Scott A McWilliam
Contributor
Crash Dive?
Some diving fatalities are relatively easy to understand and to some degree come to terms with. For example, when the autopsy results show that the deceased had a blood alcohol level of 1.4 and had cannabis and LSD in his body. This does not lessen the loss but it is easier for others to understand and in their own way and time come to terms with the accident.
Other accidents are difficult to come to terms with. For example, when the victim ignores his dive partners three efforts to signal that he is running low on air and wants to turn back and ascend but the victim signals he wants to go on a little bit farther and waves goodbye never to be seen again.
In an internet world with far too many trolls and personal attacks it is difficult to even attempt to float an opinion or comment on the loss of Canadian Film-maker (Sharkwater) Rob Stewart’s passing. His loss is a festering wound in the diving community. There are many press releases on line that provide some insight into what went wrong including the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation article this link will take you to.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/rob-stewart-death-lawsuit-1.4043944
I have no interest and do not advocate trying the case in the court of public opinion on the internet. Everyone here is a grown up if your so inclined you can research the matter and come to your own conclusions. Also, I was not there and only know what I read. Most importantly I am thankful Mr. Peter Sotis (Add Helium) survived the dive. All of the accounts on the accident indicate he arrived on the surface in a distressed (hypoxic) state and required medical assistance on the boat. In diving the only thing worse than a diving fatality is a double fatality.
My thinking on litigation is similar to Winston Churchill’s on democracy itself, it is a horribly flawed system, imperfect in many ways but it is still the best form of government available. Similarly, there are no guarantees any one will find justice in court on any particular action, but generally the truth makes it way to the surface and the majority of court decisions are just. It is superior to stick fighting etc., in terms of just and equitable resolution to life’s problems. Like stick fights, court is also a place it is best to steer clear of if you can. More so in the United States than Canada, litigation often follows a diving fatality. In part, because in a dry suit, rebreather, stage bottles and weights on dry land, a diver is much easier to catch than an ambulance.
Collectively we are limited to whatever degree of faith you still have in the judicial system and prayer for a resolution to the matter. As there is nothing that I can do to change the past this post is about what is happening today.
I would like to think that we can all agree that a dive, in which your dive partner does not survive is a traumatic event. If the event includes your own personal near-death experience and interpretive dance routine, (the Chicken,) on the back deck of the boat, this adds to the trauma experienced. This is also stressful. If it takes three days to recover buddy’s’ body this is very stressful, if you are now the respondent in a civil action this is very, very, stressful. If you get my drift.
If diving is a sport how do you find an umpire?
People react to events like diving accidents in different ways. I am very much reminded of the loss of Reg Barrett on the Gunilda site some years ago. This was before mixed gas diving. Reg was part of a three-man diving team and they were tight, they were all good friends. Reg was British Sub Aquanauts old school. He had swum the English Channel three times and Reg liked to run a dive like a military operation. Above all else Reg believed that his method was superior to everyone else’s. He was not receptive to alternative points of view.
The three of them went ice diving in Lake Simcoe. Rather than using tenders harnesses and ropes the used caving reals with no tenders. Jan gets cold and signals he is heading back to the hole. Reg and Fred continue the dive. When they return to the hole they find Jan dead floating under the ice near the hole. A coroner’s inquest is held and Reg and Fred are raked over the coals and castigated for their diving method.
Reg emerges with a rather unusual point of view. I am right and everyone else is wrong. Particularly others in the diving community who gave evidence at the inquest. On the subject of deep air diving on the Gunilda he told me to my face that while decompression was a serious matter and they all decompressed according to the tables, but due to their many years of intense training and expertise as divers Nitrogen Narcosis and Oxygen toxicity were not a problem for them. I assisted with Reg’s recovery after he failed to come to the surface after a dive on the Gunilda.
Reg is not the one who has to live with that. How is it I failed to float an effective argument to bring him back into the fold?
Mr. Sotis owned and operated the DECO stop web site, which I usually associate with TDI. Readership fell off to next to nothing, the two common complaints were that it had turned into little more than an advertisement for Add Helium and endless trolling. He has now apparently purchased the Rebreatherworld web site where he again is a Platinum sponsor. The top article that slaps you right in the face is a snappy little video, Add Helium’s, How to Dive to 200 Meters. Is it just me? Am I just an old man who has lost touch with what is going on in diving? There are many diving instructors and rebreather instructors on this site. How many of you are producing your own slick video tape advertisement showing people how to dive to 656 feet? Why? I suppose you get the bragging rights of making the dive and the opportunity to buy rebreathers from Add Helium. I am not exactly sure if the twin engine aircraft and high roller illusion are part of the package but you may be able to work something out, or is that part of the purchased price?
I bear Mr. Sotis no ill will or malice. As I have said I am happy he survived the dive and I still believe enough in the courts to hope for an equitable decision for his legal problems. Life is a beautiful thing, even when times are tough. If he has a friend, hopefully someone smarter than me, it might be time for a chat with Peter. He appears to have adopted the “I’m going to show them all” approach to diving.
