Diver dies on French Reef (Keys)

[DandyDon]

This reef is not known for current, and one local captain posted above that there was none that day - only some waves. Drifting doesn't apply there, and a live boat would tend to blow away from the divers there. If there were not moorings, there would be anchors dropped and dragging. It's not one size fits all...

 

[pescador775]

Fly girl, you said two significant things, it concerned snorkels and, separately, about panic. Don said one significant thing, about navigation. The rest of this thread is ludicrous, weird, sanctimonious. Carry your various signal aids if you must but.....

How do you think that solo divers return to their boats? How do a pair of divers return to an empty boat? The answer is that they know that they must be able to return, no exceptions. Now, you think about that and how it relates to the above.

 

[DandyDon]

"The answer is that they know that they must be able to return, no exceptions."

That sounds like the attitude that precipitated this death. I think I'll keep diving the charters, carrying signaling devices, and following Dive Briefing orders. Too many of those empty boat divers get reported here in A&I.

 

[ScubaSteve]

......ludicrous, weird, sanctimonious.......they know that they must be able to return, no exceptions..........

What the heck are you talking about? Does that mean that every diver that perishes in the sea does not know they must return? This just sounds like gibberish to me.....but then that is just my opinion.

 

[String]

T If there were not moorings, there would be anchors dropped and dragging. It's not one size fits all...

Why would they anchor at all ? I still can't see any need at all for it, drop your divers at the point and retreat to a sensible location where you can see where they'll be and are able to respond.

And despite "the site not being known for currents" there obviously was one.

Even if there are no currents, no waves and no wind if a diver surfaces in trouble 100m or so from the boat it CANNOT react immediately to deal if its moored.

 

[trtldvr]

Fly girl, you said two significant things, it concerned snorkels and, separately, about panic. Don said one significant thing, about navigation. The rest of this thread is ludicrous, weird, sanctimonious. Carry your various signal aids if you must but.....

How do you think that solo divers return to their boats? How do a pair of divers return to an empty boat? The answer is that they know that they must be able to return, no exceptions. Now, you think about that and how it relates to the above.

OMG AND WOW!!!!
As a diver, instructor, and most importantly a Sheriff's Office diver that has done recoveries here in the Keys this is dangerous and irresponsible thinking. To those newer divers reading SB and trying to learn don't follow this advice.

Yes, work on your navigation skills, please stay forward of the boat. Cary your signaling devices and know how to use them. Listen to the many post about making an honest attempt to get back to the boat, but don't panic and wear yourself out. Get as positively bouyant as posible, signal, relax and wait. If they can see you, they will come and get you.

As far as the above poster, I have no issues with solo diving, but I have big issues with leaving the boat unattended.

Safe Dives
trtldvr
Florida Keys Safe Diving Initiative

 

[I Dive]

Fly girl, you said two significant things, it concerned snorkels and, separately, about panic. Don said one significant thing, about navigation. The rest of this thread is ludicrous, weird, sanctimonious. Carry your various signal aids if you must but.....
QUOTE]

The only thing I find in this thread that is ludicrous, weird, or sanctimonious is your post...

 

[spoolin01]

... about 100 yards behind the dive boat... he estimates they tried to swim for about half an hour. Employees of the dive boat reportedly couldn't see the two struggling divers. When all other divers on the boat were back on board, they realized there were two missing from the group.

Taken as reported, this makes the dive operation look negligent. Don't they use drift lines down there? If conditions are such that you don't make headway after even 10 minutes much less 30(!), a line or boat should be out. There's no excuse for the dive crew to not have seen two divers in the water 100 yds behind the boat, if they were paying any attention (to the divers that is). Maybe there's more to the story, but I've been in rough conditions plenty of times in the Channel Islands, and there are always at least two crew scanning the water for divers in trouble. This was late in the second dive and the crew should have been on alert if conditions were at all as reported.

 

[bowlofpetunias]

:depressed:Sad news and even sadder when people misunderstand the well intentioned reviews and speculation. Tragic to hear of a death and honestly we have no idea of any facts other than they were diving and one didn't survive. We use these sad events to trigger a review of our safety procedures and learn from each other.

:blinking:I'm glad that all the places I have done boat dives in Australia so far have insisted on SMB's or SS and had spares for anyone who didn't bring their own.

I would like to stress that a BCD is not complete without a whistle! So easy to carry and use. After a shore dive, we were getting changed and a couple divers surfaced and started blowing a whistle. They got instant attention in an area no one would have expected them to surface. Help was deployed and everything ended very well. They may have been spotted without that cheap plastic whistle but it would have certainly very delayed!

 

[PR_SMITH]

:depressed:Sad news and even sadder when people misunderstand the well intentioned reviews and speculation. Tragic to hear of a death and honestly we have no idea of any facts other than they were diving and one didn't survive. We use these sad events to trigger a review of our safety procedures and learn from each other.

:blinking:I'm glad that all the places I have done boat dives in Australia so far have insisted on SMB's or SS and had spares for anyone who didn't bring their own.

I would like to stress that a BCD is not complete without a whistle! So easy to carry and use. After a shore dive, we were getting changed and a couple divers surfaced and started blowing a whistle. They got instant attention in an area no one would have expected them to surface. Help was deployed and everything ended very well. They may have been spotted without that cheap plastic whistle but it would have certainly very delayed!

Good call, pointing out the whistle as another means of signaling. I have mine tied on near the oral inflator for my wing. That way, I don't have to detach it(read - risk losing) to deploy it.