Fatality Off Miami Beach - Florida
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djcheburashka
Contributor
I was just reminded that in the lost-student incident where I was present, Ari had initially claimed to have surfaced to look for the diver.
This was a lie. There were no waves that day, and as soon as I saw they were gone I surfaced and stayed there. There's no way we could have missed each other. After giving them a few minutes, when I headed in to the lifeguard, I asked if he had seen anyone surface, or any bubbles, and his answer was just me.
I recall confronting her about the lie after the dive. She fessed up, and said she "got the message." But I'm now told that she nevertheless was telling the same story, with the same lie, to people through the remainder of the day--trying to control the public impression, realizing what I and the lifeguard had witnessed.
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---------- Post added February 26th, 2013 at 11:43 AM ----------
got it- i was referring to a story that the diver had surfaced in front of the boat, etc. thank you.
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---------- Post added February 26th, 2013 at 11:45 AM ----------
Ari knows my name, and where I live for service of process. She's a lawyer so she can write her own defamation complaint. If she wants separate counsel I'm happy to refer her to someone skilled in the area.
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This was a lie. There were no waves that day, and as soon as I saw they were gone I surfaced and stayed there. There's no way we could have missed each other. After giving them a few minutes, when I headed in to the lifeguard, I asked if he had seen anyone surface, or any bubbles, and his answer was just me.
I recall confronting her about the lie after the dive. She fessed up, and said she "got the message." But I'm now told that she nevertheless was telling the same story, with the same lie, to people through the remainder of the day--trying to control the public impression, realizing what I and the lifeguard had witnessed.
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---------- Post added February 26th, 2013 at 11:43 AM ----------
got it- i was referring to a story that the diver had surfaced in front of the boat, etc. thank you.
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---------- Post added February 26th, 2013 at 11:45 AM ----------
Ari knows my name, and where I live for service of process. She's a lawyer so she can write her own defamation complaint. If she wants separate counsel I'm happy to refer her to someone skilled in the area.
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If this is true as stated then it is a flagrant breach of the most fundamental of PADI standards, shared by most if not all other agencies. The instructor should be censured by her certifying agency.
This belongs in the disciplinary section of her certifying agency and possibly also with the police, not on an internet chat board.
djcheburashka
Contributor
Yeah, I made that point to her after the first incident. Frankly I don't think I could care less what PADI thinks about any of this, but that's really off-topic so lets not go there.
I posted here only because she did so---in what appears to be a part-public and part-stealth (through emails and private communications to local divers) attempt to point the finger at others.
The fact that I posted here should not be taken to imply that I am not taking the matter up elsewhere. As for PADI, they have my number.
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bilsant
Contributor
A while back I dove with Ari a time or two before quietly deciding to buddy with others.
I wasn't on this dive, don't know anyone involved except her, don't have any dog in this fight, but am not particularly surprised by anything I've heard so far on this thread.
Condolences to the lost diver, her friends, and family.
I wasn't on this dive, don't know anyone involved except her, don't have any dog in this fight, but am not particularly surprised by anything I've heard so far on this thread.
Condolences to the lost diver, her friends, and family.
Wow . .. :frown: if what has been said most recently on this thread has any truth to it then
this "nudibranch collecting instructor" person might just as well have personally taken
off the girl's gear, set her on the bottom with her weightbelt and then left her. The result has been the same. The situation is damn near manslaughter.
this "nudibranch collecting instructor" person might just as well have personally taken
off the girl's gear, set her on the bottom with her weightbelt and then left her. The result has been the same. The situation is damn near manslaughter.
ForScubaPurposesOnly
Registered
^From the accounts given, it sounds like the diver was part of a group just tagging along with Ari's class. Ari took one buddy and assumed the other was not coming. I cannot verify any of this information and it was all taken from her statements. While she may be a terrible instructor, I don't think the blame rests squarely on her shoulders because she was not hired as an instructor for this girl (as far as she has said in her statements). I think if she would have communicated with this diver, this tragedy could have easily been avoided. The same goes for her buddy. I'm sure the language barrier had something to do with that. It was a freak accident, but I do support taking action and reporting this instructor.
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I just got off the phone with Ari....she says there were multiple ( 4 or 5) witnesses the police interviewed that told the police they SAW the Chinese girl get back on the boat...one of them was the EMT Kevin, that also said she was "dogpaddling"....
So it would seem Ari was not to blame in any way for this issue....She had one student with her, and one tag along diver.
I think it would be nice to hear from these other divers here....but the police reports will come out at some point.
The death was tragic, and we are now involved with the sickness of attributing blame, to prevent this from occurring in the future....
I think the larger issue for us now, is if anyone of us had been in the water, and seen the girl at the surface not in control, what would we do----.?
Dan, as I understood it Kevin said he saw her dogpaddling to the buoy, (not back to the ladder of the boat). Kevin, please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong about that.
If a couple of the other posters that have past/previous one on one experience with Ari are credible, then Ari . . . is not credible.
---------- Post added February 26th, 2013 at 06:36 PM ----------
And if 4-5 people saw her get back on the boat, then she fell off the back of the boat. Again, this would explain why her gear was off. She didn't get her weight belt off before she fell into the water.
Long one of my concerns to see people casually standing/wandering about the boat with their weightbelts on, when not planning to immediately gear up.
If a couple of the other posters that have past/previous one on one experience with Ari are credible, then Ari . . . is not credible.
---------- Post added February 26th, 2013 at 06:36 PM ----------
And if 4-5 people saw her get back on the boat, then she fell off the back of the boat. Again, this would explain why her gear was off. She didn't get her weight belt off before she fell into the water.
Long one of my concerns to see people casually standing/wandering about the boat with their weightbelts on, when not planning to immediately gear up.
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