Diver Death on the Algol?

[Rick L]

It's one thing to say someone is fat but fat slob is a insult!!!
What does being overweight have to do with being a slob(ie: messy dirty lowlife) It was a very bad choice of wording.
Rick L

 

[O-ring]

It's one thing to say someone is fat but fat slob is a insult!!!

So maybe I have been reading too many of Trey's posts lately

Like I said, no offense intended. The context of what I was getting at is that certain activities that require a high level of athletic ability are not generally within the realm of possibility for those that have not trained for them (by training I mean regular exercise as well as skills training - for example an Olympic runner...they train nonstop in the gym as well as train on their running technique).

That being said, if you consider extended range technical diving (like the Doria) as being on par with these types of activities, we have a lot of sub-par athletes in our sport that think just because they seem to be able to breathe off a regulator that qualifies them for the most grueling expeditions diving has to offer. There is a big difference between the Doria and a Bonaire reef...

 

[Rick L]

I agree that you should not dive beyond your physical abilitys!
I just think you could have said it without insults!!
Rick L

 

[O-ring]

I just think you could have said it without insults!!

If it makes you feel better you can insult me all you want

 

[Kaffphine]

I've been waiting to reply to this thread until I could talk with three of my friends that crew on the Seeker. I wanted to add more than just "Seeker of Death" "Crowell knows what he's doing" arguments to the table. This is a dive report that was sent out through the dive shop. He does discuss the dives that he got in, but I don't want to edit it.


Dive report from Rick Huck
________________________________


It's taken me awhile to collect my thoughts for this dive report. That's because it's not just a summary of a dive. Diving brings with it many challenges as we all know. Since I began diving I have faced many of these. Now and then new ones present themselves. Sunday was that kind of day. Aboard the Seeker, I dove on the Algol, a Navy cargo ship 460' long sitting in 130' of water. One of the "Thursday Night Crazies", Terry Martzall, was
one of the mates. Considering that I drove to Jersey by myself and didn't really know anyone, he was a welcome relief. He was also a great help in helping me plan my dive. A close friend of his, Brian, was on board and we struck up an immediate buddy-ship (no pun intended). We were going to go check out the lobsters not far from the wreck. The seas were a bit "snottier" than was expected. The Seeker was filled with a wide variety of divers in all shapes and sizes. Brian and I waited a bit to let some of these people get in ahead of us. We planned on meeting at the wheelhouse where we were tied in. Since a few divers got in between us upon entry, when I got down he was nowhere to be found. I had figured he was off to the lobster condos. I found out later that he had some reg problems and never made it down. I decided to stay on the superstructure and check out photo ops, which were plentiful, for dive #2. Tons of fish and other marine life were all over this huge artificial reef. I was in and out of the wreck as I headed toward the bow. I couldn't wait to take pictures. Soon it was time for my ascent. There was a bit of a current going up the anchor line so I was glad that I had my Jon line. I passed Terry on the way up as he had set
the hook and then did one long dive.

I was about 15' above him when another diver came down the line with a slate reading "Have to medovac diver will return to get you". Little did I know of the drama that had unfolded on the surface as I enjoyed the 25' vis and 50 degree temperatures below. Then the anchor line became limp. I still had 5 minutes to go. The dark shape that was above me was no longer there.
When I surfaced the Seeker was some 40 yards away from me heading in the opposite direction. I signaled "ok" as they disappeared into the waves. I looked around and I was in an open ocean hanging on the mooring ball all alone. I told myself to relax and just breathe, they will be back. Terry soon popped up from his stops and joined me. At least I had company. But
my thoughts were of the divers onboard the boat. What had happened? As we clung together water and sky were the only things visible, a very unsettling feeling. Then came the sound of a chopper off in the distance. We could hardly see it that far away. We waited and waited. The chopper passed overhead to check on us as it headed to the medical facilities. Again we
signaled our "ok". He waved and continued on. We waited even longer. Then, finally, the Seeker came back into our sights. She never looked so good. Safely onboard we learned that a diver had had a heart attack shortly after getting into the water. Capt. Dan Crowell and crew had administered CPR and he was stable with good color when airlifted off the boat. News came in later, sadly, that he didn't make it. My heart went out to his family and to his friends that were onboard. I couldn't imagine the anguish
of collecting his gear at the end of the trip. I realize that bad things can happen. As divers we must keep ourselves in good physical and mental condition especially for the stresses that our sport has upon us. Be prepared and dive safely. I was very glad when I arrived home to be back in the arms of my wife.

 

[Paul168341]

Thanks for the post, Jess. It makes you stop and reflect. After hearing various reports, I'm sure that all can agree that this latest tragedy was nothing more than bad coincidence. Its probably true that the unfortunate victim could've had a heart attack anywhere at any time. Sadly, it happened Sunday on the Algol.

These things do happen, they happen everywhere, all the time. However, as divers, we all still must do our best to try and prevent as many as we can. Not ALL accidents are unavoidable.

