Fatality at San Clemente Island

[SoCalAngel]

I never did see anything in the local papers about this. Was it there and I missed it?

She lived in Northern California, so it may have been in one of their papers. I found out some from this board and more from her friend.

 

[drbill]

I spoke recently with the mother and father of the boat's captain. His mother told me that he (the captain) returned to the dive site using his GPS coordinates, dived and retrieved the victim's BCD and tank so it could be evaluated for any evidence. I think this is a sign of the captain's professionalism and his concern for what happened.

I thought there had been other posts in this thread indicating that the ship's crew did an excellent job of addressing this incident. Perhaps they were removed as part of the solo diving discussion, or there may be other threads here on the same subject.

Doc

 

[SoCalAngel]

I agree that the captain and crew are very professional and caring about their passengers. The captain had had Margaret on his boat many times before, from the time he was just a deckhand. If you speak with him, please tell him that he is my prayers, too.


I received this as an email from a close friend of Margaret:

"Please join us to celebrate the life of Margaret Saunders.

Margaret Saunders lost her life while doing something she loved. She passed away Friday, August 6th while diving in the Channel Islands. For all of you who knew and loved her, let’s celebrate the ways she touched our lives. Join us for a casual remembrance at Steamer’s Lane with a sunset hike, slides and a BBQ to follow.

When: Sunday, September 12th

Where: Steamer’s Lane, Santa Cruz (BBQ to follow at Bill’s house)

Time: 4:00 pm

What to bring: A flower to throw in her honor, something to BBQ, drinks, a dish to share, tennis shoes for the sunset walk, and pictures

Questions: jlindsay7@yahoo.com

Remembering a legacy.

Margaret loved diving at Steamer’s Lane and had requested that her ashes be scattered there.

If you would like to make a donation in Margaret’s honor we will be collecting contributions for the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Checks should be made out to the Aquarium, forms and other information will be available after the services. If you are unable to attend and would like to make a donation please contact Joy at jlindsay7@yahoo.com. Our goal is to collect $1,000 or more so her name will be placed on the donor wall for all of us to view. Contributions will be used for habitat research, upkeep of existing and new exhibits, education and most importantly, ocean conservation. We thought this would be a great way to give back to something Margaret was so passionate about and truly loved.

Location: Steamer Lane, or Lighthouse Point, is on West Cliff Dr., overlooking the wharf and the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. On Yahoo maps, search Lighthouse Point in Santa Cruz. There is ample parking in various nearby locations, but it may be crowded on a Sunday afternoon. Carpooling is recommended.

Note: We encourage you to dress in any way that you feel best honors Margaret’s life, so don’t feel as though you have to wear black."

 

[Otter]

If I have to go early, I want to be diving. My thoughts are prayers are with her family and friends.

 

[drbill]

IF I go, there are only three things that I spend the majority of my time doing: diving, editing UW video and sleeping. I'd prefer it happen while doing the first or the third. It's bad enough to have my hard disk crash while editing.

Doc

 

[phlee]

Thanks for the update, the Captain and the crew. That is a deep spot, I would sure like to know what info is gained from the gear.

 

[nlbford]

For those who are familiar with the dive, I haven't heard anything that we should be keenly interested in.

What was her mix?
What was her dive profile? Did she have a dive computer or a dive black box like a Sensus?
What were the dive conditions? Cold? Heavy current?

Well coincidentally enough I just got back from LDS where I ran into the owner who is an old friend. He also is one of the people who does accidenta analysis for the county when there are fatalities to divers. He actually had her gear in the shop for that analysis and pulled up her computer's profile on his PC to show me how telling it was. Basically it shows a definitive desecent to 260ft followed by an immediate bounce to 100 feet, then a quick descent to 107 feet where (at I think 15 minutes into the dive) it leveled off . . . until she was recfovered 3 hours later. A very eery profile when visualized in graph form. It was quite sad to see that and look down at her BC and reg laid out. Very sobering as well.

According to him, she was diving regular CA, no mix diving at all - which amazed me. I am not into very deep diving, but if I were, I know I would do so with the appropriate gases and not push the known limits of compressed air.

Knowing that site fairly well, my gues is it was somewhat chilly at that depth as it very exposed to deep water. And while it is the lee side of the island, there can be current along the wall, but I didn't ask the specifics of the conditions.

I also know form that site that onc you get past about 80-100 feet, there is not much to see. And looking at her profile she clearly was intentionally diving very deep basically for the sake of doing so. Obviously I can't speak to her exact thought and motivations on that dive but appearances indicate it was a bounce dive just to hit depth. And apparently this woman had been banned from other boats according to my friends colleagues (who wouldn't mention whom or where specifically).

I never really got into the idea of diving deep simply to do so, though I know several people I dive with who do just that (one has passed away a few years ago when doing exactly that). When I see something like that, I know why and I am glad I enjoy cruising around and taking pictures at reasonable depth.

 

[MikeFerrara]

Can't help but wonder what people are thinking.

 

[nlbford]

Can't help but wonder what people are thinking.

or not thinking . . .