Dan
Contributor
For those who have no FB account, I screenshot of the FB Scuba Accident post:
Fatal Accident in the Coron Area of the Philippines?
- Thread starter NYCNaiad
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This is the point I was trying to get across in my recent wreck penetration thread. Yes, divers are responsible for themselves, but some divers will take the shop's/captain's/DM's/dive guide's word that a wreck penetration is safe and will do it without training/experience/proper gear. Doesn't matter to me if it's a "sanitized" wreck. You can still silt out a sanitized wreck and have issues getting out of you don't have reel and lights.
Alone, helpless and frantic is not how I want to be at the end of my life. How long were they aware that those were their last minutes on earth and that they were powerless to change that? I will err on the side of safe, boring and topside even and perhaps especially if I am on vacation and far from home.
OP
NYCNaiad
Dive babble all day long
@Dan_T Thanks for included that. I should have done so.
Was this just a general comment about a shop you liked in the area or are you saying that the fatality occurred at this resort?
Totally agree! What solidified this for me was going inside a wreck earlier in my career & then afterwards having a diver on the boat talk about how this was him getting back on the horse. He almost died on the last dive he did on that sanitized wreck during a silt out. He said he was lucky he managed to find his way out at the last minute & then doubly lucky that the DM was waiting outside of the wreck to share air cause the guy's buddy had already bolted to the surface.
Was this just a general comment about a shop you liked in the area or are you saying that the fatality occurred at this resort?
Totally agree! What solidified this for me was going inside a wreck earlier in my career & then afterwards having a diver on the boat talk about how this was him getting back on the horse. He almost died on the last dive he did on that sanitized wreck during a silt out. He said he was lucky he managed to find his way out at the last minute & then doubly lucky that the DM was waiting outside of the wreck to share air cause the guy's buddy had already bolted to the surface.
PygmySeahorse
Registered
I did my PADI OW with a PADI 5-star shop on Coron. My first dive after qualifying was a wreck penetration at 28 metres: when I got on the boat, I thought I'd go down to the wreck and take a look at the top, and it wasn't until the dive briefing that I understood the plan. I argued with the guy who ran the shop - who was American, not local - that it wasn't safe (too deep and overhead), and in the end we settled on a dedicated DM. He was a complete macho dick about it, as well. "You can always sit out the dive," was his line.
The dedicated DM came in very handy, as it was pitch black - it felt like a pretty tight penetration (through the prop shaft, down a corridor), though obviously I was a very new diver - and I almost lost the DM at one point when he went up and I almost continued down the corridor. He was waiting for me, but it could have been hairy if I'd gone on because there wasn't space to turn around. Obviously, I only had one torch, and that was a little, crappy one. And, no, of course there was no line. And, of course, it was single tank, on air.
Another newish diver, also qualified with that shop, was following a group of two plus DM (no DM at the back) through a tight tunnel when he got a fin in his face and lost both mask and reg in the dark. He managed to fix it, but said it was hairy. I finished the dive with nothing worse than mask squeeze and a sinus headache, but with hindsight it was insanely dangerous.
I am AMAZED we don't hear of more deaths in Coron. Dive practices are incredibly unsafe and many of the divers don't know what they don't know. This was, at that point, the best-regarded shop on the island: a 5-star with decent quality equipment, etc. But they all do it, and if you won't do it, I guess you don't get the business, because people go for the wrecks, and they're pretty deep. RIP.
The dedicated DM came in very handy, as it was pitch black - it felt like a pretty tight penetration (through the prop shaft, down a corridor), though obviously I was a very new diver - and I almost lost the DM at one point when he went up and I almost continued down the corridor. He was waiting for me, but it could have been hairy if I'd gone on because there wasn't space to turn around. Obviously, I only had one torch, and that was a little, crappy one. And, no, of course there was no line. And, of course, it was single tank, on air.
Another newish diver, also qualified with that shop, was following a group of two plus DM (no DM at the back) through a tight tunnel when he got a fin in his face and lost both mask and reg in the dark. He managed to fix it, but said it was hairy. I finished the dive with nothing worse than mask squeeze and a sinus headache, but with hindsight it was insanely dangerous.
I am AMAZED we don't hear of more deaths in Coron. Dive practices are incredibly unsafe and many of the divers don't know what they don't know. This was, at that point, the best-regarded shop on the island: a 5-star with decent quality equipment, etc. But they all do it, and if you won't do it, I guess you don't get the business, because people go for the wrecks, and they're pretty deep. RIP.
Holy crikes. Dang, that is dangerous.
It was a comment that not all shops are dodgy at Coron. From my experience this particular shop was very professional when we used them. I cannot comment on any other shops in the area as I have not used them. I posted the remarks as a contrast to LeeButlers remarks on the Coron scuba industry in general. Nothing more than that.
I read your post and it makes me shiver.
The dedicated DM came in very handy, as it was pitch black - it felt like a pretty tight penetration (through the prop shaft, down a corridor), though obviously I was a very new diver (this is wrong wrong wrong) - and I almost lost the DM at one point when he went up and I almost continued down the corridor. He was waiting for me, but it could have been hairy if I'd gone on because there wasn't space to turn around.
Obviously, I only had one torch (this is wrong wrong wrong), and that was a little, crappy one.
And, no, of course there was no line (this is wrong wrong wrong).
And, of course, it was single tank, on air (this is wrong wrong wrong).
New diver and the penetration depth is 28m with single tank and no deco, so wrong!
Single mask???
Line cutter???? second knife???
No long line second reg ??
Perhaps no plan of the wreck and an understanding of the path (and line). etc etc
I think your description of the shop owner was actually soft. I cannot repeat here what my thoughts about his attitude and professionalism are. That he is a 5 star shop sucks at best. A joke.
That you survived is somewhat a miracle.
As a wreck diver I would NOT penetrate under those conditions. Some of my criteria are;
2 masks, twin tanks or single and sling tank, long primary hose, 3 cutters, 3 torches, run a line, a good plan with what to do if lost or separated, backup tank outside wreck.
And you are so right when you say as new divers many people dont know the dangers or risks.
Hi guys,
I am new to this board and this is my first post.
Actually I've been diving a lot in Coron either from a liveaboard or from a shop belonging to an American and it was always safe for me. I am a certified wreck diver.
Cheers, Kinasi
I am new to this board and this is my first post.
Actually I've been diving a lot in Coron either from a liveaboard or from a shop belonging to an American and it was always safe for me. I am a certified wreck diver.
Cheers, Kinasi
Dan
Contributor
Welcome to SB!
You are experienced & certified wreck diver. Put your place on a newbie diver, whom doesn't know about the effect of poor buoyancy can do to diving in confined space, especially to another diver right behind him. I experience such situation, where I followed a newbie diver going into an L shape tunnel. Pretty soon his fins lifted enough silts in front of me to the point of the flashlight, that I was using, was doing no good. I just saw bunch of particulates in front of me. The visibility is practically dropped to ZERO. So, I said to myself: "Don't panic, you know this is a simple L-shape tunnel. Just continue to swim straight forward until you hit a wall and make a 90 degree turn". I didn't remember whether it was 90-degrees to the left or to the right. So, I went straight until my hand feel a wall. Then, I turned to the left, swam a few feet and hit another wall, which from my logical thinking that I just made a wrong turn. So I turned around & swam 180 degrees toward the other direction. After seemingly a long & slowly swim with frog kick motion to minimize further silting out conditions, I finally & literally saw a light at the end of the tunnel & got out safely. Just imagine if that happens where I don't know the shape of the confined space.
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