Diver Deaths-Palm Beach County

[gypsydiver19]

WHY DOES EVERYONE ASSUME THAT THEY WERE INEXPERIENCED???? The lady was able to go up and summon for help - AND she went down to help her buddy (overreaction according to diving principles, but who wouldn't do the same)... That means that at least she was able to fight the current. The only mention of inexperience is in the description of the substitute skipper... So based on that, their most glaring mistake is diving without adequate topside assistance...

It would appear in times of dealing with an uncomfortable situation we as humans sometimes try to rationalize and justify what makes us feel the most threatened.
" This tragic accident happened because of inexperience." I guess if we can come up with an explanation it makes it easier to except. Even if this really isn't the case.
I guess everyone is doing the best they can, right now!

 

[fairybasslet]

Kevin,
I really admire professionals like you who can perform those kinds of tasks. I know I could never do it.

 

[Miami_Diver]

the male had a hole in his Bc(which means he probably didnt inflate the bc before the dive to check it), overweight (not a balance rig) and both apparently had more than enought gas in their tanks , wich probably seems like a panic attack. they are tales of inexpirience. I could be wrong I wasnt there, but the signs points to it.

 

[ekremer]

the male had a hole in his Bc(which means he probably didnt inflate the bc before the dive to check it), overweight (not a balance rig) and both apparently had more than enought gas in their tanks , wich probably seems like a panic attack. they are tales of inexpirience. I could be wrong but the signs points to it.

or it could have been with that extra weight he kept inflating his BC until his patch blew out. the man was holding the extra weight belt...maybee under his normal use that patch would hold.. I mean how often do we REALLY inflate our BC's to their max?

 

[DennisW]

Kevin,

Thanks for your information and your assistance in recovering the divers. Not an easy thing to do for anyone.

 

[scubapolly]

Kevin,
Kudos to you for acting when there was no obligation to act.
I had the misfortune of being in a similar situation a couple years ago. It took me a while to get my head straightened out a bit. And I still have moments when teaching rescue classes, but over all I think it has improved my teaching in these classes.
If you need someone to talk to that has been there, please feel free to send me a PM.

Polly

 

[MoonWrasse]

WHY DOES EVERYONE ASSUME THAT THEY WERE INEXPERIENCED???? The lady was able to go up and summon for help - AND she went down to help her buddy (overreaction according to diving principles, but who wouldn't do the same)... That means that at least she was able to fight the current. The only mention of inexperience is in the description of the substitute skipper... So based on that, their most glaring mistake is diving without adequate topside assistance...

There's a tendency here to be insensitive to the victims.

 

[Willie]

Kevin, compliments on a thoughtful and well executed recovery and thank you for your post. It is good to have some specific information.

There are a lot of contradictory statements made in the various early reports by press etc. IMO, this fact obviously led to many speculations and a lot of confusion in the discussion of the events leading to these tragic deaths.

It is important to not make any assumptions as fact. It is important to try and consider what could have happened and how it could have been avoided, IMO.

It is a fact that in any environment, it is usually a series of events that compounded to cause the accident. It is rarely a catastrophic failure. Analysis can, if done properly, educate and lead to better understanding and procedures. If the procedures are understood and training is done to acquire the skills, then education has taken place and safety has been enhanced.

My thoughts tend toward this sequence. Feel free to critique, I have thick skin.

1. Maybe scenerio1
2. how could that have happened, ie. what sequence of events led to this result?
3. if that is what happened, how could it have been avoided
4. what procedures or habit patterns would decrease the risk of it happening again
5. maybe scenerio2
6. repeat 2-5​

This process allows me to learn without actually knowing or passing judgement on the experiences of the others involved.

Just my opinions.

Willie

 

[SmileMon]

mmm... I've found out today that I know a very close relative of the family.

as far as I know, they don't dive and therefore won't understand what Kevin wrote.

It sounds too tragic for them to know, but if it were me I would have wanted to know the truth, do you think its a good idea to forward Kevin's recovery to them?

 

[dumpsterDiver]

I would not forward that recovery information to them without making myself available to try to answer some of the questions. His report was certainly more informative than the newspaper account, but it provides no definitive clues that lead me to have any kind of conclusion as to why and how this happened. non divers would make little sense of his report without help.

Another big clue to determine what really happened is to find out what the boat operator really did and saw. This information could be extremely useful.

Also, why was the float ball not attached? Was it cut by a diver or by the propellors of a boat or did it just break off?

Why was the regulator mouthpiece detached? Was the diver drug through the water causing the mouthpiece to tear or something more normal.

This and the question about if they had knives are all important details to collect, to formulate reasonable scenarios.