Coroners findings New Zealand April 2003

[deepdiverbc]

This is another coroners report I found online. It outlines a dive made in NewZealand during a masters course that took place in a high current area. They have since posted signs at the site advising that no diving take place at any time.

Link
http://www.divenewzealand.com/accidents/frenchpass.html

The obvious leason from this report is to be very sure of your current slack times and only dive these areas during times of minimal tidal exchanges.

We have a site in B.C. called the Sechelt (Skookumchuck) Rapids that divers go to frequently and this month the maximum current is in excess of 17.02 knots but the following weekend the current is only 1.2 knots. These sites are spectacular to dive and full of life. I don't agree that they should be closed due to an accident where someone has misjudged the slack current.

I would like to hear opinions on safety measures that can be taken when diving sites like this. Here are some of my thoughts.

1. Be very sure about the slack tide time and choose a date when the tidal exchange is at a minimum. This means consulting a current table, talking to local dive ops that know the area and doing a physical check of the current when on site as outlined in item 2.

2. Run out a bouy on a line or watch the seaweed to confirm that slack tide is approaching.

3. I overweight myself a bit (keeping within the capabilities of my BCD capacity) so that I have sufficient negative bouancy if needed to counteract any upwellings.

4. Carry a surface marker bouy.

5. Don't dive with cheap fins.

6. Know the duration of the slack tide and get out when your time is up.

7. Plan your dive to end in a back eddy well away from areas of high current.

8. Never run the dive boat through a pass when currents are moderate to high. The comment in the report about the dive boat doing 360's made me wince. A friend of mine was on a boat that ran the narrows at Seachelt Rapids last year. The current exchange wasn't very high but a whirlpool appeared and caused his boat to loose lift on the port side trim tab which caused the 28ft bayliner to tip to one side almost burrying the gunwhale. They were very lucky.

 

[greg somers]

I remember discussing this with other NZ Instructors at the time it happened. The instructor wasn't qualified to train this course and the students were training at AOW at the time and were not capable to dive this site at all. French Pass only has a one hour slack and you can see the whirlpools from the surface. They would have been visible when they dived as they were 2 hours late for the slack. I've done some serious current dives myself and I would never have dived there except at optimal conditions. The whole region has very high tides and the weather can turn suddenly. The various agency Divemaster courses in NZ that run full time for 3 months takes you from Zero to DM and incorporates other interests like tourism, outdoor pursuits, retailing, and general industry training and from my understanding this group wasn't even qualified as Deep divers and were doing fill in dives to get to 60 dives. A big collective sigh of relief went through the country when that operator got the chop. More than an entire years deaths in NZ diving was reached in that one incident.

 

[cdiver2]

This is another coroners report I found online. It outlines a dive made in NewZealand during a masters course that took place in a high current area. They have since posted signs at the site advising that no diving take place at any time.

Link
http://www.divenewzealand.com/accidents/frenchpass.html

The obvious leason from this report is to be very sure of your current slack times and only dive these areas during times of minimal tidal exchanges.

We have a site in B.C. called the Sechelt (Skookumchuck) Rapids that divers go to frequently and this month the maximum current is in excess of 17.02 knots but the following weekend the current is only 1.2 knots. These sites are spectacular to dive and full of life. I don't agree that they should be closed due to an accident where someone has misjudged the slack current.

I would like to hear opinions on safety measures that can be taken when diving sites like this. Here are some of my thoughts.

1. Be very sure about the slack tide time and choose a date when the tidal exchange is at a minimum. This means consulting a current table, talking to local dive ops that know the area and doing a physical check of the current when on site as outlined in item 2.

2. Run out a bouy on a line or watch the seaweed to confirm that slack tide is approaching.

3. I overweight myself a bit (keeping within the capabilities of my BCD capacity) so that I have sufficient negative bouancy if needed to counteract any upwellings.

4. Carry a surface marker bouy.

5. Don't dive with cheap fins.

6. Know the duration of the slack tide and get out when your time is up.

7. Plan your dive to end in a back eddy well away from areas of high current.

8. Never run the dive boat through a pass when currents are moderate to high. The comment in the report about the dive boat doing 360's made me wince. A friend of mine was on a boat that ran the narrows at Seachelt Rapids last year. The current exchange wasn't very high but a whirlpool appeared and caused his boat to loose lift on the port side trim tab which caused the 28ft bayliner to tip to one side almost burrying the gunwhale. They were very lucky.

I am very surprised that not one person in the group could get the correct slack water time from the tables, gross negligence.
I agree with you 100% Tables, local knowledge, and observe

 

[Diver0001]

....snip....

I would like to hear opinions on safety measures that can be taken when diving sites like this. Here are some of my thoughts.

1. Be very sure about the slack tide time and choose a date when the tidal exchange is at a minimum. This means consulting a current table, talking to local dive ops that know the area and doing a physical check of the current when on site as outlined in item 2.

2. Run out a bouy on a line or watch the seaweed to confirm that slack tide is approaching.

3. I overweight myself a bit (keeping within the capabilities of my BCD capacity) so that I have sufficient negative bouancy if needed to counteract any upwellings.

4. Carry a surface marker bouy.

5. Don't dive with cheap fins.

6. Know the duration of the slack tide and get out when your time is up.

7. Plan your dive to end in a back eddy well away from areas of high current.

8. Never run the dive boat through a pass when currents are moderate to high. The comment in the report about the dive boat doing 360's made me wince. A friend of mine was on a boat that ran the narrows at Seachelt Rapids last year. The current exchange wasn't very high but a whirlpool appeared and caused his boat to loose lift on the port side trim tab which caused the 28ft bayliner to tip to one side almost burrying the gunwhale. They were very lucky.

You forgot

9. get training in diving in and dealing with currents

10. dive within your comfort zone. Don't hang in there if you're not feeling right. Bail and dive another day.