Fl Keys accident reports

[netmage]

Maybe it is just too easy to get to Florida to scuba dive, and so the divers who go there are not always as serious about preparation as those to other mecca locations like Hawaii or Mexico? And since Florida is so beautiful, they simply cannot resist the attraction.

But this much I have gathered for myself from the above discussion:

1) I will be diving off a commercial boat in Florida
2) I will avoid the Spiegel Grove
3) I will continue jogging every day before I show up in Florida
4) No snorkeling.

Above the main decks - the Grove is no more or less dangerous than any other wreck.
It's an awesome dive, and if you take your diving with any seriously intent - you'll find it rewarding.

If you are a once a year diver, who has to ask a DM to put your rig together because you forgot, or don't know how much lead you need and just showed up wanting to plunge head first to 130' you might be in over your head... But then again - your probably in over your head on anything other than the 25' of molasses reef.

 

[WarChief]

Above the main decks - the Grove is no more or less dangerous than any other wreck.
It's an awesome dive, and if you take your diving with any seriously intent - you'll find it rewarding.

If you are a once a year diver, who has to ask a DM to put your rig together because you forgot, or don't know how much lead you need and just showed up wanting to plunge head first to 130' you might be in over your head... But then again - your probably in over your head on anything other than the 25' of molasses reef.

I think they are over their heads in 15 ft if they are once a year divers. To my way of thinking a "serious" diver will try to find a few local places to get in a "little" practice before going on that "once a year" diving vacation. A refresher course my not be out of the question either. IMHO

 

[cloudboy55]

Yes, many accidents are medically related. Yes, they may have happened on the golf course, but many times the medical issue is a contributing factor or the stress of the dive is a contributing factor. What one may survive on land often is deadly in the water. Diving can be and often is very easy, but can become physically stressful at any time. I don't think that is the case with golf.

This is why divers need to maintain at least some degree of fitness.

trtldvr
www.divealive.org

ok. I will get off my soap box now.

I would really like to see fitness related statistics with any accident reports. I feel that it's commonly a factor in these fatalities. There are simply too many grossly overweight, smoking, poorly hydrated, inexperienced divers out there. At the Carribean dive resorts I've been to, unfit divers are the rule, not the exception.

 

[deeper thoughts]

I heard over the marine radio that there was another diver accident today but I dont have any other details, I hope for the best

 

[tep]

Interesting stats on 2005 and 2006 fatalities:

Over the two-year period: 27 fatalities
15 fatalities were Scuba related
7 Scuba fatalities from private vessels
8 Scuba fatalities from commercial vessels
Observations:

The Scuba related deaths, if you look closely, seem to be more related to emergency ascents and improper ascent rates caused by improper training or panic (One diver bolted for the surface and tank had 1,573 psi remaining after incident...that almost certainly was panic related).

Also, notice that only one of the Scuba fatalities were attributed to equipment failure and that was on a technical dive.

Additionally, if you consider that vastly more scuba divers are diving off commercial boats than private (8 com. deaths to 7 private), the dive ops overall are possibly doing an outstanding job when it comes to safety. At the least, much better than we perhaps give them credit for.

Finally, the most startling statistic is the snorkeler deaths and the post concerning the lack of physical conditioning being the cause certainly rings true, even more so than in regards to the scuba fatalities.

See? This is exactly the kind of analysis that we should be doing throughout the industry. While this sample set is horribly small, we can begin to get some "information" (processed raw data) out of it.

Looks like what everyone has been promoting from "anecdotal evidence" is absolutely true and should be addressed: fitness and bouyancy control. And now we have evidence (very little, but some) to back up the common sense. I suspect that a larger sample size would yield similar, but even more compelling, results.

 

[DeltaWardog]

The two that I find interesting are where there was apparently a proper 3 minute safety stop and the diver still died of a lung overexpansion injury due to 'atypical ascent'. What's going on there? Holding their breath for the last 15 feet??? Seems strange.

 

[RAD Diver]

Well I have seen some reports that suggest that those last 15 feet can be the most dangerous.

 

[fisherdvm]

I dove the Spiegel Grove a few months ago with Horizon Divers. What a blast. The current was outlandish and the chop was actually waves. The DM had us empty our BC's and told us to grab the line, whatever we did. Going down the line, hand over hand, we were like flags in the wind because of the strong current. At about 50 feet it calmed down and on the deck of the ship there was little current to deal with. We were able to enter the wheelhouse and a couple of nearby compartments and then it was time to surface. Another hand over hand and deco stop and then the adventure of getting back on the boat. That beat the hell out of the next dive, a 25 footer in calm water. But I can see how a diver could get in a panic on a dive like that if he/she was prone to freaking when a problem arose. Anyway, I'm going back for some more as soon as my shoulder gets well.

I had the spiegel grove called off by Silent World due to current, while other dive boats were sending divers down. I had another dive called off, also after getting to the dive site by Pennenkamp dive shop. I consider these folks to be outstanding - to make a call for the diver's safety. No reason to subject divers to currents on a 100 ft plus dive.

 

[fisherdvm]

The two that I find interesting are where there was apparently a proper 3 minute safety stop and the diver still died of a lung overexpansion injury due to 'atypical ascent'. What's going on there? Holding their breath for the last 15 feet??? Seems strange.

Perhaps he ran out of air doing the 3 minute safety stop? To many people are rigid, and don't realize it is more important to have reserve in the tank than to complete the "optional" safety stop. I know my nephew did that, as a beginner, you don't comprehend the safety aspect of having reserve air for the surface.

 

[vshearer]

The two "Lung Expansion" incidents (Dry Tortugas and Marquesas) where divers completed a safety stop and then were killed. Was there any common thread there? Seems hard to understand how someone can "panic" after a safety stop, and i wouldn't think they would hold thier breath for the remaining ascent....