up and we descended.

Things on a dive boat can get really hectic for the last 15 or 20 minutes before people are going to start stepping off the boat to dive. Everyone is trying to get their gear ready and on and there is hardly any space to move around on a full boat. The boat crew are trying keep things moving because nobody wants to lose dive time because someone in front of you trying to exit the boat is not ready or are having problems with something. Nobody wants to be that guy that delays everyone. In all the chaos, people can lose focus and forget the basics. I can totally see how it can happen to someone to enter the water without their valve on, but if you habitualize your prep routine, it helps. I'm OC when it comes to some things like locking the door to my truck multiple times when I walk away from it, or checking a couple times to make sure I have my wallet or checking multiple times to make sure my stove is off after I'm done cooking. I have the same OC behavior when I'm on a dive boat with things like my air valve and taking a few breaths through my regulator or checking my pressure gauges. Find a system that works for you and stick to it.

Forgot to say, all my dive tanks , except for my pony bottle, have a vindicator valve that gives you a quick visual if it's open or closed. Of course this doesn't help me when I'm on a dive trip and have to use a rental tank, so it's something I have to be mindful of in those scenarios when I'm out of my routine.

 

[Pearlman]

But the one thing most DMs consistently do before they allow a diver to giant stride off the boat is check that the diver's air is turned on... right?

Many years back in Puerto Galera, a helpful boat boy stopped me and turned my valve OFF just moments before I was about to do the backflip. I’m like WTF?!! I pushed him away firmly removed the BCD I had donned stood up and turned the valve ON myself once again. I didn’t want his tainted hands to bring me bad luck by touching my gear again, so I didn’t let him correct his mistake while I just sat there - simply couldn't trust him anymore given that he didn’t even know which way to turn the knob for open vs closed. The very last thing I always do before hitting the water is inflate my wing/bcd and take a few deep breaths from both the regs. This helps me confirm that my inflator hose is connected and pumping air into my wing…

By Sunday night, the USGC said it suspended search efforts for Levine pending the development of new information after searching about 1,470 square miles over the weekend.

I am curious - is it the norm to do a surface only SAR effort for divers that sank deep into the depths? Or was there a team of public safety divers doing a search underwater as well for this mishap?

 

[NothingClever]

It wasn't that he distrusted the staff at the resort we were at - it was that he wanted me to be responsible for my own safety, and be capable in case I dove somewhere where the staff wasn't as capable. I don't mind someone double-checking me, it's kind of nice - but it's my gear, my life - my responsibility.

That’s how I see it, too.

Concur 100%.

 

[boulderjohn]

The victim's mother just posted in the Florida thread, where this incident was also being discussed. According to her the boys were highly experienced, with many dives both locally and in ither countries. She believes the stories being told are highly inaccurate.

 

[NothingClever]

I am curious - is it the norm to do a surface only SAR effort for divers that sank deep into the depths? Or was there a team of public safety divers doing a search underwater as well for this mishap?

Great question.

There’s an international underwater cave rescue and recovery organization made up of skilled divers who maintain a close working relationship with LE organizations to augment their search and rescue/recovery operations.

I started a thread asking whether there’s an equivalent organization for Florida’s open water Atlantic coast in the Florida sub-forum.

 

[DanBMW]

In diving, AIR is LIFE. That is what keeps you alive and you are ultimately responsible for make sure that you get it. Two very simple tests, after everyone else has touched your gear, before you enter the water are to hit your BC inflator button briefly to see if it works and is connected and to then take three (not several) good deep breaths from your regulator, as you look at your SPG. Both to be done after everyone else has had their say with your equipment and no one touches it after you do these tests. All of the other problems can be solved as long as you are breathing.