Fatality Off Miami Beach - Florida

[danvolker]

It is common to take the BCD off before getting on the boat in many places around the world. It is very commonly done in small boats in Cozumel, for example. When you have a small boat with a small ladder hooked over the side, or if you have an inflatable boat with no ladder, it is what is mostly done.

When that happens, you usually hand up the weight belt or weight pockets first. You usually do not hand the BCD up with the weight pockets in because it makes it very difficult for the crew to lift it.

In any case, you do it when you are next to the boat preparing to board. You are handing the BCD up to a member of the crew. If someone were to mistakenly try to hand up the BCD to the crew without taking off the weight belt and then sink to the bottom, my guess is that the crew member might notice. If not, the BCD floating by the boat would be a big clue there was a problem. Remember the BCD was found after a search was begun after she failed to show up at the end of the dive.

So it is looking more and more like she was very poorly skilled, not comfortable or near panic, and stripped out of her bc and fins, most probably on or near surface--though on a 20 foot deep reef, this is almost at the surface when on the bottom. Either way, with the weight belt on, she had made a catastrophic error...

Lack of experience? Poor Training? Too long since she dove last or too long since her training? Maybe she would have survived in her own gear, but the rental gear was too alien for her, and her unfamiarity with it caused her to made critical mistakes....?

 

[SC_Hoaty]

So it is looking more and more like she was ....

So the more folks speculate, the more sure you are? Not many "facts" have come out for days.

 

[danvolker]

So the more folks speculate, the more sure you are? Not many "facts" have come out for days.

Not what I am doing at all...there is a professional investigator on this thread now....I imagine our speculations are good for him, things to eliminate, things to consider.
He should be able to do what we can not.

 

[peterbj7]

I'd like to board the boat with my rebreather on my back as its a safe position to ensure it stays safely with me....

Indeed, so long as the boat has a hoist and I don't have to climb a significant ladder with the rebreather on. Otherwise if I've done a long dive I'd rather take it off - so long as the boat crew know how to handle it. I do always hand up my side-slung bottles.

 

[Ayisha]

How far from the boat was the victim found and was there any current?

 

[SC_Hoaty]

Not what I am doing at all...there is a professional investigator on this thread now....I imagine our speculations are good for him, things to eliminate, things to consider.
He should be able to do what we can not.

So what is the basis for your "So it is looking more and more like she..." comment? It looks more and more like we know the same as we did days ago. Just the speculation is starting to run along a particular tangent of her skills or comfort - with NO EVIDENCE of her training, prior demonstated skills, etc.

The only thing current is that Dan Volker is commenting frequently - a long shot from facts for most objective observers. Repeating something frequently only makes it true in politics - not actual factual investigations.

Give it a rest and let some facts emerge ----- or accept that this is all speculation and treat it as such!

 

[danvolker]

[video=vimeo;60676278]http://vimeo.com/60676278[/video]

This would appear to me as a skill that might prevent an accident similar to this one in the future.
Not for the skill in free ascending so much as the skill with getting the gear off and on with ease, while maintaining optimal propulsive ability.

 

[peterbj7]

This does of course form part of the PADI OW course, but I've never seen it worked on to achieve perfection. Maybe instructors need to wake up a little?

 

[jIM STEELE]

[video=vimeo;60676278]http://vimeo.com/60676278[/video]

This would appear to me as a skill that might prevent an accident similar to this one in the future.
Not for the skill in free ascending so much as the skill with getting the gear off and on with ease, while maintaining optimal propulsive ability.

more pool time more open water time with more practice and mastery of skills cant be bad maybe standards should be raised

 

[Black_3000psi]

She would have to swim all the way to the surface if she's not neutrally buoyant with a full BC at depth. There will be no more expansion coming up as the BC is full already and the expanding air would escape through the OPV. The only extra buoyancy she would get would be from expanding exposure suit (wetsuit or drysuit).

small Chinese lady with more weight than a bcd can lift? really? the average lift on a small bcd is 24lbs of lift....care to guess how much lead she would have had to have on for that bcd to not surface? that would be more weight than she could put on to a belt and walk with it. she had been seen on the surface so we know that she didnt have that type of weight on.