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

[DandyDon]

Oh I don't see any DM or OP failures here anywhere. Some try harder than others to prepare divers but the Galops are advanced diving. If a diver does not research that and know and/or does not prepare, I can't put that on anyone else. I know of a group that was going do the Galops, one that would sell an empty seat to anyone with the money - the one that I saw 5 divers leave in ambulances on various trips over the years (reference my Exuma story above) but last I heard before I quit that group is their trip was off or postponed.

I do not know how experienced or prepared the deceased was as I cannot find anything about her on the net other than the one lawyer's story in many sites and maybe some social networking sites that may or may not be hers. I don't know how well her new buddy stuck with her, and it was good of her buddy to keep diving until she found the body, but better to keep buddies together alive. My speculations still suggest diver unprepared, panic, aggravated by buddy separation.

 

[Thalassamania]

The DM breach of duty appears to start with the fact that the DM does not know when, where, and how she was separated from the group. If we had that information we might, arguably, find more breaches.

 

[Bubbletrubble]

The DM breach of duty appears to start with the fact that the DM does not know when, where, and how she was separated from the group. If we had that information we might, arguably, find more breaches.

The implication of this statement is that it is incumbent upon the DM to know the position of the divers in his group 100% of the time throughout the dive. If this is the standard to which we hold DMs, then it would seem incompatible with DM-in-front positioning during the dive...unless he is looking backward the entire time. It would also seem to present nearly insurmountable challenges when leading even a moderately sized dive group in low visibility conditions. Perhaps a safer alternative would be to have a DM in front and another DM in the rear with divers sandwiched in-between. We can all agree that this arrangement would probably increase the in-water DM-to-diver ratio and likely the cost of the dive vacation. In light of the challenging dive conditions in the Galapagos (in particular the strong currents), I hope that the live-aboard ops are at least considering implementing such measures.

In this particular incident, 14 divers were divided into two groups of 7 with each group being led by a DM. What is the typical in-water DM-to-diver ratio on Galapagos live-aboards?

 

[InTheDrink]

Chipping in again from a Cocos perspective (which I have heard is very similar and potentially challenging diving to Galapagos) your safety in diving in these locations is clearly your own.

It really is not like a DM hand-holding exercise. Certainly not on the Undersea Hunter at Cocos. You know you are in a remote location.
You know there are serious currents.
Deep-ish dives.
Likely deco obligation.
Potential separation from your group.
Potential to drift at large (hence EPIRBs at Cocos).
Large fish (least of your worries).

If you're not comfortable in these conditions then best to stay away.

I felt there were a couple of divers on my trip (about 70 dives each) that weren't ready for this trip (even though one had brought a dedicated divemaster with him). But this was a good solid operation that certainly appeared to vet, at least in a basic way, the guests.

Many other ops I've been with have not been so cautious. But with the inherent conflict of interests (guest = money, no guest = no money) it's really up to the diver to evaluate whether they're up to it. After that it's all bets off.

It is not the same as being on a resort dive at Sharm (or whatever equivalent in the U.S) with a group of complete novices that need complete looking after by the DM.

Diving in remote and challenging locations asks a very simple question: are you up to this?
If your answer is yes then it really is all on your own shoulders.

A DM is NOT going to save you here, sorry.

J

 

[Bubbletrubble]

A DM is NOT going to save you here, sorry.

@InTheDrink: I agreed with most of the points in your last post...with the exception of the above quote. With divers moving against a strong current, a vigilant DM positioned in the rear of the group should notice when a diver gets swept away from her buddy and the group. Putting more well-trained DMs in the water and positioning them appropriately relative to the group is a legitimate course of action that the liveaboard op could take. Understand that I'm not accusing the Aggressor of negligence in this particular incident. I'm just interested in figuring out what can be done within reason to make Galapagos diving safer in the future.

 

[Thalassamania]

I'm simply not sure that leading from the front makes the most sense under the described conditions. If nothing else the DM should have, every couple of minutes, done a head count.

