Cozumel Incident 9/4/11

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boulderjohn

Technical Instructor
Scuba Instructor
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Many people have been following the story of the serious DCS incident in Cozumel a few days ago through the thread in the Cozumel forum. Because the victims were extremely well known and popular dives in the Cozumel community, the thread has been different from the normal type of accident thread. It is filled with condolences and well wishes, as well it should be. A thread in the Accident and Incident forum tends to be more clinical and detached, and it is often not pleasant reading for friends and relatives of the victims. For that reason, people have become reluctant to discuss and analyze the details of the incident. Such a discussion is inevitable, though, and since it has already started in that thread, I thought I would start a new thread here to give an place to talk about these issues without spoiling the tone of that other thread.

Here is the thread as a whole. It will take some reading to sort out the details of what happened. I am not going to try to summarize them here lest I be accused of providing misleading information. As is typical in such incidents, we really don't know for sure what happened, but there is apparently some controversy that could lead to frank discussion.

Here is a recent post that hints at some of the details and some of the controversy.
 
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I'm sure the details of this dive will filter out sooner than later to those beyond the dive op community in Cozumel. This definitely deserves a spot in the Accidents and Incidents forum.. (Mod's, feel free to split this off if you so chose) Suffice it to say, the dive they embarked on is one that no recreational diver would do (nor a tech diver without the right equipment, gases & planning), nor were the circumstances such as mother nature precipitated or caused the incident to happen.

Divers coming to Cozumel have absolutely nothing new to worry about.. Follow the dive plan and the dive masters, monitor your depth and gas, and the dive will be just like any other beautiful Cozumel drift dive. Lots of pretty fish, coral, turtles and other sea life..

I lived in Cozumel for the better part of the last year and dove as often as I had the energy.. I saw every reef North to South, most of them dozens of times.. And many reefs that visiting divers rarely see. I've experienced all manner of weather, ranging from the traditional beautiful blue skies to downright scary conditions that made me wish I hadn't gone out that day.. Along the way I saw and experienced some incredible/awesome things.. BUT, the one thing I NEVER experienced (or saw) was a down current that lasted long enough to put me in the danger zone so bad that I would be faced with a deco obligation impossible to overcome.. And taking hits that even a week's worth of chamber rides would be unable to resolve.. These types of incidents rarely happen to divers who follow the rules and dive to the level of their training.

I have experienced down currents (or whatever you want to call them) that moved me down at most 15-20 feet. I've heard the other stories of people experiencing greater depth changes, but (IMO) I believe most of them are exaggerated. The sensation of being propelled down is understandably unnerving to those who don't expect it and especially those who have not experienced it before.. What I can absolutely state with certainty is there isn't a current in Cozumel that is going to take someone down to 300 feet and beyond.. This is bogus.. This is an excuse..

Undoubtedly, many of you are not going to like the fact that I am posting this here and now. That's your right. Believe me, I would much rather not, however this cover-up (however well intentioned it might have been?) and the wide spread attention this thread is garnering is causing more than a few people concern about how safe the diving is in Cozumel. This shouldn't be the case and wouldn't if one diver in the party hadn't come here and posted it.

I've already stated my feelings about Opal and that she and the others are in my prayers.. My heart aches for her and what they all are up against, but I think Opal of all people wouldn't want people to be afraid of diving in Cozumel... Nor would she want the myth of rogue down currents perpetuated on her back..

David
 
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What I can absolutely state with certainty is there isn't a current in Cozumel that is going to take someone down to 300 feet and beyond.. This is bogus.. This is an excuse..

You are dead wrong about if these exist in Cozumel....I take it you have never been to the north end of Barracuda. Are you somehow saying the story here of being caught in downcurrents is not entirely accurate?

Undoubtedly, many of you are not going to like the fact that I am posting this here and now. That's your right. Believe me, I would much rather not, however this cover-up (however well it might have been intentioned) and the wide spread attention this thread is garnering is causing more than a few people concern about how safe the diving is in Cozumel. This shouldn't be the case and wouldn't if one diver in the party hadn't come here and posted it.

So what exactly do you think was intentionally covered up? By all means this should be moved out of respect for those that didn't want anything else but sympathy posted here.
 
You are dead wrong about if these exist in Cozumel....I take it you have never been to the north end of Barracuda. Are you somehow saying the story here of being caught in downcurrents is not entirely accurate?

I'd almost hazard a guess I have more dives at Barracuda than you have in total visiting Cozumel, however I don't know you other than your empty profile fields and your swooping in here, so it's just a guess.
I've probably been in some of the most ripping currents Barracuda has to offer.. Currents that if myself and the other divers were not a seriously known quantity, we wouldn't have been allowed to drop in..
When I mentioned the most down current change I've seen being 15-20 feet, it was here, and in these conditions. I know a whole lot of other people who dive up there regularly and never have I once heard about this rogue killer down current taking anyone on the dive of their life.. Nothing even close.

With regard to the "story" of the down current not being entirely accurate - that is exactly what I am saying.


So what exactly do you think was intentionally covered up?

I guess you have a hard time reading between the lines. Most people are not very proud when a pride dive like this goes FUBAR.
The only reason I'm talking about it at all is due to the negative impact it has started to have in diver perception of the hazards of diving Cozumel.
 
