Diver Dead in South Florida

[DanBMW]

Fatalities or injuries are 100% the captain's fault. His license is a going to be permanently suspended, his new boat is done, he's never going to operate commercially again.

If a diver does something "dumb" or unexpected, doesnt have an SMB, swims the last 15ft at an angle or whatever - guess what? It's STILL the captain's fault if he runs into them. Maintaining an adequate watch in all directions, not starting the engines before checking all around, not engaging the transmission before knowing where all the divers are, knowing how the boat and the spinning bits will move relative to the people, using tag lines, proper ladder design, it's all on the skipper.

Maybe most of the time, but if someone comes up under the boat, there is no way for the Captain to prevent that. I'm not saying that happened in this situation, and most of the time, you are correct. Situations like this are a chain of events and untill all voices are heard, it's all just a guess.

 

[rddvet]

Sometimes backing up a boat (safely) is the only practical option...
Down here in SoCal, one of the best dives is oil rigs. Boats (which need the rig's prior authorization to dive it) are not going under them obviously, and divers are instructed to not scatter around due to random incoming and outgoing work boat traffic (rare, but they are not looking out for divers), so divers stay within the structure [some may remember the consequences of not following these instructions, others can google Dan Carlock].
The procedure used by all boats I have used for these dives is to back up towards the rig, kill the prop and wait at a distance (maybe 10-20 yards?), wave at the divers to swim to the boat in bunches (they want to make sure that if the boat drifts too close from the rig, they can pick up the last diver on the swim step and get away from the structure without having to worry about divers in the water).
Dropping the divers occurs in the opposite way (and by bunches as well).
Now all this works because the briefing is clear about two things:
- divers swim to the rig and stay within it at all times
- divers swim to the boat only when told so

Sometimes divers mistakes (often involuntary) are made. My very first dive on the rig (as a novice diver), my buddy and I descended right at the edge of the rig and due to poor viz, lost track of it. At 60 feet, we decided to give up and surface. We were slightly outside the rig. The boat picked us up and when I asked whether we could be dropped off for a second try, the captain was pretty clear that was not an option.
In retrospect, I am grateful he let us go on the next dive.

As far as the tek diver pick up strategy I mentioned before is concerned, my recollection is that the props were killed far from the shot, and in retrospect, it is probably easier for the captain to keep an eye on the divers this way that try to swing by them and stop early enough to be within swimmable distance. But I have not much experience driving a boat. Definitely something I will chat about with the captain next time!

It might well be that the current accident was a conjunction of tough sea conditions, diver stress, miscommunication, captain unfamiliar with boat handling, etc. where none of these circumstances by itself would have resulted in an accident normally, but where all the Swiss cheese holes aligned and ended up with this tragedy... If so, it could have been prevented right at the dock. In fact, right on Facebook, if I read correctly.

Growing up in Louisiana that seems like an odd way to get divers to the rig. We do a lot of rig diving. It doesn't require preauthorization as most captains know which rigs have lots of work traffic and which don't. We use something called rig hooks. It's a hook that usually is temporarily attached to a mooring pole. You get close to the rig and hook the hook to a piling, then pull off the pole, leaving the hook and mooring line attached to the rig piling. There is also a rope or a cable that allows you to detach the hook without pulling back up to the rig (in order to avoid bashing up against the structure in rough seas). In Louisiana most of the time the boats just use 1 hook, divers drop off the transom of the boat, and pull themselves up a line to the front of the boat and then swim to the rig. If the current is ripping or there's a reason to not allow the rear of the boat to be away from the rig, the captain can use two rig hooks, one to the front and one to the back of the boat. Then the back can stay closer to the rig and the divers don't have to swim over to it. We get some pretty bad currents going through the rigs, but I've still never seen a captain back up to one. Maybe the rigs are a little different there. We're allowed to dive on the outside of the rig structure, but asked to not stray off the rig.

