This was a tragic event, and I can't imagine how the families must have suffered through this Easter.
I would like the opportunity to share what I found directly with the diving community, especially the instructors, because for me, this accident has underlined the responsibility I have to my students when I teach them diving. The reporting done by the press was not as accurate as I would have liked, but of all of the reporters and interviewers that came, only one was a diver and much was lost in translation. It is my hope that by by sharing this information future accidents might be pre-empted.
I was diving with a group from the boat I work on at the southern end of the Boynton Reef, at a spot we call "Clubhouse". Upon surfacing from our second dive the captain called me to the bridge and told me to set up for a body recovery, that two divers had been missing for a long time off a private boat. As I set up, the captain took us north to an area where there was a search in progress. A single fin had been found there. We discussed the specifics of the event with a PBSO deputy on the scene, then Lynn took us back south quite a ways. She set me up and started to zig zag across the inside of the reef at a depth of about 10'. Approximately five minutes into the search I located the bodies.
The male diver was seated on the reef, facing west, entangled with multiple wraps of 1/8" poly braided line, which is commonly used here for dive floats. A yellow plastic handle was attached at one end of the line, the other end was severed. The female was suspended, face up approximately six feet above him, with a single strand of line wrapped once around her tank valve. She had no regulator in her mouth, and her mask was on her forehead. She had no weight belt on, and was missing one fin. The male diver's second stage had no mouthpiece on it. I did not check to see if it was in his mouth. I tied in a marker buoy to the reef and surfaced to let the captain know that I had located the divers and get further instructions. I was directed to recover the bodies.
I descended again to the location and attempted to raise the divers by buoying the male's vest which was empty. I orally inflated the vest, however any air I blew in immediately leaked out of the left shoulder through a large hole directly behind the shoulder dump. The escaping bubbles drew my attention to the area, which appeared to have been repaired with some type of aqua seal. The repair did not recent, the glue was somewhat yellowed. I decided to use the lift of my own bcd, and grabbed hold of the males tank valve and inflated my vest. Even fully inflated, I had barely enough lift to pick him up off the bottom. I think my vest has 47 lbs of lift, its a SP classic plus if anyone wants to figure that out. I considered removing the diver's weight belt, and when I looked down at the release I noticed that there was another weight belt entangled in the poly line at the male diver's waist. It is my assumption that this was the female's belt. I decided not to disturb the gear for fear of messing up any investigation, and carried the diver up. Neither diver was wearing a wetsuit, and though I cannot venture a guess as to how much lead they had on between the two of them, I can say that it was very heavy. I surfaced with the bodies, and helped the coast guard take them aboard a small boat.
I haven't seen any of the news stories concerning this, but I have read some of the printed news. I was disturbed by the inaccuracy of the stories, and I feel that the dive community should have the facts. I know that I was deeply affected by the incident. I know that I teach now with much greater purpose because of it. My prayers are with the victims and their families.