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The questions that I have are:
  1. What was the dive plan for the divers involved? (max depth, bottom time, gas management, gas mix, etc.)
  2. Did a downwelling/down-current occur during the dive?
  3. If a down-current did occur, at what depth did it manifest and how far down did it pull the divers (by best estimates)?
 
I'd almost hazard a guess I have more dives at Barracuda than you have in total visiting Cozumel, however I don't know you other than your empty profile fields and your swooping in here, so it's just a guess.
I've probably been in some of the most ripping currents Barracuda has to offer.. Currents that if myself and the other divers were not a seriously known quantity, we wouldn't have been allowed to drop in..
When I mentioned the most down current change I've seen being 15-20 feet, it was here, and in these conditions. I know a whole lot of other people who dive up there regularly and never have I once heard about this rogue killer down current taking anyone on the dive of their life.. Nothing even close.

With regard to the "story" of the down current not being entirely accurate - that is exactly what I am saying.




I guess you have a hard time reading between the lines. Most people are not very proud when a pride dive like this goes FUBAR.
The only reason I'm talking about it at all is due to the negative impact it has started to have in diver perception of the hazards of diving Cozumel.

What I mean about Barracuda is at the end the wall turns more flat and the current continues to follow the wall out to sea deeper and deeper and I am sure it goes past 300 ft if not 1000's. If you follow the wall rather than surface the current will take you that deep so that is what I was referring to. As far as would it happen on the other sites with vertical walls.........I can see being pulled down maybe 50-100 ft but the question is where were they when and if the downcurrent happened? I would rather wait till we hear or see solid evidence maybe the printout from someone's computer before saying what really happened but I think you might be right sadly.
 
The questions that I have are:
  1. What was the dive plan for the divers involved? (max depth, bottom time, gas management, gas mix, etc.)
  2. Did a downwelling/down-current occur during the dive?
  3. If a down-current did occur, at what depth did it manifest and how far down did it pull the divers (by best estimates)?

Ditto....Heath had Dan insurance does anyone know if they ask for any computer printouts to verify what happened?
 
Divers coming to Cozumel have absolutely nothing new to worry about.. Follow the dive plan and the dive masters, monitor your depth and gas, and the dive will be just like any other beautiful Cozumel drift dive. Lots of pretty fish, coral, turtles and other sea life..

...These types of incidents rarely happen to divers who follow the rules and dive to the level of their training.
What I can absolutely state with certainty is there isn't a current in Cozumel that is going to take someone down to 300 feet and beyond.. This is bogus.. This is an excuse..

...I think Opal of all people wouldn't want people to be afraid of diving in Cozumel... Nor would she want the myth of rogue down currents perpetuated on her back..

David

Thank you, David for writing down things, what are clear for every experienced diver out here. Being Trimix Instructor and Advanced Trimix diver I have dove these sites in Cozumel at 300+ feet and it is not possible to create this kind of scenario we have been presented by participants. Sorry.

It is not rare when local locos go with air to more than 200-250 feet. Yes, so far we have not heard of them in accident news, but it had to happen sooner or later. Myself have been telling and warning those guys not to risk their lives, but…

Does it mean we must judge them? NO. Right now all they need is SUPPORT. Did I donate money? YES, I did. Do I carry them in my prays? NO QUESTION about this – YES.
Just, please let us not create myths to justify negligent acts. Sorry, if my English is not the best (it is not my native language), but I hope you did get my point. All the best to Cozumel. I mean ALL the best.
 
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Btw John....they appear to have some very loyal customers and to preserve the reputation of the business going forward you might want to consider taking the diveshop name out of the title....maybe just list the date?? Just a thought.......
 
Thanks for starting this thread, boulderjohn.

The only first-hand information which I have found was from "Heath" in this post:

OK so let me start by saying my name is Heath and i am the 3rd diver involved in the accident. I was there unlike kevin who seems to be spreading rumors as to what happened and was not even on the island ( so Kevin shut the F*** UP! and stop spreading hearsay and rumors ) I was there for the entire dive that has put the three of us in the hospital and has the three of us taking rides in the chamber twice a day. the three of us were caught in a down current that pushed us down deeper than we had ever planed on going and by the time we recovered we had to buddy breath off of one tank all the way to the surface and were not able to make any stops due to the lack of air.

I know none of you know me but at this point Opal and Gabi are both in bad shape and don't need rumors being spread about what might have happened but they do need to be in your prayers.

From this I gleaned the following:

  • He claims to have been caught in a down current;
  • Said current pushed them deeper than they had planned to go;
  • They had to buddy breathe off a single tank on their ascent; and
  • No stops were made in the ascent owing to a lack of air.

I have found no details of what the dive plan was, or of what equipment they used.

I find it particularly troubling that thee divers had to breathe off a single tank on the ascent. I am an admittedly inexperienced diver, however, assuming that the divers were sufficiently trained (which may not be the case) the idea that three divers have to resort to a single tank means one of two things:

  1. The dive was properly planned with appropriate safety and redundancy but the expedition was plagued by an astronomically improbable number of catastrophic failures; or
  2. The dive was not properly planned with attention to safety and redundancy, resulting in catastrophe;
 
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