Fatality while diving Duane (Key Largo)

[jdwa]

Anyone know what happened? I dove the Duane with Horizon Divers over the 4th of July weekend and they were super folks and did a great job. My thoughts and prayers go out to the family of the diver and the folks at Horizon.

(From the Key West Citizen, 11/10/05)

Virginia man dies during dive

CITIZEN STAFF

KEY LARGO — A 47-year-old Virginia man died Tuesday morning during a dive on the former U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Duane, now an artificial reef off Key Largo.

Robert Smith of South Riding, Va., was reportedly ascending from the dive when it became obvious to those aboard the dive boat that he was having trouble, according to the Monroe Sheriff's Office. He was diving with a group of friends.

When divers brought him on board the Cheeca View, the commercial boat owned by Horizon Divers, he was not breathing. Crew members and divers began cardiopulmonary resuscitation immediately as the captain headed for shore. Paramedics met the boat on shore and transported Smith to Mariners Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The Sheriff's Office dive team returned to the scene Tuesday afternoon to recover Smith's dive gear. It will be examined for possible evidence relating to the incident. This is the third known death as the result of a dive on the Duane since it became an artificial reef in 1987.

The Duane sits on the bottom at approximately 130 feet and its most shallow deck is 105 feet below the surface. The average sport diving occurs in up to 60 feet of water and the sport diving limit is 130 feet.

An autopsy will be performed on Smith to determine the possible cause of death.

 

[DennisW]

These things are always sad to hear about. My prayers to his family, friends, and the crew of the Cheeca View. They have to deal with a death and also, an investigation.

 

[Misplaced Priority]

Man, What is it about the Duane and Grove? Seems like alot of bad news comes from there. So sad for the family, friends and crew on the boat. I hope we can find out what happened so we can learn from this tragic event.

 

[String]

I dived the Duane in july and was surprised how "easy" it was. There was a current but nothing you couldnt fight against. Vis 30ft or so, Permanent lines up/down and the wreck itself sanitised presumably for safety reasons.

Just goes to show no matter how simple a dive looks it can still bite. That said, we have no idea if its a diving accident or just a medical incident that happened under water. Thats what the post mortem is for.

 

[Henryville]

Man, What is it about the Duane and Grove? Seems like alot of bad news comes from there. So sad for the family, friends and crew on the boat. I hope we can find out what happened so we can learn from this tragic event.

Part of it has to be simply the large number of dives being done on those sites. I am not saying anything about the cause or circumstances of this particular accident - I know nothing about it - but generally speaking if people have medical conditions waiting to get triggered, more traffic will mean more events. Same reason such a high proportion of traffic accidents happen within a fairly small radius around one's home - most of one's driving happens there.

 

[500 PSI]

Dove the Duane in Jan. this year with one other diver from a "6 pack boat" and it was my favorite dive in the Keys, with 50 ft vis no current. I guess I was lucky to have such great conditions. String , you are 110% correct, things happen at depth, but I will dive the Duane again and will probably think of this unfornitute diver; I will also be extra careful!!

 

[mike_s]

I dove the Duane on July 1st of this year. Great dive, but the current was really kicking... (but not as near as strong as it was on the Grove)

 

[deeper thoughts]

I am not sure but I heard the seas were snotty, dont know if this was a factor or not.
My thoughts and prayers to the family and dive staff.

 

[DandyDon]

I thought it was one of the easier of the deeper Keys wreck dives, much easier than it's sister The Bibb. Our buddy posted this on another thread here...

NOVEMBER 09, 2005

Virginia man dies while diving

Key Largo - A Virginia man diving on a wreck off of Key Largo died Tuesday.

47 year old Robert Smith of South Riding, Virginia was diving with a group of friends off of the dive boat "Cheeca View" from Horizon Divers when the incident took place at 10:40 a.m. He was reportedly ascending from a dive on the wreck Duane. He began to have trouble just before reaching the surface and was not breathing. Divers from the boat brought him on board and began Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation and he was brought to shore. Paramedics met the boat at shore and transported Smith to Mariner's Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The Sheriff's Office dive team returned to the scene of the incident to recover Smith's dive gear Tuesday. IT will be examined for possible evidence relating to the incident. An autopsy will be done on Smith to determine the possible cause of death.

My first hunch would be medical with little connection to the dive...?

 

[drbill]

Man, What is it about the Duane and Grove? Seems like alot of bad news comes from there. So sad for the family, friends and crew on the boat. I hope we can find out what happened so we can learn from this tragic event.

I dove the Duane and the Grove about 6 months ago and really enjoyed the former. Three deaths since it was sunk? Why we had three deaths here off Catalina the first week of lobster season (one probably not dive related). even our Casino Point dive park gets more deaths than 3 in a year. Doesn't sound like the Duane is that dangerous, although I have no data to normalize the death rates at all the sites since I don't know the number of dives made on each.

Like all such deaths, my heart goes out to the family, friends and the staff involved.