 

[InTheDrink]

@InTheDrink: I agreed with most of the points in your last post...with the exception of the above quote. With divers moving against a strong current, a vigilant DM positioned in the rear of the group should notice when a diver gets swept away from her buddy and the group. Putting more well-trained DMs in the water and positioning them appropriately relative to the group is a legitimate course of action that the liveaboard op could take. Understand that I'm not accusing the Aggressor of negligence in this particular incident. I'm just interested in figuring out what can be done within reason to make Galapagos diving safer in the future.

Disclaimer: I've had a hard week from hell and I'm aware that my communications at the moment are tending towards the aggressive so please excuse any perceived hostility - it's just the week that's been.

Our dive guides were spending a lot/most of their time on photographing or video. They weren't really looking out in any main way for divers, especially if they thought they were competent. Most were competent and were allowed to do their own thing. This included solo diving which happened, for me at least, quite a lot. My dive buddy (of the insta variety) was a professional cameraman and was happy taking bigger risks than me but it ended up with me diving solo a fair amount of the time and away from the group and also me giving him my gas when he'd run out. I'm not sure this kind of diving is unusual for these parts. In fact, I'd say they're pretty common (based on a very limited experience).

I just don't see the DM as saviour paradigm kicking in where I was. Maybe Galapagos is different - it's reachable by air unlike Cocos which takes 36 hours sailing from land so perhaps a different profile of diver is there than Cocos. But essentially in the conditions that you are likely to experience in these locations, trying to put any responsibility on the DM for group coordination is essentially impossible.

Like I said, it's a big boys dive (no patronisation meant as I'm a novice diver) and if you're not able to look after yourself then that's your problem, and everyone (certainly on my boat) was aware of this.

Like I said, it's not really like a novice trust me hold my hand dive for new divers - and I am a major advocate of DM responsibility in these cases. It's just the kind of diving that you need to be happy that you're managing the risk by yourself and not relying on anyone else, quite possibly even your buddy.

J

 

[InTheDrink]

I'm simply not sure that leading from the front makes the most sense under the described conditions. If nothing else the DM should have, every couple of minutes, done a head count.

Leading isn't also necessarily a concept that applies on these dives. Don't shoot me down just yet and I know you'll have plenty of ways you can do this.

But the dives are not necessarily lead from start to finish in one direction nor finish in one group nor were they expected to. Divers get it, do their thing and try to get out at a pre-designated location. Sometimes this happens all together, sometimes it doesn't. Everyone's got their SMBs and EPIRBs so it's not really an issue.

But the Dive Guide is more that - a guide.

J

 

[Stichus III]

I'm just interested in figuring out what can be done within reason to make Galapagos diving safer in the future.

Diving in the Galapagos will never be as safe as for example diving in Bonaire. But, diving in the Galapagos is made safer when the diver does not need a DM to babysit him/her.

We should accept that diving in the Galapagos is only for strong divers.

 

[Thalassamania]

Leading isn't also necessarily a concept that applies on these dives. Don't shoot me down just yet and I know you'll have plenty of ways you can do this.

But the dives are not necessarily lead from start to finish in one direction nor finish in one group nor were they expected to. Divers get it, do their thing and try to get out at a pre-designated location. Sometimes this happens all together, sometimes it doesn't. Everyone's got their SMBs and EPIRBs so it's not really an issue.

But the Dive Guide is more that - a guide.

J

In situations like that it is critical to have a good team that you know how to work with. The tougher the dive the more important that is expecially when when the DM does not, by plan, fill that role.

Diving in the Galapagos will never be as safe as for example diving in Bonaire. But, diving in the Galapagos is made safer when the diver does not need a DM to babysit him/her.

We should accept that diving in the Galapagos is only for strong divers.

There is a problem with folks who are not ready for places like that thinking that a gold Visa Card is all that it takes.