Doc Deep dies during dive.

[flyin01]

Here is what Jenny Lord says about it:

Deep Diving - Jenny Lord

The Attraction to the Deep Blue

For thousands of years man has looked at the sea and wondered what was below the waves. With the invention of the aqua-lung, people started to explore the undersea world and like any new place many wanted to expand beyond what was known, pushing the limits of the human body to discover more.

The concept of deep diving was born. The improvement of the equipment and our knowledge has allowed people to dive deeper, but still many look down and wonder what there is even further below us.

This is what Alvin is for.

 

[rhwestfall]

The concept of deep diving was born. The improvement of the equipment and our knowledge has allowed people to dive deeper, but still many look down and wonder what there is even further below us.

in the manner currently being utilized - answer: likely death

 

[boulderjohn]

The fact that the family/lawyers want the equipment back is making me believe they made mistakes after experts provided inputs into this tragic event. Typically all equipment in a fatality becomes part of the investigation.

The source of that information is suspect at the very best. I don't know of any real legitimate source that is saying this at this time--although it could be true.

 

[archer1960]

So You

And I like the line just above the one rick quoted:

"A few people have suggested that if I’m going that far, surely I shouldn’t have any guys involved at all, but I’d rather have the best people for the job, irrespective of gender. I believe my planners and co-ordinators are the best in the world, and I don’t know of any women who could do it so smoothly, or who I trust so completely."


If she truly feels that way, and listens to the experts on her team, she might just survive it.

 

[boulderjohn]

I hope at least he passed out before he realized something was seriously wrong. Because it would be horrifying to have one of these extreme deep conditions that caused paralysis while in that total dark and cold, while his brain was fully aware to realize the extent of his mistake as he continued to fall and went through the remainder of his air.

I think the following article about the last dive of former world record holder and diving legend Sheck Exley might be interesting for many readers, especially in light of the comment above.

ZACATON: The Tragic Death of Sheck Exley | Gilliam

In this article, the author, Brett Gilliam, a frequent deep diving companion of Exley, indicates that his body was recovered because it had somehow become entangled in the descent line. The conventional wisdom, however, is that Exley actually tied himself off for some reason just prior to his death. One hypothesis is that he knew he was going to die and wanted it easy to recover his body.

I recently spoke at length with Brett Gilliam, and although our conversation had a different purpose, he explained his beliefs about this in great detail. What he said in the conversation was stunning to me, for it says a lot about deep diving, at least in those days, that I would never have believed to be true.

In our conversation, he agreed that Exley did indeed tie himself off intentionally, but not because he thought he was going to die. Exley did his final dive on helair, which contains nitrogen, to limit the effects of HPNS. This increases the likelihood of narcosis as a limiting factor. Contrary to what you might believe, he said Exley did not handle narcosis as well as others did on extremely deep dives. He said Exley would sometimes pass out briefly, come to, and continue the dive. (I assumed from the conversation that his buddies would assist him through these episodes.) Of course, on his final dive, he did not have a buddy. Gilliam said that he believed Exley thought he was about to pass out and tied himself off so that when he came to, he would be able to continue.

 

[Akimbo]

... If she truly feels that way, and listens to the experts on her team, she might just survive it.

That's my problem with these types of dives. The only purpose is to survive. Not to learn or accomplish anything of value.

 

[infieldg]

Had a quick read of So You and this bit really stuck out - especially Ahmed's first comment;

I first started thinking about going deeper when I was supporting Ahmed Gabr during his training, and eventual breaking, of the Guinness World Record Deepest Dive... Ahmed had to put up with my questions every time he came back up: What was it like?, How did you feel?, What were you thinking?

His answers were always the same,

[h=6]“I’m not feeling, I’m just concentrating. If you feel anything, you die”[/h]Whilst I had a grasp of this, I knew I wouldn’t fully understand it until I’d been there myself. I told Ahmed I was thinking about breaking the record. To my surprise he told me
[h=6]“Go for it”[/h]I thought he would say I was being stupid, that I didn’t have enough experience, that I was too young or that a woman shouldn’t go that deep. I mentioned it to one of the other support divers, and he said the same thing; “Go for it”.

 

[rickgillyon]

Of course, on his final dive, he did not have a buddy. Gilliam said that he believed Exley thought he was about to pass out and tied himself off so that when he came to, he would be able to continue.

What would keep his reg sealed in his mouth? :shocked2:

 

[Colliam7]

I first started thinking about going deeper when I was supporting Ahmed Gabr during his training, . . . Ahmed had to put up with my questions every time he came back up: What was it like?, How did you feel?, What were you thinking? . . . I knew I wouldn’t fully understand it until I’d been there myself. I told Ahmed I was thinking about breaking the record.

I very much appreciate your posting this experience. I suspect that many of us on SB would welcome the opportunity to better understand how Ahmed prepared for his dive to attempt to break the record - NOT because we wish to do the same but because we want to better understand what might be an appropriate training regimen to prepare for an extremely deep dive, and because of a natural human instinct to admire and respect the focus and dedication that such an effort requires.

To my surprise he told me “Go for it” I thought he would say I was being stupid, that I didn’t have enough experience, that I was too young or that a woman shouldn’t go that deep. I mentioned it to one of the other support divers, and he said the same thing; “Go for it”.

The response from Ahmed Gabr does not surprise me, viewed from my (possibly uninformed) position of knowledge about the man and the attempt. I admit, I was quite (positively) taken by a comment on his 'About Ahmed Gabr' website: 'The moral of this story is every person needs to challenge themselves and have an objective and a goal to achieve. ' I have real difficulty dismissing such a motivation. Let me put that in stronger terms - I have real respect for such a mindset. It is the very motivation that has driven a number of people who have accomplished that which was previously thought to be impossible. He intentionally set out to break the record. He trained for it - I cannot comment on specifically how he trained, other than his website emphasizes the importance of both physiological and psychological preparation. It was a goal, and he (from all appearances) set about achieving it in a thoughtful and methodical manner.

In the context of this thread and the event(s) that prompted it: I did not know Guy Garman. I have no basis for concluding that he was too inexperienced, that he was simply egotistical and thought that the laws of physics and physiology did not apply to him, or that his attempt was a 'suicide'. I cannot say that those descriptions are necessarily wrong or inaccurate, either. Rather, I simply do not know enough about him and his preparation to make such statements myself. (And, I have this little voice within me that wonders, 'Do all the people making those statements have sufficient first hand knowledge upon which to base them, either?) Maybe, everyone posting those sentiments knew him intimately and are qualified to make such statements. So far, the one SB poster who seems to have at least some first hand knowledge is Jules Verne, and I have very much appreciated his comments, suggesting that Andy's analysis was accurate. That was very informative, at least to me.

 

[boulderjohn]

What would keep his reg sealed in his mouth? :shocked2:

Beats me. I'm just telling you what I was told.