Hookah diver dead - Florida

[DandyDon]

Hookah diving doesn't require any training, does it...?

Margate woman dies while diving in Marathon - Sun Sentinel

A Margate woman died while diving for lobster near Marathon on Thursday, according to the Monroe County Sheriff's Office.
Melissa Fellows, 36, was diving near the Seven Mile Bridge about 2 p.m. during a dive trip aboard a private boat. Her husband, Wayne Fellows, 32, was one of several people aboard the vessel, sheriff's officials said.
She and another diver were in about 12 feet of water using a "hookah rig" breathing apparatus, which draws air from the surface through a line connected to the mask, investigators said.
Her dive buddy told Deputy Leon Bourcier the hoses from the rig got wrapped around a piling. When the dive buddy tried to free it, he said, his air shut off, so he had to surface.
Melissa Fellows surfaced a few minutes later, others on the boat told deputies, but she was face down and not breathing, investigators said.
She was pulled from the water and people on the boat began CPR. Other boaters heard yelling and responded. They included several paramedics, who took over resuscitation efforts, officials said.
Melissa Fellows was brought to shore. An ambulance took her to Fisherman's Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. An autopsy is scheduled to determine the cause of her death.

 

[Rich Keller]

Hookah diving doesn't require any training, does it...?

There is no training required but you should be OW certified.

 

[fstbttms]

Hookah diving doesn't require any training, does it...?

No, but neither does SCUBA diving.

 

[Rich Keller]

No, but neither does SCUBA diving.

True, shops want to see a card for fills but I have never seen one ask for a card when you want to purchase equipment.

 

[dfx]

True, shops want to see a card for fills but I have never seen one ask for a card when you want to purchase equipment.

I don't know about purchasing, but all the shops I've ever used did want to see a card for renting gear.

But I understand the point made: there's no legal requirements.

 

[tomfcrist]

No, but neither does SCUBA diving.

True, shops want to see a card for fills but I have never seen one ask for a card when you want to purchase equipment.

In my experience, very few shops even ask for a card for air fills. If you look like you know what you are doing, many times they don't ask. There are though some that will card you for any/everything.
Hookah is problematic because you can order a rig online, and never require fills or training. Even as a very experienced diver, I have had a few come to Jesus meetings on hookah...I don't personally think they are remotely safe if diving beyond 30-45 fsw.

 

[tomfcrist]

Honestly Dan, I believe even well trained divers are two to three times more likely to have an incident or accident on hookah...too many parts to fail, and too many parts DO fail. And of course you have the entanglement issue.

 

[Rich Keller]

Honestly Dan, I believe even well trained divers are two to three times more likely to have an incident or accident on hookah...too many parts to fail, and too many parts DO fail. And of course you have the entanglement issue.

There are a different set of skills needed for surface supply diving that even well trained sport divers would never need to know. In shallow open water with no chance of entanglement these skills do not come into play too much so hookah divers usually get away with this unharmed never knowing or understanding the risks.

 

[AfterDark]

There are a different set of skills needed for surface supply diving that even well trained sport divers would never need to know. In shallow open water with no chance of entanglement these skills do not come into play too much so hookah divers usually get away with this unharmed never knowing or understanding the risks.

I don't know what the conditions there were but using a surface supplied rig in LI sound or NE with the changing currents and low vis we have would certainly required skills I haven't had to do learn.

 

[boulderjohn]

---

---

A ScubaBoard Staff Message...

This is the accident and Incident forum, and the topic being discussed is the death of an individual who was using a hookah system. A number of posts far removed from that topic have been removed. Please stay on topic.

---