Fyi

[JustAddWater]

Very sad story. Has the kelp been a factor in the other recent dive accidents? The article says that problems occurred at 5'. I wonder if there could have been a better entrance spot, where the kelp isn't so thick. In my experience, the top 10' of kelp is the most difficult to swim through. Approaching the bed with some depth is much easier. Buddy separation so soon and panic don't help. The article doesn't give any info on the divers' experience.
Rest in peace, Condolences to family.

Isn't there a recent thread on solo diving with marginal experience?

 

[divemed06]

Sad!
"Intelligence is not simply a mass of knowledge. Intelligence is the ability to learn from past experiences, other's or our own, and to make every effort not to repeat the same mistakes".
Canadian Author, Unknown

Lets all be intelligent divers!!! :doctor:

 

[DivePartner1]

Very sad story, and a tragic illustration of the value of the Rescue courses, if only for self-rescue skills.

 

[sharpenu]

JustAddWater once bubbled...
Isn't there a recent thread on solo diving with marginal experience?

Except that she WASN'T solo diving. She was buddy diving. Her buddies FAILED in thier duty to support and assist her. Why did they agree to "meet at the bottom"? Why did the first buddy surface? Why did they abandon her?

We must all learn from these deaths, to prevent them from happening again. To do otherwise is to make her death truly a waste.

"Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it"

 

[Knavey]

Its interesting to me that for the last couple of days I have seen some negative posts about some of the magazines in the dive community and the lack of decent articles in them.

I received my Dive Training magazine in the mail a couple of days ago and what is one of the major articles...a refresher on how to dive in kelp. Doesn't make anyone an expert (I have never done it) but it never helps to review skills and techniques before one gets in the water.

 

[Ron Brandt]

MikeFerrara once bubbled...



I think they should add a line in the OW manual that tells people that ascents and descents are among the times when there are most likely to be problems and that's when divers need to be the MOST alert.


I feel horrible for all the other divers who are going to die because of such blatant stupidity and incompetance.

I also feel horrible for those of you who don't read this stuff and feel slaped in the face with the glaringly obvious issues

Yes what's done is done and we're going to keep doing it aren't we? What will make it better? or don't we want to?

Holly molly!

 

[Ron Brandt]

Sorry , I quoted Mike and never put in my comments.

I was about to say that I often "get accused of scaring the students" with stories such as these.

My intent is to bring awareness to the students.

Could not breath without a mask? Come on!

Ron

 

[JustAddWater]

She was not solo diving but was buddied with two other divers, according to the article. What are your thoughts on a three person buddy team? When I was first diving, and went with 2 buddies, I found that much more tasking.

 

[Ron Brandt]

In Tec diving 3 man teams are the norm.

Gee,I woner why.

Ron

 

[CuriousMe]

DivePartner1 once bubbled...
Very sad story, and a tragic illustration of the value of the Rescue courses, if only for self-rescue skills.

I completely agree that the Rescue course is valuable ....but truly if the situation happened as reported, I learned those self rescue skills in OW.

Descending with your buddy, breathing without your mask, getting out of your gear (at 5 feet, even if she was entangled, stripping off whatever is entangled and swimming for the surface is an option). Recovering your reg if knocked out of your mouth...these are skills covered in OW.

My deepest condolences to the family and friends of this women.

Peace,
Cathie