Kauai accident

[fisherdvm]

Just a heads-up, SB is prominently mentioned in an article on this death in the Kauai newspaper today, complete with a link to this thread. May be some new info will trickle down.

Thanks for giving us updated information from the island news. My condolences for the family.

As followed:

KAUAI News

Diving community explores cause of scuba accident



by Rachel Gehrlein - THE GARDEN ISLAND

With the death of an island visitor last month after a scuba trip, the diving community on-island and elsewhere is going through a period of self-reflection.

*** ******, a 69-year-old visitor from Minnesota, died March 23 at Wilcox Memorial Hospital after being involved in a diving incident at Koloa Landing March 16.

According to her son, *********** of Minnesota, ****** was in a coma and died a week later from complications.

Because of an ongoing investigation, ******* was advised by his lawyer to not comment further for this story.

******* had been on a group dive arranged by Aquatic Adventures Inc.

A representative from that company declined to comment.

According to a press release from the Kaua‘i Fire Department, a call was placed to emergency dispatch at 9:45 a.m. that the woman was in distress the day of the incident and had been brought to shore by her diving instructor.

Monty Downs, chair of the Water Safety Committee of the Ocean Safety Bureau, said ******** was not breathing but lifeguards on duty performed CPR and resuscitated her.

******** was then taken to Wilcox Hospital and remained in critical condition until her death on March 23.

According to the Diver’s Alert Network, an online resource, approximately 100 scuba deaths occur each year, nationally.

The cause of ******’s accident has been speculated upon by other scuba divers on scubaboard.com, where a thread has popped up, discussing the accident and the diving business at large. Some board members, by yesterday, weren’t even sure if ****** was alive or had passed away.

In a forum called Kaua‘i Accident, members recounted what they knew or had heard about the accident.

One divemaster who was at the scene when the incident occurred, had spoken to ******, another diver and the divemaster of her trip. In his conversation with the three divers, he noticed “no indication of inhibited mental function on the part of anyone involved,” as speculated by other members on the forum.

Acknowledging the difficulty of finding ******’s release waivers during the incident, a divemaster going by O_Rings on the site said he witnessed ****** sign the medical waiver.

“There have been many different versions of exactly what happened, even among the instructors and divemasters who were at the scene during the incident,” the contributor said in his post. “I could offer some other facts regarding that day or diving conditions at that location if asked, however at this point I would like to avoid speculating.”

O_Rings also posted that some of the comments on the forum “could be construed as damaging towards the operation involved.”

“I would like to point out that in situations like this, it’s the entire scuba community that is harmed instead of a single dive shop or location,” the person wrote further. “I would hope that we could work together to improve ourselves.”

The issue of divers signing medical waivers when they obviously have medical issues was also discussed.

kAIkANE said it is the “Scuba pro’s job and or liability to prevent problems from happening ... regardless of the waiver (the client) signed.”

Another board member, Teamcasa, said they “do not believe this rare incident reflects badly on the dive professionals, sometimes bad things happen.”

“What is this thread about?” Teamcasa asks in the most recent post, dated yesterday. “I believe it is about a tragic death of a new diver. Here, in this forum, we should examine and discuss the incident, but only to help others avoid the same. It is useful to discuss how we can avoid these issues in the future.”

Doug Robinson, a contract instructor with the National Association of Underwater Instructors and not involved in the ******* incident, said most diving accidents occur when first-time divers panic. If they haven’t been diving for a long time, they sometimes forget everything they were taught, he said.

Robinson said divers should always ask a lot of questions before their dive.

“If you’re in a strange place with strange people, ask a lot of questions,” Robinson said. “And if you haven’t dived in a long time, take a refresher course.”

• Rachel Gehrlein, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 225) or rgehrlein@kauaipubco.com
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[danclem]

Thanks for posting the article. Just curious why you redacted the name of the victim and her son when they appear in the Kauai Garden Island newspaper article. Condolences to the family.

Dan

 

[scottitheduck]

Aloha from Oahu,

I stumbled across this post this morning and was surprised that it hasn't been moved to the Hawaii Ohana board yet. Upon reflection I see that though this tragic event happened in our backyard, the problem is a larger one that should be up for discussion by the entire board.

As a member of scubaboard for a number of years, I see this forum as a way for professionals (Instructors, AI's and DM's) to gain insight on a variety of subjects that impact their training of divers and hopefully make them stronger, more proficient dive professionals. As mentioned before... Not all professionals are created equal, but shouldn't we strive to provide better, safer and more enjoyable experiences for our clients each time we gear up?

That being said, I often see rational discussions devolve into name calling contests and finger pointing games on this board. Keep in mind there has been a tragedy here and NONE of us can turn the clock back and keep it from happening....

With this in mind, may I offer everyone who works in the industry a small piece of advice. PLEASE FOLLOW STANDARDS. They are set up to protect YOU the dive professional as well as intro divers and students you will be leading.

Does PADI say that the Instructor to Student ratio in an OW course is 8:1? Yes they do, but would you take 8 students out in poor vis and heavy current.... I should certainly hope not.

