Coroner: Diver dies after being found at Dutch Springs

[gkwalt]

It s a crime to begin to point fingers and question "where were the buddies". First none of us were underwater with this diver and don't know the complete circumstances. Secondly, if he was diving with a buddy and they got separated (happens frequently), I don't think any of us could imagine the grief and perhaps guilt that buddy would feel. Additionally, while we all practice buddy diving, there is published evidence that it is not a panacea in preventing diving mishaps. My thoughts and prayers go out to this diver's family and if diving with one, to his buddy

 

[FinnMom]

It s a crime to begin to point fingers and question "where were the buddies".

Please note the part of the penal code you feel is being violated.
It may not be a nice way to present the discussion but crime is the wrong word.

All of us wish the best of strength & comfort for all involved, but condolences have their own thread. This is the correct tread for sharing information and trying to learn something, if only to learn that people really do die diving and we all must remember to take safety/caution/vigilance seriously even in everyday, very familar sites. I'm sorry you were hurt or offended, but please don't jump down anyone's throat if you are reading the accidents column in a condolences frame of mind.

And in turn we can all try to phase our questions more diplomatically. We all know darn good and well that lots of people that are too close and too hurt about an accident are reading these threads too.

 

[tajkd]

It s a crime to begin to point fingers and question "where were the buddies". First none of us were underwater with this diver and don't know the complete circumstances. Secondly, if he was diving with a buddy and they got separated (happens frequently), I don't think any of us could imagine the grief and perhaps guilt that buddy would feel. Additionally, while we all practice buddy diving, there is published evidence that it is not a panacea in preventing diving mishaps. My thoughts and prayers go out to this diver's family and if diving with one, to his buddy

I just came from Dutch and have some news. He was apparently separated from his buddies. While not a crime, this is one reason I dive solo. It's upsetting on two scores as you mentioned. First, that something happened to separate him from his buddies. That he wasn't aware of them or couldn't get to them. Second, that his buddies lost him. That they weren't aware of him either. Unfortunately, as bad as they may feel, they may have some responsibility.

I can't imagine either what I would feel if I lost my buddy this way. I do know that when I have a buddy, I take the responsibility seriously enough to stay within sight or preferably, within reach, of him. We communicate our intentions constantly and often check on each other (OK).

btw - I saw something like this happen today on my SI. two buddies looking around for each other but not following the basic lost buddy procedure. Many minutes went by while these guys took turns surfacing and looking around, then submerging again. It's a skill that perhaps bears relearning in a refresher course.

 

[gkwalt]

FinnMom: The use of the word "crime" was a euphemism, not to be taken literately. Thank you for the clearing up what the purpose of this thread is. (sarcasm) Enough said!

I have a remote connection to this incident and certainly understand the value of this forum. There is a face, a person, maybe a family and friends behind every scuba death. But in examining scuba fatalities, there are usually perfect storm of events that lead to the ending. Just becoming separated from a buddy is not a fatal event. Trained solo divers dive without a buddy all the time. I guess my question is what was the actual cause of this diver's death. Did he have an OOA situation, a free flow, barotrauma, or a coexisting medical issue, i.e. heart attack? Once that is established the question would be could the death have been prevented by the buddy system. As I said before the buddy system is not a panacea. The more I dive, the more I am convinced, I am my own best diving buddy.
I don't wish to direct the tone of this discussion, but it seems to me that the pros and cons of the buddy system may be illuminated by the tragic accident. If strictly employed, would the buddy system have prevented this outcome? When are buddies more of a liability than a help?

 

[mdb]

I have been diving mostly solo for 40+ years. You are responsible for yourself.

 

[Jan Kruger]

Well being one of the normal divers with basic skills level , I dive with a buddy . Always. It has saved my bacon more than once. I have 7-10 buds that I dive with & trust with my life. We know each other very well. So obviously being a normal diver the first thing that comes to mind ...dive buddy ? We have a dive plan and we stick to it. If the viz is bad we stay close together.
I am sorry for your loss and it is always tragic to hear about a dive related death. We don't mean to be critical ..we are trying to learn what happened

 

[dfk70]

Does anyone have any information on the actual cause of death?

 

[Phil_C]

I always find threads like this interesting when the subject of buddy separation comes up and then people come along and start blaming the buddy ! Unless the buddy was to blame for the separation then they can (in my view) certainly not be held accountable for what happens to their buddy after they have separated.

Buddy separation does not cause accidents by itself, however buddy separation does (often significantly) reduce your options to deal with problems that occur after separation, but do not in itself cause that problem normally.

All agencies in my experience teach a separation drill, frequently along the lines of look around, then retrace steps for a minute and if you do not find your buddy surface and WAIT for your buddy there. If they don't surface within a minute or so then raise the alarm and a proper supported search can be conducted. Not an individual search by a worried/stressed buddy who is now diving solo and could well be low on air - now themselves balanced finely on the very edge of that incident pit.

In this case without knowing what the un-recoverable situation/accident/medical issue that led to the divers death was, we can only wildly speculate whether or not a competent trained buddy still in contact with the deceased would have made any difference or not. It may be that whatever happened to the diver would have happened whether they had separated or not.

Speculation will get us nowhere without some facts to base our discussions on - Phil.

 

[Ayisha]

In many cases, we don't know what precipitated a diver's death because no one was around to witness it. The cause of death is often listed as drowning, and there may be no information on what the triggering event was. At the very least, if a victim's buddy was there to offer assistance, summon help, and know what generally occurred, it would help a family to know what happened, and might even give some victims a fighting chance.

It's not about blaming the buddy. It's about closure for everyone and extracting lessons to try to prevent similar accidents in the future.

 

[RJP]

As I understand the situation, the victim had "buddied up" with a buddy pair that he didn't actually know. He was essentially "diving alone with them."

As others have mentioned above, my take is that I'd rather know I'm alone, than think I have a buddy.