I'll get off the soap box now. :box:

 

[O-ring]

I was on the boat (well actually into my dive) when the 'accident'
occurred.
The boat was 3/4 chartered by a group of rec divers. Seas had been
forecast in the 2-3 range, but turned out to be 4-5 with an occassional
bigger one. Not really a problem if you're used to it, and know what
to do.
The guy that died was 260# + He evidently entered the water about
15-20
minutes after my buddy and I did. By all accounts he DID NOT DESCEND.
He
ran into problems on the surface at the down line. He was getting
tossed
around on the surface and lost track of his inflator. He struggled and
I
surmise paniced, and stressed to the point of heart failure
When we reboarded the boat 45 minutes into the situation he had 6
people
around him doing CPR and rescue breathing/baggin with 100% O2. Of
these
people 1 was a doctor (he asked if I was Wendell at the beginning of
the
day, guess we look alike???) and 1 was a first responder. The others
were
instructors and crew.
As far as I can tell (I'm far from an expert at this) The rescue went
extremely well, and had the guy not had a massive heart attack. The
only
part that I understand did not dgo well was getting him back aboard the
boat. Due to his weight it took about 5 minutes to get him back
aboard. This is a critical time, and five minutes could mean the
difference. Personally I think he was long gone as soon as it
happened. The helo was now on its way, but 2 divers were still in the
water. He waited as long as possible, but ultimately had to get
underway
in order to get the victim off to the helo. He never regained
consciousness, never had a pulse, and never breathed on his own.
I think the only critism that can be found here is that the divers were
unable to scram their deco to reboard the boat. And having been there
I
don't think it would have been in anyones interest to have these guys
abort
their deco. The seas were only 5 feet, and they only spent an
additional
20 or so minutes in the water. They were clipped off to the down line
so
they were not going to drift off to Newfoundland or anything. having
them
about would have meant there would have been 1 confirmed dead dive, and
now
2 potentially bent divers (reference to George's dicussion on proper
deco,
and decoing correctly so you can get out in such an emergency)
The real risk on any boat up here comes more from the other divers, not
the
vessle or in this case the Captain, as ALL of the dangers in this case
were
inflicted by the situations other divers caused (not being fit,
improper
deco, etc) - This is where the discussion should be directed, not a
pissing
match. I'm sure its more of an issue on trips like the Doria when he
says
he'll cut your line, but not in this case, and not on the near offshore
stuff.
And as for any Capt telling people they can't dive because they don't
think
the person is fit, or they don't like their rig, or don't like their
gas
selection, or deco, or anything else - look what that opens up. If the
person is certified and has the experience - would YOU want some
Captain
telling you he does not like your DIR rig and not letting you dive???
It
works both ways folks. Plus the fact that it opens up a whole new
world of
liability to the captain if he needs to be the final screener. About
the
only thing they can legally get away with is to check the log book to
make
sure the person isn't a full trimix quarry diver
I'll probably get flamed for this as endorsing the whole situation, but
I've seen enough on this subject, and all the arm chair QB'ing this is
going on without anybody having been there - enough already. The fact
is
he does know what hes doing as far as handling the boat, and conducting
surface operations. How he dives is up to him, but is not a factor in
anything that went on.
Putting the nomex on right now (J-TD-C)
Bill

 

[MB104]

With the two year anniversary approaching, I feel compelled to write about this topic....so....

Time to get this post back to the original topic, which is the death of Jim Ryan while diving from the Seeker on the wreck of the Algol.

Let me make this perfectly clear...Dan Crowell did NOT cause this death. Jim was in the water but had not yet descended. He most likely overheated in his drysuit while he sat in the heat in his drysuit for about 22 minutes while he let other divers in the water first. This was his choice, nobody elses. The cause of death was undetermined. I was supposed to be on that dive with Jim that day, but I was asked at the last minute (the evening before) and didn't have the right gas in my tanks for this wreck, so I had to pass. I know that Jim wasn't in the world's best physical shape, but he wasn't a slouch either. Jim cycled regularly and had been given clearance by a doctor to dive.

Please stop bashing the boats or Captains when divers die. Dan Crowell had more fatalities because he ran the most charters to the most sought after dive sites. His boat was (and still is by many) known as the best dive operation in the area. His boat has all of the safety equipment you would expect and then some more. Do you blame a pilot because a skydiver jumps out of his plane and dies? Do you blame the owner of a racetrack when a racecar driver loses control and crashes into the wall? I could go on with these metaphores, but you get the idea.

 

[MikeFerrara]

Its time to let this one go.

They did let this one go. If you look you'll see that the last post was almost 2 years ago. You just brought it back to the top of the heap so the thread might get some action now.

 

[Linda Ryan]

Hello,
This is my first time on this chat line. I've just read several accounts regarding the Seeker. Since the names of the lost divers were not mentioned, I cannot tell if any or all of them were in reference to my husband, Jim Ryan, who made his last dive on July 7, 2002 on the Seeker. Jim loved diving. He was active in the bicycle club and rode his bike to Trenton and back...that's over 100 miles in the same day. Was, in fact, a big guy, but had a routine stress test about two weeks before the dive. No problems. He did not have a heart attack or a stroke. While his final cause of death was declared "undetermined" the final conclusion was that he stayed on board much too long after getting into his drysuit. Look at the manual that comes with your drysuit. It clearly states that you could become overheated in a brief period, which could result in serious injury or death....they're right. It can and it did. I find no fault with the Seeker, or Captain or the crew. My Jim and I lived it day to its fullest. Many divers were surprised when I became certified 3 months after Jim died. I've been diving ever since and can now appreciate, first hand, what a great sport diving really is. I love diving and just ordered my first drysuit. I've done a lot of diving in the past two years, figured I now had enough dives to move onto drysuit diving. Perhaps I'll run into some of you soon. I'm not hard to find. 5'2", 110 pounds, blonde hair, blue eyes and a big smile on my face. If I'm diving, I'm a happy camper. I hope this info has answered some of the questions that have come up. If you have any questions or comments, be happy to reply.