Galapagos Scuba Diving Fatality - February 12, 2010 - Eloise Gale

[divedeeepr]

Galapagos can indeed be a "boogy man" destination. Was I too "doom and gloom" in my description, I don't know, I lived it , I made nearly 50 dives over two trips, I heard all the real life stories from the crew. Hey folks Gordon's Rocks is nicknamed "Washing Machine" and widow-maker...that's how bad the upwellings, down wellings, and cross currents can be there... but having been there twice, (I wonder if other critical posters have done a Galapagos charter) it can also be rather tame..depends on the season....In either case I don't want to sugarcoat it.....My 2003 August charter was ripping currents with thousands of sharks everywhere, my November 2006 charter was no current with few sharks and marine life. The water was too warm. I think the conditions that can be present at various times of the year, coupled with novice nervous divers and perhaps some bad luck, can be very very dangerous. In fact, in 2006 we were equipped with EPerbs for a lost diver event. In 2003 all we had were dive alerts and signal flags. Aggressor boats went to Eperbs as an additional safety precaution after divers went a missing and were never found.

I agree that I was wrong in labeling NAUI as an "Open Ocean" only cert agency. That was my belief from being certified by them in 1990. I do believe that it is wrong to do check out work in a pond, lake, quarry, etc...then go on to dive in the ocean from the shore or a boat. Suiting up on a rocking, cramped boat is nothing like suiting up on a picnic table on a sunny day then doing a giant stride into the still water controlled conditions of the quarry. Many divers never seek additional needed and I believe necessary training after the OW1 class.

 

[divedeeepr]

My creds? New Jersey/Delaware diver....750 dives over 20+ years. I live within 100 miles of the coast. 80% of my dives and diving are Delaware and Jersey. I have been diving a Viking Pro Surveyor shell drysuit since 1992. I dive steel double 80's genesis (nitrox) I could handly your quarry just fine in any temperature and any vis. But I agree 120' feet of cold dark water can be just as challenging, quarry or ocean. If I am going that deep, it will be to see a nice wreck and spear some large fish. Cheers!

 

[Argonaut Captain]

It was stated she was having trouble with buoyancy on the check out dive. It is not uncommon for divers to overweight to keep from holding up the rest of the group. If she was negatively buoyant, and lost her mask due to current or panic, she was in a state of high anxiety. Anybody would be. I think the most plausible scenario is that she unknowingly slipped below the MOD for her O2 mix and passed out. I think people underestimate oxygen toxicity generally because, as a recreational diver, you normally wouldn't be in a situation where it comes into play. We all need to train more (even if just running "what ifs" through our minds) for the unexpected. Dive enough and surprises WILL happen. This story breaks my heart.

 

[sufur]

when diving in areas with possible down currents. wouldnt it be dangerous to dive with nitrox? since you might get pulled down below the mod?ff

 

[Thalassamania]

MOD is not really a line in the sand, it's a fuzzy continuum that is a function of depth and time at depth. Being sweep down so deep that I instantly convulsed due to the increased ppO2 just isn't in the cards.

 

[warriorpilot]

My name is Pablo im 32 years old and begun diving 2 months ago, my first dive was in Gordon´s rock (Santa cruz, Galapagos), that was a great and lucky experience considering that my introductory course was the night before, wtching a promotional video of the Open Water, i tried on the equipment and went to rest. The next day we left the port at 07:00 went to the spot and got ther in 30 minutes, rough and huge waves around the rocks, it is normal said the dive instructor, there were 7 experienced divers, and the instructor told me, dont tell them you are on course, i was a littlet afraid but as i am, did´nt bother to concern about it, there were a short briefing, on 5 minutes about the place, signals, fish recognition, boat exit and boat boarding. ....mask on, regulator on, on my count 1..2...3 go!!, on top there was the signal go down, the only thing i saw is the group going deeper and deeper, i felt a terrible pain on my ears but i controlled it inmediately, and tryed to reach the group, i was there, i couldnt believe, 30 mts deep, we went by this huge wall searching for hummerheads, after 10 minutes, i got 2000 psi, suddenly, a strong current forced us to hold the rocks, it was so strong that it took of the regulator from my mouth, and then it was coming backwards, like a flag in a storm from one side to another, i can tell for sure, that if i wont hold that rock so hard may be i would have not make it, i could have it the wall, either way we went back on the other way like if nothing had happend, some divers wanted to abort because of the air limit and their concern of the currents, it was scared but i thought that it was normal, so i expected the unexpected. I am also a pilot and i manage the risk everytime, i guess that Galapagos and some spots of the islands is not for begginers as i am, even though i love it, i keep diving every week but now i choose to go with the most experienced diving academy.

 

[DandyDon]

Wow Pablo, glad you survived a very poor introductory dive - worse than my Discover Scuba dive, and glad you're going with the best now.

 

[bsee65]

Pablo, that dive had nothing to do with "managing risk", and if that's the way you do it in the air, I hope to never fly with you. This may seem harsh, but I hope it will get through. What you did was to ignore risk, or to be oblivious of risk, not manage it. No matter how much reading you've done or how many videos you've watched, you can't possibly have had the skills to manage risk in that environment. "Managing risk" means that you understand the environment and have a mastery of your gear and skills that will allow you to adapt to the issues that arise. To give you a pilot analogy, what you did was similar to learning how to fly a Cessna and then hopping into a jet to fly through the eye of a hurricane. Please go somewhere that will let you practice skills and become intimate with your gear before you take on any more advanced dives.

 

[DandyDon]

Bsee, I think that Pablo did a Discover Scuba trust-me not then knowing that his leadership was dangerous, and has moved on to better training.

 

[bsee65]

They do discover scuba dives in heavy current on the Galapagos? That just sounds insane. I thought those required much closer supervision than he described. I got the impression it was a first dive after certification - but you may be right.

By the way, welcome to ScubaBoard Pablo!