 

[The Chairman]

Weight belts are not awesome tourniquets

Well, pop my bubble. You're the second one to ixnay on the eltbay with a vendetta. So, don't listen to anything I have to say about weight-belts as tourniquets. I've never had to use a tourniquet, on or off shore. Pretty happy about that.

To remind everyone: we're basing this backing up theory on an "apparently backing up" in the first post by @Manatee Diver. Perhaps he can share why he couched it in those terms. He might know, or he might have been guessing. A bit of clarity here would be awesome!

Maybe, @snowdog61 can find an eyewitness that can elucidate on what really happened. I trust both of these guys and perhaps they can fill in a few blank spaces.

Now, about those bubbles. Glare, chop and such really make those hard to read. The newer the captain, the less they'll be able to spot those. @Wookie is a rare bird. He's the most astute captain I know and even HE wants you to carry and use an SMB. My favorite is the Halcyon which is probably the most expensive. Worth it, worth it, worth it. If you don't know how to use it, by all means get it sussed out. It's not hard to shoot it from depth and you might save yourself in using it. Every group ascending should have a flag or an SMB. Since you might get separated during the dive, that means that every diver should include a sausage and finger reel as part of their dive kit. Except for caves. No need for a sausage in there!

 

[The Chairman]

This was reportedly a 6 pack, which often don’t run with a deckhand, so offering to hand your stuff up is nice and all, but...

I think his former boat was a six pack. This one is supposed to be a lot bigger. Maybe @snowdog61 can clarify that as well.

 

[Manatee Diver]

To remind everyone: we're basing this backing up theory on an "apparently backing up" in the first post by @Manatee Diver. Perhaps he can share why he couched it in those terms. He might know, or he might have been guessing. A bit of clarity here would be awesome!

I am just posting stuff that appears to be confirmed by multiple sources.

 

[Wookie]

Cat 4 tactical tourniquet, $25 on amazon, but you need to learn to use it. I teach it's use in my first aid class. We had them on Spree, but then, we had a lot of stuff on a liveaboard that you wouldn't have room for on a dayboat. Although I have one in my commercial diving first air kit, so there is that. All soldiers get one and are trained in it's use.

 

[Manatee Diver]

Cat 4 tactical tourniquet, $25 on amazon, but you need to learn to use it. I teach it's use in my first aid class. We had them on Spree, but then, we had a lot of stuff on a liveaboard that you wouldn't have room for on a dayboat. Although I have one in my commercial diving first air kit, so there is that. All soldiers get one and are trained in it's use.

If you buy it off of Amazon only buy it directly from Amazon. There are a lot of counterfeit tactical medical equipment on the market.

I personally prefer to buy from medical equipment providers.

North American Rescue Combat Application Tourniquet (CAT), Rescue Orange, Gen 7

 

[letterboy]

Cat 4 tactical tourniquet, $25 on amazon, but you need to learn to use it. I teach it's use in my first aid class. We had them on Spree, but then, we had a lot of stuff on a liveaboard that you wouldn't have room for on a dayboat. Although I have one in my commercial diving first air kit, so there is that. All soldiers get one and are trained in it's use.

View attachment 577800

Yes, when used properly they are cheap and effective tools.

I carry one everywhere in the car, in travel bags. Everywhere.

They may not be effective in all cases, but it prevents having to search for something like a belt when seconds count.

It sounds silly but when seconds count help is minutes away.

 

[Manatee Diver]

It sounds silly but when seconds count help is minutes away.

Or an hour or more. If you are in the Gulf diving the middle grounds, the best you can hope for is a medievac.

 

[Wookie]

Or an hour or more. If you are in the Gulf diving the middle grounds, the best you can hope for is a medievac.

Flower Garden Banks, Dry Tortugas, Cay Sal (add in the extra special problem of it being a different country), Galapagos, Andrea Doria, the list of remote liveaboard serviced spots is endless. But even when shore is a half hour away, an arterial bleed is a big deal.