Diver watched as friend became disoriented and descended to death on famous shipwreck

[formernuke]

What is with people in this sport trying for Darwin awards.

 

[Jonn]

with the idea that if they dived to 50m, they could say they’d got halfway to the wreck.

Ya that’s not how that works but I’m sure they knew that. Could they even see the top of the wreck from there though? If they could that would be impressive vis, if they couldn’t it’s no different than any bottomless bounce dive. That’s pushing things further than I would but it’s not totally crazy. At least they saw some cool pelagics.

alcohol concentration about twice the legal driving limit

W. T. F?! Suicide. At least they didn’t kill anyone else on the way there, that’s something I guess. As others have said: you can’t fix stupid.

 

[lermontov]

this is old - he died in 2020 - I know the guy who gave him some instruction - he said was obsessed with the Niagara and wanted to do it from the outset. Advised not do it to get more training but seems he didnt listen

 

[SlugLife]

scripts for movies great. Painful to read.

I was about to say something similar. It seems like the "journalist" is attempting to write a novel, and doing a poor job at it. The obvious dramatization and likely inaccuracy in the first few lines immediately suggests that any word or detail may have been altered for dramatic effect.

The day was fine, with a gentle swell, and the pair drank two or three beers en route.

Meaning 4 or 5 beers.

The fact he hadn’t jettisoned his weight belt, or inflated his BCD (buoyancy control device – divers’ equipment that can be inflated or deflated to alter buoyancy) to allow him to ascend, suggested his judgement was impaired.

His judgement was likely impaired, but that statement is inaccurate. One does not jettison their weight-belt or use their BCD as an elevator.

His drinking before the dive – toxicology tests showed an alcohol concentration about twice the legal driving limit – may have compounded this.

...or 6-7 beers?

“I didn't have any of that. He had a great time. He lived three or four normal lifetimes as far as I was concerned. And, you know, I appreciated what he’d achieved, and moved on.”

While I agree with the general concept; in this case a small amount of caution or patience may have let him "live 6-8 lifetimes." He could have even dove the wreck, safely, dozens of times.

Where does the fragile line lie between bravery and bravado, between adventure and foolhardiness, between pushing limits and pushing your luck?

In this case, it's fairly simple. They teach it in scuba-classes. Sure, it's a little on the conservative side in a few areas, but lets say you're equipped for 100ft, and decide to go to 200ft. That's not pushing a limit, that's racing past it with no regard.

 

[SlugLife]

What is with people in this sport trying for Darwin awards.

I have to push back on this. I'm fairly certain most people who are into SCUBA have no interest or desire to pursue records, blow past limits, or pursue darwin awards. A frequent and popular topic on scuba-board revolves around how to be safe or safer, what kinds of redundancy to add, the pros and cons, risks, etc.

Instead, what you see is Darwin-award chasers, who sometimes pursue scuba as their outlet.

 

[johndiver999]

I was about to say something similar. It seems like the "journalist" is attempting to write a novel, and doing a poor job at it. The obvious dramatization and likely inaccuracy in the first few lines immediately suggests that any word or detail may have been altered for dramatic effect.


Meaning 4 or 5 beers.

His judgement was likely impaired, but that statement is inaccurate. One does not jettison their weight-belt or use their BCD as an elevator.

...or 6-7 beers?

While I agree with the general concept; in this case a small amount of caution or patience may have let him "live 6-8 lifetimes." He could have even dove the wreck, safely, dozens of times.

In this case, it's fairly simple. They teach it in scuba-classes. Sure, it's a little on the conservative side in a few areas, but lets say you're equipped for 100ft, and decide to go to 200ft. That's not pushing a limit, that's racing past it with no regard.

LOL, if you buddy is shooting down a line at well over 200 ft, you grab him (by the tank valve) , press the up button and try to hang onto consciousness and the line and try not to kick or breathe too hard. An elevator is exactly what you need. Hope I never find myself in that situation, but you can do a rapid ascent in deep water for quite a while without too much damage.

 

[John the Pom]

Rule 1 of dive trips: when you have your first beer, diving is over for you for the day.

 

[SlugLife]

LOL

Perhaps we can disagree, discover a difference of understanding, or even learn something from the other. But being condescending is completely unnecessary and just makes people defensive and argumentative.

 

[boulderjohn]

Meaning 4 or 5 beers.

...or 6-7 beers?

6-7 is more likely. Possibly more. The drinking and driving limit in Australia is 0.05. Twice the limit would be 1.0. That used to be the limit in the state where I lived, and a government created video showed a group of people getting to 1.0 and driving on a controlled course. To get there, they had about 5 standard drinks within the space of an hour. The people in that video were visibly drunk at 1.0.

If he measured 1.0 after being recovered, he was likely well above that earlier. The video staid that in general, people sober up at about the rate of one drink per hour.

 

[VikingDives]

FWIW, the legal limit is .05 in New Zealand, so not obviously drunk (to an onlooker), but certainly impaired.