Diver dies in Hood Canal?

[PNW Dive Girl]

My condolences to you and his family.

 

[scubagirl73]

I was very sad to hear this story. Horrified actually. It doesn't suprise me that something like this happened however. I have been a diver for 11 years but took the open water certification class with my boyfriend last year. We did our dives at this same location in Hood Canal. If it had been my first diving experience I never would have gone again. The instructor was arrogant and obnoxious. On our first dive, my boyfriend was having trouble with his equipment and the instructor told him to quit acting like a girl and get under water. We opted out of the first dive because the equipment wasn't right and the instructor was impatient. The visibility was very poor (2-3 feet). We went with the group on the second dive and within the first 10 minutes we had lost everyone else in the group because of the poor visibilty. We went to the surface but the instructor did not even know that we were gone until the dive was over more than 30 minutes later. No one ever surfaced or made sure we were ok. One instructor took a group of nine first time divers (including a kid). When the visibilty is so poor, it seems to me that an instructor should not take more students than they can keep track of. We felt like our dive class was an accident waiting to happen. My heartfelt condolenses to this divers family.

 

[ianr33]

Interesting points about the viz. Cave classes have a minimum required starting visibility yet OW can be taught in Chocolate milk? Seems kinds silly.

 

[TSandM]

I did my OW dives in visibility about like that. Sometimes, in Puget Sound, you have weeks when that's all you've got. It's what local divers are going to have to cope with, so I guess the theory is that you are certifying in the conditions in which you are going dive. It makes certification stressful, that's for sure.

 

[ianr33]

Certainly makes sense about certifying in the conditions you are going to dive,but the flipside is that an uncertified diver can very easily end up completely on their own which cant be a good idea.

Our local site also has pretty bad viz a lot of the time. I have a friend who is currently doing a trimix course On at least one dive he and his buddy lost the instructor and his buddy on initial descent and never saw him again until they surfaced.

At some point it just becomes futile and possibly unsafe. How can an instructor watch a student doing reg recoveries,gas switches or whatever in 2 inch viz?

 

[Scottri]

I assist with classes on Hood Canal about once a month and I have for years. We only take 2 students at a time with 1 Divemaster so during the skills portion of the dive we have a 1 to 1 ratio. On the tours the DM has 2 students. Our DM's are trained to NEVER let a student more than arms length away regardless of vis. Given the conditions up here most of the time I would never take more than 2 students down with me. It's just to hard to maintain control over a large group in limited vis. I know standards allow for it but to me it's just not in the best interest of the students or the staff.

My heart goes out to the family, the staff and the fellow students of the diver that died. I was involved in a rescue where the victim died a couple of years ago and I know how it can affect people.

 

[MattesonR]

That is horrible that someone passed, my condolenses to his family. I was at mikes last weekend and one of the other students in my OW class told me that someone got hurt, but i hate to hear that it was due to poor viz and improper training, My OW class everyone in the class had a buddy, and your job is to keep track of your buddy on a group dive and we never were further than 10 feet from the instructor, the most people that we had in a group was 6 to 1 that was with 15 - 20 ft of viz, than after that it was always you and your buddy with an instructor while they are testing you. and there was always a DM on the dock watching if someone ascended. I felt very safe during the whole class. i had a great time and am going to continue to pursue qualifications.

 

[mpgunner]

Very sorry to hear. I dove Hoodsport a few weeks ago. Viz was good for the area (Viz is a relative term in the Puget Sound).

It would be good to get specifics on what happened.

 

[Rick Inman]

Update: Suit filed in scuba death of Spokane stockbroker

Suit filed in scuba death of Spokane stockbroker
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

SPOKANE, Wash. -- The Scuba Center of Spokane has been sued by the wife of a Spokane stockbroker who died on a dive in Hood Canal in March.

The lawsuit for unspecified damages was brought Tuesday in Superior Court by Maureen Maher-Gray, widow of 54-year-old John W. Gray. Company owner-instructor Daniel Arteaga and his lawyer did not return a call for comment from The Spokesman-Review.

Arteaga and the business are accused in the lawsuit of gross negligence and infliction of emotional distress.

In her action Mayer-Gray says she and her husband were "totally inexperienced dive students."

Her husband was found dead about 30 feet underwater near Eldon on March 29. Mason County Coroner Wes Stockwell said Gray apparently had become separated from the rest of the scuba class.

 

[Randar]

A group of friends were diving the site this weekend. I have been there several times. The Vis was reported as "OK" typical Hood canal vis for this time of year. I am guessing that it was between 5-10 feet based on what I experienced last weekend near there.

My sincere condolences to the family from someone who LOVES diving that site!

I am checking with my dive buds for some more info. If I can offer anything concrete I will share it with you. ~R~