Diver dies in the Keys

[PerroneFord]

Weight belts are an idea who's time has come and gone. Except that they're cheap, they should have been replaced by Weight Integrated BCs or harnesses long ago.

I certainly disagree, but I'm a luddite.

 

[ReefHound]

Story is missing significant information. I am curious about the following:

Why did they surface "minutes" after entering the water?
Why did his "buddy" leave him alone, 100 ft. from the boat?
Why would a weight belt stick to your ankle?
If they just entered the water, his tanks had to be full, why not inflate the BC?
Would his sinking imply that he was overweighted?

Even if I was incapacitated, I would hope that my buddy would inflate my BC, ditch my weights, check my regulator and stay with me.....

We don't have enough clues to even begin speculating, but as far as the buddy leaving him alone, that doesn't sound too bizaare. In the Keys, they usually deploy a drift line and ask you to get on the line, remove your fins, and pull yourself to the ladder one at a time to exit. In the time it took for his buddy to pull in and exit, the victim could have let go of the line and drifted some. What can the captain/DM do if a guy is coming up the ladder and another guy on the line has a problem?

Besides, you can't trust distance estimates in a news story.

 

[Carribeandiver]

how horrifying for the son. I cant imagine the grief the son feels. he and his dad go out for some quality time, a sport they both can enjoy and wham. My heart, prayers and deepest sympathies go out to the family.
Fault should not even be an issue, but it is likely that of the agencies that insist on drive through certification courses. "Get em fast, get em cheap, get em while they are hot. Diving is fun, risk free because of the technological advances of new equipment..."

 

[Loneranger]

Sad to see this incident and many others like it, where the victim makes it to the surface but can not manage to save themself. Best wishes to family and friends.

 

[Rainer]

I certainly disagree, but I'm a luddite.

Nope, I agree with you, weight belts have their place. It's a an easy and, when done properly, safe means of adding weight. Intergrated weights are in no sense "more secure" (I know of more cases of weight pouches falling out than people accidentally dropping belts). For me, my belt is simply a means of adding more weigh to my rig. I can hardly imagine a scenario in which I would ever want to ditch under water. To that extent, I run my crotch strap over my weight belt. While most of my weight comes from my plate and weight plates (when diving singles), the belt just has the extra weight needed to offset my backgas. If I needed to ditch weight at the surface, I could drop the belt (it's easy and a practiced skill), or just take off the rig, or if need be, cut it off.

 

[String]

Except that they're cheap, they should have been replaced by Weight Integrated BCs

Which from what ive seen are FAR mrore dangerous for a number of reasons.

 

[Speargirl]

I use a weight belt when I free dive, and I have to say that if I had to lose my weight belt my ankle could not hold that weight on my fins, my ankle would bend and the belt would fall. I am sure the Captain did everything he could to save that man.

 

[shakeybrainsurgeon]

and the speculation begins

That's a bit unfair...any accident demands analysis to see what went wrong and what could be done differently. I see no speculation, only legitimate questions as to what happened. People who avoid the details are usually not doing so out of deference to the dead, but out of deference to the lawyers.

 

[DeepBound]

That was assuming he was trying to drop it.

It's also possible it slipped off, in which case it could be stuck over either or both fins.

Terry

Maybe it got caught on a knife on his lower leg, near his ankle.

 

[H2Andy]

hmmm....

well, given his age and the sequence of events, maybe a heart issue?

terrible news, and i am sure all the more so to his family and friends