Anyone remember the term RPSI from their IDC? This is a Reasonably Prudent Scuba Instructor. If you do not follow standards and teach within the framework of your Cert Agency you can assume that hundreds or even thousands of dives may go off without a hitch, but when one goes wrong do you want to be the one in question?

In regards to intro divers, PADI does have the "Dive Today" philosophy. Now we can debate this position until the humpbacks come back next fall, but in reality when conducting intro dives you better have your "A" game. Think back to your first dive.... were you a trainwreck?

Finally, while operating my own dive company here on Oahu I have found it extremely important to email my mainland clients a PDF copy of the PADI medical statement BEFORE they reach the island.

This does two things.....

1) It gets the newbie thinking about the potential risks of scuba diving before they jump on the plane. They are now prepared to either assume these risks or choose another activity...

2) It allows the diver time to visit their doc and get cleared if they will be answering "yes" to any of the questions. Pretty simple, right?

Now I know that time is not always on your side and that a tourist who walks into your shop at 5:30pm and wants to dive the following morning may not have these options, but like the signs say at North Shore "when in doubt, don't go out." If you don't have the ability to conduct programs that adhere to standards, maybe there is another line of work you should be in.

I can think of nothing worse than having something happen on my watch. I love the ocean, I love my job and I love sharing my passion with intro divers...

Furthermore, when I am leading intros I barely have the eyes to point out the cool stuff because I am focused primarily on the safety of those in my group. With a proper breifing, well documented paperwork and a patient instructor there is no reason that a tour should get out of control. That's not to say that some people aren't going to freak, spit the reg out and panic at times but that is part of the game you must learn to live with.

We (as dive professionals) can only hope to assist these divers and help them overcome their fears. We also need to be realistic and take the stance that you know what, not everyone is cut out to be a scuba diver.

I'm sorry this has gone on so long, but I thought I would throw my hat into the ring on this matter. In my years of diving I have dived with top notch organization to the shady ones and everywhere in between. I always try to put myself in the shoes of the diver who is signed up to dive with me and ask myself what would I want in this situation. Being a dive instructor requires patience, understanding and flexibility. What it should not involve is corner cutting, poop paperwork and dives where you keep your fingers crossed that everyone makes it back.

My heart-felt sorrow goes out to everyone involved in this particular case. It's not the high-point for the Instructor, the DM or the family members for certain but hopefully we can all learn to improve our own strategies and minimize these accidents.

G

 

[REFLECTIONPOOL]

I (like many of you) appreciate all the well intended review and analysis of this very sad situation. A couple of real classy statements by those of you who point out that Kauai and even Hawaii is hurt by those who make uniformed statements or lash out at others for personal reasons. I personally have dove for several years (vacationing) on Kauai and have found nothing but wonderful, experienced, safe etc... DM's and instructors. My family and I have dove with Fathom Five for 5 years and have had nothing but the best experiences. Prior to that we have also had wonderful experiences with Bubbles Below and Seasports and (apology in advance) a shore diving company I can no longer recall the name of. I find it interesting that all of these companies seem to communicate with one another regularly and get along very well. In fact speak highly of one another. Seasports and Fathom even share the same harbor and coordinate dives with one another to avoid crowding dive sites. This again is my experience over the years as a visitor shared to express what seems to be the norm for the dive operators on the island. If you read countless posts that appear here on the board - it seems clear that quality, professionalism and care are the usual experience.

Thanks to all of you.

My initial confusion was the comment on Koloa Landing conditions for intro divers. Isn't this the same location introductory dives are always done on the south shore by most of the companies? I have been to this location numerous times and even have several underwater videos from the site. The reason I ask is that I not only recall calm conditions and nice vis - but it is the spot that all my kids did their intro dives over the years. I'll have to dig up that video.

Thanks again for all the insite.

 

[fisherdvm]

I was a little curious about Koloa Landing, and read about it on an online comment. Folks were commenting on how the visibility was low on the way out, and when surges are present. So it doesn't sound like it is crystal clear placid water at times.

I do empathize for any divemaster or instructors assigned a group of divers for any discovery scuba, scuba diver, or open water check out classes. They might not have been the one signing the students up, they might not have access to the signed consent, which might be kept on file at the shop, and they might not know the skill level of such student up to the time of the dive. I remembered an elderly student in a CW portion of an OW class 2 months ago.... who was an accident waiting to happen. I would feel very sorry for the instructor who will complete his OW check out dives....

My understanding is that a discovery student might do a CW session with an instructor in a pool, and then could go out and do OW dive with a divemaster? Right?

I guess if I was working as a DM, I would probably bring along my own release of liability and have the student sign it on the boat, or shore.... Irregardless if they had signed it at the shop.

Afterall, who should make the decision on who can dive or not? The shop who's trying to make money, or the DM/instructor in the water who has to cover his rear end??

 

[RS]

this is indeed a sad story.

I never did like those discovery scuba dives. I guess next time I'm on a boat that is doing those, I'll try to watch out for the new divers, instead of just trying to avoid them.

 

[300bar]

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A ScubaBoard Staff Message...

I have closed this thread as the original topic has been explored and explained.
I suggest a new thread in the Hawai'i O'Hana forum to discuss “Is Koloa Landing good/safe for Discover Scuba?”

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