Diver lost 15 Jan 2013 Cozumel

[Mike]

Good statements Halocline, I agree with your thoughts as a general statement about Cozumel, but I would point out that in regard to this missing diver, I'd use the word incident versus accident to describe it right now. Unless things change or more information is forthcoming, this right now is another missing diver who's death will be a mystery because she was either diving solo or there was buddy failure.

 

[Cheeky]

Solo or buddy failure???? You're unfortunate!!

 

[Brules]

I have no idea how pony use got into this thread, it really has no place in a thread about a lost diver, unless pony use was an established aspect of the accident in some way. It is very sad when an acident like this happens, but it's easy to forget how busy a dive destination Cozumel is, and considering that, the safety record does seem to be very strong.

Another aspect about Cozumel diving is that while in general it's not difficult diving, there are currents, some depth, and lots of open ocean. It can be deceptively advanced diving at times. Given this and it's reasonable cost and proximity to the U.S., which makes it very attractive to divers both experienced and new, in some ways it's surprising that there are not more accidents.

Amen. It is a dangerous sport, that can easily turn deadly and does quite often. Praying for this diver and their family. Tragic news, but not suprising considering the sheer # of people who dive in Cozumel daily.

 

[Dave Dillehay]

Dear Boomer68,

In my opinion, and having experienced many, some strong, some weak, the best way is to inflate and swim horizontally along the wall, much as you would do with a rip tide in surf swimming. Usually you will be out of it in 50 yards. I think you can find an earlier thread on the subject in which I explained the mechanics of downcurrents and dealing with them.

Dave Dillehay
Aldora Divers

 

[scubaduo92]

We are at Hotel Cozumel and she was on our boat in a different group for a couple of days. She was with her brothers and their wives. We were at Palancar Caves and viis was a little less than normal and currents were a little different, but I would say combination of things (as usual) caused this. This was her first trip to ocean after being certified. Had some trouble descending on other dives. Her buddy was her brother and he is devastated. Do not exact details, but probably inexpierence. Hard to hear but worse when you can put a face to it. I do not think this will turn out good at this point, but the advantage she had was she had a 8ml suit on but probably could not hold up that long in the water. Will post later if needed. RIP

 

[MMM]

I hate doing math, so someone should correct me if I am wrong because I probably am. But just because l didn't have much to do this morning, I made a rough calculation of Cozumel diver deaths relative to the number of divers daily. A contract DM here on the island told me yesterday that in his experience and recollection, about 5 divers lose their lives here annually. (We didn't parse that number any further). Just to keep the math simple, assuming 1000 dives made each day (roughly 500 divers), that works out to 0.0019 per cent! When you consider how many of these divers are inexperienced holiday divers, that is an impressive testament to how good the DMs here are. (You can change pretty much any of my numbers above - since they are largely pulled from thin air - and the percentage will still remain amazingly low.)

Yesterday, it felt as though all of the other remaining 494 of my 500 theoretical divers were dumped on us during our first dive. Most of them were swimming above us, but I watched in wonder as some guy with a camera dropped about 20 or 30 feet in front of me with a DM right behind him holding his tank valve so that he stayed off the reef while getting his shot because his buoyancy control was so bad. I hope he tipped him well.

Dave Dillehay
Aldora Divers

PS.
Yes, dive fatalities do occur, and that is everywhere. I cannot point out direct references but I firmly believe that on a per dive day basis Cozumel is one of the safest places in all the world, except for your training pool at your local dive shop.

 

[Stoo]

Amen. It is a dangerous sport, that can easily turn deadly and does quite often.

Brules, I think if you check your facts, you will see that diving is not an especially dangerous sport. When there is a serious accident, leading to a fatality, there are generally "reasons" why the accident occurred. Maintain your gear, keep your skills sharp, stay fit and dive, dive, dive. It ain't rocket science.

 

[Christi]

Thank you Dave for jumping in!

The fact is - is that we do not have the facts and cannot speculate on what happened. I am inclined to believe that it was a combination of factors, a large group and inexperience standing at the forefront. I highly doubt that a downcurrent, (as scary as they can be to people that do not know how to deal with them) was the sole or even primary cause of this incident. Of course - these are not the facts, just my take from what I have heard - and pure speculation at this point.

This is a terribly sad and unfortunate situation. My thoughts and prayers are with her family, friends, fellow divers, the crew on the boat, all who searched and continue to search.

 

[chillyinCanada]

Christi, is it possible that an incident such as this might make a case for carrying a die pack/stick?

 

[Just Deb]

Although it's always tragic when there is a diving incident, each diver is ultimately responsible for their own safety. I know I spent more time in training learning how to deal with emergencies (and prevent them) than actually learning to dive. It's my responsibility to have a good buddy, make sure my equipment is working properly, know and follow the "rules" of safe diving, recognize when I either shouldn't go diving due to health or conditions OR end a dive because I've "lost" my group or conditions have deteriorated, and be aware of what's going on around me...all the time. I've been diving Cozumel for > 30 years and to this day don't know how Dave and other Divemasters get in the water with new people each day not knowing what kind of divers they are. It's got to be the toughest job in the world. Kudos and sincere thanks to all of you DMs who get out of bed and come to work each morning so I can enjoy my dive vacation.