German woman dies diving Cozumel

[tangodiver]

Post#06

I am disturbed by the statement "She had about 18 dives and had a camera with her." ...

Post#13

That's a good point, Trish. Some dive shops very much like to sell cameras to recreational divers. They're a high-end item.

Post#17

AhHa, problem solved, question answered. It's the LDS's fault for selling her a camera. Who knew it would be that simple?

It is possible that the LDS sold the victim the camera but we don't know that for sure. A reasonable speculation though. Still don't know enough that the camera did play a part in the chain of events that led to the diver's demise.

 

[bamamedic]

no....but cameras do add a bit of task loading that can be too much for a new diver.

During my very first few OW dives, I tried to bring a camera....and found my inability to manage both the camera and my buoyancy caused me to jet from 50 feet to about 12 feet without my even noticing it. I put the camera away, and didn't touch it until I felt that I was able to manage both without issue.

 

[DandyDon]

It is possible that the LDS sold the victim the camera but we don't know that for sure. A reasonable speculation though. Still don't know enough that the camera did play a part in the chain of events that led to the diver's demise.

Welcome to SB. No, we don't know what happened really, and usually don't in time. We just try to learn what we can here, often from discussing possibilities, aka speculating.

It would certainly not be the LDS's fault or that of any other salesman for providing the camera. I'm in the camp of "learn to dive first, then to shoot" but newbies often do buy cameras and dive with them. It happens and it can indeed be distracting. In this particular case it may have prevented her from keeping up with her assigned dive buddy who had a first obligation to lead the group, but we don't know if that actually mattered here.

 

[jkaterenchuk]

She went through the swim-thru and was flailing more, almost crawling in the water. At that point it appeared like she was in a daze so he did an emergency ascent and brought her to the surface. .

Being narked will not kill you. But an emergency ascent from a deep dive might. Wonder if that was the cause?

John

 

[vladimir]

Oh, good grief!
A camera! Today's cameras are so small and simple there's no reason not to carry one all the time, from dive one.

It's not a question of size or complexity. Many new divers need constant visual feedback to maintain a reasonably constant depth. The second they put their eye to the viewfinder they start drifting--usually deeper--and more often than not don't realize it until their fins hit the reef. But I don't see it as a huge risk factor for the diver and I doubt it is relevant to this woman's death. For the sake of the reef's health, divers should wait until they have good control of their buoyancy before bringing a camera; their pictures usually suck before then anyway.

 

[robint]

Assuming that the camera caused her death is a bit much! She could have had a health problem, a heart attack, or some other condition that she never informed the dive op about!!!

As far as newbies diving with cameras, I did it from my 1st dive after certification and that was 10+ yrs ago in Coz, back before digital. I handled it just fine and didn't die. Of course, I was an experienced topside photographer, so I knew what I was doing with the camera. If she wasn't familiar with cameras at all it would have added some additional task loading, but still folks, the camera didn't kill her...... something else did!

 

[darkstar]

You know, it could just have been an AGE resulting from breath holding, a PFO, or any of a dozen other medical conditions.

On second thought, it was definitely the camera. It's probably just lucky that the damn thing didn't kill everyone there. And the divemaster too. He's definitely to blame. What the heck was he doing pointing out fish and leading the divers. He should have been holder her hand. And the dive shop. How did they LET this all happen. Where were the Dive Police? Newbies with cameras? Swim throughs? Below the 60 foot limit? Reckless I say.:shocked2:

 

[Epinephelus]

It's not a question of size or complexity. Many new divers need constant visual feedback to maintain a reasonably constant depth. The second they put their eye to the viewfinder they start drifting--usually deeper--and more often than not don't realize it until their fins hit the reef. But I don't see it as a huge risk factor for the diver and I doubt it is relevant to this woman's death. For the sake of the reef's health, divers should wait until they have good control of their buoyancy before bringing a camera; their pictures usually suck before then anyway.

Great Day in the Mornin'!
Y'all are hurtin' my tender little sensitivities here, sniff... (see the tears?) !
Fer cryin' out loud!
People should wait until they have good control of their buoyancy before they are divers!
Cameras don't cause accidents.
E

 

[Socorro Chub]

It's always too sad to hear stories like this ... From such sad stories we can only hope for the eternal rest of loss souls and learn as much as possible to avoid similar things from happening again.

I have been in Cozumel so many times and only hear these kind of news associated to large operators. Perhaps, as a cautionary measure it would be better to seek for the small operators. That's what I do there because they usually carry small groups and it is easier to track each other whereabouts and status.

While it is true that some of them have different ways to begin a dive; e.g. jumping in and descending fast to get precisely on the target reef, one can always be ready as to follow the guide. Also reading about reefs and dives prior to the dive help one get mentally prepared.

The camera itself is not a burden but perhaps she got distracted and did not pay attention to air or depth. Who knows ... As fellow divers mentioned do not put the burden and chat with friends.

Warm regards

 

[DandyDon]

Excerpting...

I have been in Cozumel so many times and only hear these kind of news associated to large operators. Perhaps, as a cautionary measure it would be better to seek for the small operators. That's what I do there because they usually carry small groups and it is easier to track each other whereabouts and status.

Then you should be aware that all Ops there are required to have no more than 8 customers per DM in the water. That's pretty tight oversight I think, surpassed only by the Cenote diving regulations. Perhaps we hear more about these with larger Ops only because they have so many more customer: more tourist dives yield more problems. I dive with a smaller Op there too, maximum 8 divers to the boat, but that's not for safety reasons. I just don't see any problems with the safety of the Ops there, at least not with their DMs & dive plans - altho some of the boats might be another discussion.

We don't get news from the island much tho. What we hear we get from other divers, or perhaps from US news sources quoting other divers. If these accidents ever make local news, I guess it's just not translated to English - but I doubt that they do. Some Caribbean islands will publish local stories on diving accidents but I never see anything from Mexican news sources. Again, it could be the translation, but I don't know.

My best guess from what we have seen here would be a medical problem. For possible learning from mistakes here, whether they may have anything to do with the cause or not, I would suggest...

New divers should learn to diver better without the distractions of a camera. I know that newbies often do take cameras down to share what they personally saw with friends, but they are very distracting - still a threat to my safety at times.

New divers really are wise to hire private DMs for at least a day or two on their first trip anywhere. Money well spent.

And in the event on is asked to buddy with the DM leading the group, then it's that divers responsibility to stay with the DM as he does his primary job - leading the group, mindful that he may suddenly take off to assist someone else so stay with him.​

My thots anyway...