Diver Death in Cayman

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I agree. The density, the pressure, the whole feel of the water is different at 200 ft than at 100 ft, I'm told. You can make a mistake and sink an additional 50 ft or so but to go down an additional 250 ft? I don't think so. Keep in mind that it was a slopping reef, not a hard bottom, so it is very possible he bounced downward, along the slopping reef? He still had his camera at the surface and still had his weights. Bizzare.

Don't know who told you that but if equalizing properly and just swimming along relaxed I know 160 doesn't feel any different than 60. Except in the Great Lakes it's a helluva lot colder and clearer! And a good reg will not breathe any differently than it does on the surface. But sloping bottom or not just what degree of slope are we talking about and how much current was present are other factors. Also being new he nor anyone else would have any idea how bad narcosis would have effected him. THis is why these depths are recommended to be gone to gradually and with enough experience in other areas.

It's why I do not teach AOW to new students fresh out of OW training. Usually their buoyancy and trim have not been refined or worked with enough to make AOW anything more than a sightseeing tour which I do not believe in. I require a minumum of 10 dives post OW for my OW students to do AOW. I may require more from people I don't know or from other agencies whose OW standards are not as strict as ours and mine.

In any case I still have not gotten a clear picture of just how far away he was when the fishing vessel picked him up and exactly what condition he and his gear was in when they found him. Had a current, even a slight one, carried him away from the wall allowed him to drop without hitting it and then encountered an upwelling this could explain a great deal. But again he may not have known these things are possible even and this goes back to basic OW training. THere are so many things one can encounter under water in different areas and environments it is very difficult to cover all of them in a quickie course.

One of the things I do when discussing the dive environment in class is do an initial survey the week before of where my students plan on doing the bulk of their diving. While I love doing local stuff many do not. And so if they tell me they are going to Bonaire or the Virgin Islands or Florida and this where they'll be doing most of their diving I'll get on line and do some research about conditions, customs, and sites and add that to my lecture on planning and the dive environment. I still cover local and general conditions but it is my duty, I feel, to do this for them to make them as safe and enjoy the diving they wish to do as much as possible.

Are there any known places of upwellings in the area or could there be? I'd like to know for myself and my students.
 
Are there any known places of upwellings in the area or could there be? I'd like to know for myself and my students.

In all the dives I've done in that area I've never experienced up or down wellings. There can be some current running mostly parallel to the shore at times, but the current I've experienced is pretty minimal compared to what I've experienced in Florida or Cozumel.
 
In all the dives I've done in that area I've never experienced up or down wellings. There can be some current running mostly parallel to the shore at times, but the current I've experienced is pretty minimal compared to what I've experienced in Florida or Cozumel.

Agree with Cave Diver.
 
Thanks Thal and CD. When I was thinking about the autopsy, I was thinking just a gross examination of major organs, CNS, toxicology screen, etc., and had completely forgotten about something as obvious in a diving accident as whether the eardrums are intact.

fosterboxermom: Apologies if this gets a little morbid. I think this kind of info could be helpful, but again, might not give any more clues at all.

Best wishes.

No problem, I already posted the only part I know and that is his heart, lungs and kidneys were fine. I don't know about anything else. Of course the tox would take a few months to come back.

What I don't want posted is the actual terminology of the autopsy report from beginning to end. And I know Thal knows what I am talking about. It is not a pretty thing to read. Especially if you know the person or it is a loved one.
 
Not trying to be callous, but any word on the autopsy? Given the description of the profile, I'm guessing AGE was at least a contributing factor, if not the cause of death.[/QUOTE]

I don't think age had anything to do with it. Why would you come to that conclusion? Curious? As long as you are healthy.
 
If and when the autopsy becomes available, it may be more appropriate to post a link to it with a "Don't go here if you do not wish to be exposed to sensitive autopsy information!" warning.

That might be a reasonable method.

Best Regards
Richard
 
I don't think age had anything to do with it. Why would you come to that conclusion? Curious? As long as you are healthy.
AGE = Arterial Gas Embolism, not lower case age.
 
I don't think age had anything to do with it. Why would you come to that conclusion? Curious? As long as you are healthy.

fosterboxermom: In this case, "AGE" is being used as an abbreviation.

AGE = Arterial Gas Embolism.

Best wishes.

Edit: Oooops, sorry, that was already answered.
 
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