Drowning in Lake Norman, NC

[diverdiver]

I suspect that the number of deaths is low in comparison to "normal" scuba gear and that it's so rare to hear of it that it sticks in the mind, thus the out of place comment made about training. In any sport or activity there are bound to be fatilities, just in some of them it's not very common.

The only way to truly evaluate whether or not rebreathers are more "dangerous" than conventional SCUBA gear is to look at the number of deaths in terms of the total population. Rebreather deaths may be rare, but (example only, numbers completely fabricated) if you have 10 deaths out of a total population of 500 users (2% of the the population) vs. 100 deaths out of a population of 500,000 conventional SCUBA users (.02% of the total population) then I think one could argue that statistically rebreathers are more dangerous.

However, having said that, this is not the thread for this discussion. My condolences to friends and family.

 

[PerroneFord]

Maybe you are seeing more accidents where the diver was using a rebreather becuase they are gaining in popularity. Perhaps it is simply an increase in the N-size of the sample. You know there are more traffic accidents now then there were 50 years ago because there are more cars although we know that cars are much safer today than 50 years ago.

This is probably true. With the cost of these units coming down, I am sure propotionately more are being sold. I had a chance to watch a teardown and buildup of a Meg over the weekend. Fascinating stuff, and it all seems so simple when you see it.

I guess my initial comment seemed insensitive, and I really do apologize for it. I guess it was one of those things you think to yourself and you post on it before you really reflect on it. I'm sure these divers are being trained well, in fact, I've witnessed some of the IANTD training. It just seems such a shame for the families, and the dive community in general. Because these rebreather deaths often happen to such experiened divers, I fear public opinion will start to view diving as some extreme, edgy, and high-risk activity, when it's actually not.

Again my apologies for what seemed like a callous comment.

 

[odiecho]

Rick .... thanks for the succinct info on the basics of a rebreather. It helped to clarify alot for someone only vaguely familiar with rebreathers. I appreciate it.

 

[Bo Danker]

I guess it was one of those things you think to yourself and you post on it before you really reflect on it.

To heck you say... does that really happen? I bet you are the first to ever do that!

 

[rawls]

To heck you say... does that really happen? I bet you are the first to ever do that!

Danker...There are a few of us on this board who will humble ourselves and be bigger than our egos. PerroneFord is, respectfully, one of those people. Wish there were more like him. Having said that...I am sorry to hear about the death of a fellow diver. I must say that hearing about diving fatalities always scares me a little because it reminds me of the fact that something could happen to any of us. But it also helps to keep me humble to the sport too.

 

[Fish_Whisperer]

Danker...There are a few of us on this board who will humble ourselves and be bigger than our egos. PerroneFord is, respectfully, one of those people. Wish there were more like him. Having said that...I am sorry to hear about the death of a fellow diver. I must say that hearing about diving fatalities always scares me a little because it reminds me of the fact that something could happen to any of us. But it also helps to keep me humble to the sport too.

Ditto. Very well said. Hats off to PerroneFord, too.

 

[Bo Danker]

Danker...There are a few of us on this board who will humble ourselves and be bigger than our egos. PerroneFord is, respectfully, one of those people. Wish there were more like him. Having said that...I am sorry to hear about the death of a fellow diver. I must say that hearing about diving fatalities always scares me a little because it reminds me of the fact that something could happen to any of us. But it also helps to keep me humble to the sport too.

Umm.. Hrm.. "The first to do that!" refers to being the first person that has ever flown off the handle in the heat of the moment and posted without letting the emmotional impact fade a bit first. I never ment to imply that PF was the first to apologize for such an action. If I am mistaken in assuming this was your prompt for a response then I apologize. However if you did not quite catch it the first time take 2 tequilas, read some more of my posts then re-read it again. If that does not work rinse and repeat. The sarcasm radar should set in around the bottom half of the bottle

 

[K-Rae]

A memorial service for Jackie will be held Friday, January 6 at 1:30 PM at Matthews United Methodist Church:
801 South Trade St.
Matthews, NC 28105
phone 704-847-6261

The family ask that no flowers be sent. Donations should be made to the Shriners Hospital for Children in Greenville, NC.

 

[laurendell]

This is probably true. With the cost of these units coming down, I am sure propotionately more are being sold. I had a chance to watch a teardown and buildup of a Meg over the weekend. Fascinating stuff, and it all seems so simple when you see it.

I guess my initial comment seemed insensitive, and I really do apologize for it. I guess it was one of those things you think to yourself and you post on it before you really reflect on it. I'm sure these divers are being trained well, in fact, I've witnessed some of the IANTD training. It just seems such a shame for the families, and the dive community in general. Because these rebreather deaths often happen to such experiened divers, I fear public opinion will start to view diving as some extreme, edgy, and high-risk activity, when it's actually not.

Again my apologies for what seemed like a callous comment.

Man, sometimes the amount of apologizing that goes on in all these posts makes me crazy! Stop being so sensitive people and try and give the benefit of the doubt before jumping down someone’s throat about what was obviously an innocent comment!

For the record, my reaction was almost exactly the same as PF’s when I read the title, as there was recently just another post about the guy using the rebreather in the pool in Oregon who died as well, “Another rebreather death! What’s going on there??” Didn’t occur to me it was because of training, but that is in no way meant to imply that I am offended with anyone else initially thinking that, but just because I know so little about rebreathers that I didn’t really jump to any conclusion at all. Aggghh! The apologizing is contagious! I’ve been infected!

 

[Bo Danker]

I’ve been infected!

Apology accepted