How high a body count does it take before he re-evaluates his method?
Some diving fatalities are relatively easy to understand and to some degree come to terms with. For example, when the autopsy results show that the deceased had a blood alcohol level of 1.4 and had cannabis and LSD in his body. This does not lessen the loss but it is easier for others to understand and in their own way and time come to terms with the accident.
Other accidents are difficult to come to terms with. For example, when the victim ignores his dive partners three efforts to signal that he is running low on air and wants to turn back and ascend but the victim signals he wants to go on a little bit farther and waves goodbye never to be seen again.
In an internet world with far too many trolls and personal attacks it is difficult to even attempt to float an opinion or comment on the loss of Canadian Film-maker (Sharkwater) Rob Stewart’s passing. His loss is a festering wound in the diving community. There are many press releases on line that provide some insight into what went wrong including the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation article this link will take you to.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/rob-stewart-death-lawsuit-1.4043944
I have no interest and do not advocate trying the case in the court of public opinion on the internet. Everyone here is a grown up if your so inclined you can research the matter and come to your own conclusions. Also, I was not there and only know what I read. Most importantly I am thankful Mr. Peter Sotis (Add Helium) survived the dive. All of the accounts on the accident indicate he arrived on the surface in a distressed (hypoxic) state and required medical assistance on the boat. In diving the only thing worse than a diving fatality is a double fatality.
My thinking on litigation is similar to Winston Churchill’s on democracy itself, it is a horribly flawed system, imperfect in many ways but it is still the best form of government available. Similarly, there are no guarantees any one will find justice in court on any particular action, but generally the truth makes it way to the surface and the majority of court decisions are just. It is superior to stick fighting etc., in terms of just and equitable resolution to life’s problems. Like stick fights, court is also a place it is best to steer clear of if you can. More so in the United States than Canada, litigation often follows a diving fatality. In part, because in a dry suit, rebreather, stage bottles and weights on dry land, a diver is much easier to catch than an ambulance.
Collectively we are limited to whatever degree of faith you still have in the judicial system and prayer for a resolution to the matter. As there is nothing that I can do to change the past this post is about what is happening today.
I would like to think that we can all agree that a dive, in which your dive partner does not survive is a traumatic event. If the event includes your own personal near-death experience and interpretive dance routine, (the Chicken,) on the back deck of the boat, this adds to the trauma experienced. This is also stressful. If it takes three days to recover buddy’s’ body this is very stressful, if you are now the respondent in a civil action this is very, very, stressful. If you get my drift.
If diving is a sport how do you find an umpire?
People react to events like diving accidents in different ways. I am very much reminded of the loss of Reg Barrett on the Gunilda site some years ago. This was before mixed gas diving. Reg was part of a three-man diving team and they were tight, they were all good friends. Reg was British Sub Aquanauts old school. He had swum the English Channel three times and Reg liked to run a dive like a military operation. Above all else Reg believed that his method was superior to everyone else’s. He was not receptive to alternative points of view.
The three of them went ice diving in Lake Simcoe. Rather than using tenders harnesses and ropes the used caving reals with no tenders. Jan gets cold and signals he is heading back to the hole. Reg and Fred continue the dive. When they return to the hole they find Jan dead floating under the ice near the hole. A coroner’s inquest is held and Reg and Fred are raked over the coals and castigated for their diving method.
Reg emerges with a rather unusual point of view. I am right and everyone else is wrong. Particularly others in the diving community who gave evidence at the inquest. On the subject of deep air diving on the Gunilda he told me to my face that while decompression was a serious matter and they all decompressed according to the tables, but due to their many years of intense training and expertise as divers Nitrogen Narcosis and Oxygen toxicity were not a problem for them. I assisted with Reg’s recovery after he failed to come to the surface after a dive on the Gunilda.
Reg is not the one who has to live with that. How is it I failed to float an effective argument to bring him back into the fold?
Mr. Sotis owned and operated the DECO stop web site, which I usually associate with TDI. Readership fell off to next to nothing, the two common complaints were that it had turned into little more than an advertisement for Add Helium and endless trolling. He has now apparently purchased the Rebreatherworld web site where he again is a Platinum sponsor. The top article that slaps you right in the face is a snappy little video, Add Helium’s, How to Dive to 200 Meters. Is it just me? Am I just an old man who has lost touch with what is going on in diving? There are many diving instructors and rebreather instructors on this site. How many of you are producing your own slick video tape advertisement showing people how to dive to 656 feet? Why? I suppose you get the bragging rights of making the dive and the opportunity to buy rebreathers from Add Helium. I am not exactly sure if the twin engine aircraft and high roller illusion are part of the package but you may be able to work something out, or is that part of the purchased price?
I bear Mr. Sotis no ill will or malice. As I have said I am happy he survived the dive and I still believe enough in the courts to hope for an equitable decision for his legal problems. Life is a beautiful thing, even when times are tough. If he has a friend, hopefully someone smarter than me, it might be time for a chat with Peter. He appears to have adopted the “I’m going to show them all” approach to diving.
How high a body count does it take before he re-evaluates his method?
