Diver Dead in South Florida

[Wookie]

A result of a captain that does not know how to gauge current, wind, or both.

More like the difference between a Captain and a boat driver, or a paper tiger.

 

[Jcp2]

Death of diver (Palm Beach County Fl): case settled

Case settled.

 

[DEEPLOU]

Death of diver (Palm Beach County Fl): case settled

Case settled.

Some info on settlement

 

[Biotech Diver]

I may have been a little insensitive in some of my other posts in the related thread. I may not agree with who was sued but at the same time what’s most important is that the family of the diver has some closure and that the settlement helps them. In doing some self reflection, who really cares if some insurance company had to pay out a settlement. Any amount of money will never bring her back or help her family in dealing with their loss.

Now let’s hope the the boat captain faces some criminal charges.

 

[cfberry]

Liveboating is inherently dangerous, and absolutely required as a pracrice in the dive industry. This is a tragedy and the specific details of how the diver got into the props are not publicly known. Utlimately the Captain is responcible for that even if she swam headfist into the prop on purpose. The purpose of this section of the forum is not to heap judgement but to learn from tragedy. Lets learn the details of the tragedy and learn from them rather than waste everyone's time by asserting our deep knowledge and virtue signal our opinions.

FYI Prop Shrouds are used to increrase thrust and not to protect things in the water, on commercial (not charter) boats they serve the additional benefit of making it harder to get an umbilical caught in the wheel while "walking the dog."

well said

 

[MrChen]

4 years later, we have an update.

‘Watched in horror:’ Florida man arrested after diver was fatally entangled in boat propeller

According to court records, he took a couple out on his boat for their first dive back in 2020, though the wife was sucked under into the propeller when he put it in reverse.

www.clickorlando.com

MIAMI, Fla. – An Ocala man had his first appearance on Thursday after being charged with several crimes related to his scuba charter business — including “seaman’s manslaughter,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

In a release, USAO officials said that the man — Dustin McCabe, 49 — bought a 48-foot boat dubbed the “Southern Comfort” in March 2020, which he’d told the U.S. Coast Guard was for recreational purposes.

 

[MrChen]

I dove with Dustin and his wife several times. It's unfortunate that he made a mistake, and it cost someone their life.

 

[hroark2112]

This has been too long coming. Captain Ziptie should have been in jail long ago.

 

[LI-er]

4 years later, we have an update.

Thanks for the update. I dived with Dustin many times and was horrified to hear about this accident, although not really all that surprised.

 

[LI-er]

I dove with Dustin and his wife several times. It's unfortunate that he made a mistake, and it cost someone their life.

Much more than a mistake. It was a repeated pattern of recklessness.

Did you know that:

1- Dustin offered full boat charters. I chartered his boat once, filled it with friends and family and 4 other divers that I found on various forums. I found out later on that had there been an accident, I would have been liable, and having no insurance I could have been financially ruined.
2- Sort of related to the first point. Dustin had his insurance through Geico and wrote on the application that the boat was only used for recreational purposes, not as a business. A complete and utter lie to save himself $. Geico tried to get out of paying the victims family because of this deception but were denied.
3- Some divers refer to him as "Captain Ziptie" because he messed around with his boat's mechanics bypassing safety mechanisms to keep the boat operational at minimal cost.
4- He had a repeated pattern of backing right up on divers to pick them up. I always thought it was cool, as I could almost step right onto the boat without so much as a fin kick, never realizing the danger I was in by such a non-standard practice fraught with potential failure points.
5- He had just upgraded to a much larger boat, was unfamiliar with the operation of the vessel and almost ran over a diver the previous day who only avoided a tragedy by pushing off the turning propellors with his speargun. The diver was injured nonetheless. As if that wasn't enough warning that he was in over his head, several divers suggested (or pleaded with him) that he practice with the boat more before taking out divers again. They were ignored. The accident was the very next day which was only the 3rd diving excursion on this boat.
6- He hadn't taken it out much (if at all) prior to the inaugural weekend of the dive accident, and the boat was experiencing mechanical problems.
7- On the way back to the marina following the incident with the diver with the speargun, Dustin did not control the boat properly and it ran aground on the way to a gas dock, causing damage to the rudder.
8- The boat never should have left the marina in the first place as everything was shut down due to COVID restrictions, he broke the law simply by going out that day.
9- No safety briefing was conducted prior to the eventful dive.
10- As per the article posted, he applied for (and received) government COVID money using the business that was no longer in operation because it was shut down after the accident.

If this doesn't tell you was much more than an "unfortunate mistake", I don't know what will. I'm thinking despite all of this a possible 35 year prison sentence is a bit much.

I had an odd coversation with Dustin once about Governor's Riverwalk. I asked him about a wreck called the "Thozina" which seemed to be fairly close to the other 3 wrecks. He said "Oh that's too far away you can't dive it as part of the Wreck Trek. You could do it as a separate dive but it's not really worth it." I shrugged it off, until one day Pura Vida Divers took us to Governor's, and the guide took us to each and every one, including Thozina that required a bit of eastward fin kicking. I get that it might not be possible in a strong North current, but please... How could an experienced Captain like Dustin McCabe not know this?

He once chewed out a young female crew member in front of all the customers for some perceived transgression. Embarrassed the heck out of her for no good reason. So awkward, we all felt bad for her. It said a lot more about him than anything else.

Dustin had some big plans that were very promising. He put a lot of work into the new boat and was posting impressive updates on FaceBook. Stone countertops in the lounge, bean bag chairs, a galley with a freezer that would be filled with ice cream for the divers. He was going to run day trips to the Bahamas, and multi day trips up and down the SE Florida coast. Divers would be dropped off on land overnight and then back on the boat the next day for more diving as it traveled from Jupiter to the Keys. Now THAT sounded like it would have been a blast.