Lessons to be learned-Death in Palau

[O-ring]

We had a run at debating this on the board not too terribly long ago here:

http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=15594

Any new information that we did not know would be more than welcome. Again, I am sorry for your loss..

 

[The Chairman]

We feel your loss and are saddened by it. I know it takes a lot of bravery and a little anger to be able to tell us what you know, but if that could save a life somewhere, then it is for the best. Please follow the link O-ring provided (thanks O-ring) so that we can keep it referenced in the proper area. Thanks for coming forward with your insights.

 

[MuscLA]

I read through these posts feeling a bit of a chill go up my spine. I had done this dive in similar conditions with the Sun Dancer II exactly 2 years previously.

I was a brand new diver when I hit Palau, having only completed 12 dives, and those had been 2 and 3 years previously. I had three things going for me. One, I'm very comfortable in the water, and diving came extremely easily to me. Two, the little diving I had done was in Cozumel, so I was somewhat used to currents. Three, I have no ego and told everyone who would listen, repeatedly, that I was inexperienced so that they would look out for me.

That being said, I got wet and had the time of my life. Conditions were perfect, the lagoon was more like "Lake Palau," vis approaching 200 feet on most dives, etc.

On the first two days, I worked the kinks out and gotten back into the swing by then; my favorite error was wondering why my kicking wasn't producing the desired forward motion, then realizing that I'd forgotten my fins (and I was not the ONLY person to do this the first day, by the way!). The "buddying" on this trip was informal, only those being coupled seeming to adhere to strict buddy diving. As the odd one out and the newbie, I was pretty much on my own, as the DMs were usually far more interested in shooting pics than taking care of the group. This was fine with me; I made an internal rule to remain at 60 feet or less if I found myself alone and left it at that, and my cabin-mate.

We got to Blue Corner and had our dive briefing. We were given our reef hooks and kinda/sorta told what to do. I have to say that many logged dives, if not done in current, will in NO WAY prepare you for doing a dive like this, it's just going to be different than anything you've tried. The briefing could have been handled much more exhaustively.

We got wet, down to 75 feet or so, got the wall on our right as per plan, then gradually ascended. Suddenly the current grabs you and within a second, you've bumped up 20 feet or so to the top of the wall and are going over the lip. You have a microsecond to "hook in" and hang on. People either loved or hated this experience; I myself thought it was the most fun thing ever. If you haven't done a Palau hook dive in strong current, it's like hanging in a wind tunnel over 3' plus anomenes, surrounded by reef sharks, tons of Niger triggerfish and clouds of pyramid butterflyfish. Tiger sharks have been sighted on the Corner, turtles sail around, and you never know when the resident eagle ray will make an appearance.

A few things that should be emphasized: 1) you need to have your hook ready AS SOON AS YOU'RE IN THE WATER, as the current is unpredictable and you never know when it will shift and grab you. 2) Everyone is anxious about missing the hook-in point on the lip. What you realize later is that this is no big deal. Usually the current is big right at the top of the wall, but it dissapates pretty rapidly and you can circle around again, or do a hand-over-hand and fight your way back out to the lip. 3) This is NOT an eco-friendly practice. However, it's unlikely that you're going to do any further damage as the coral at the lip is beat to hell. Fortunately Palau divers seem to be pretty good about not handling the coral away from the lip on the plateau. 3) Where you attach clip end of the hook to your body makes a huge difference, and it should NOT go on your BC.

We did the 'corner in various conditions, including at slack tide with no current. We were all pretty stoked for Pelilieu Cut....but the conditions were tougher. We started down to 75' when we drifted through a school of around 30 8'-10' reef sharks. Everyone including the divemaster started snapping away, and everone except me didn't notice that we were in a down current. At 110' I tapped the divemaster's shoulder and pointed to my depth gauge. He immediately started indicating "everone up" and we headed to the wall. Immediately the current grabbed us and within a few seconds we were swept up over the lip at 40'. The sound of everyone's computer alarms going off at the rapid ascent reminded me of being in LA with a crowd full of heavy cell phone users that all got a call at the same time. We hooked in and immediately realized that the current wasn't strong...it was RIPPING. Bubbles were blown back horizontally, reef hooks were straightening out, masks being blown off, etc. I was having the time of my life when I realized that the diver hooked in next to me (with a lifetime log of nearly 1000 dives) had become entangled in her own reef hook line which was attached to the front of her BC. Fortunately I'd had the experience at Blue Corner, because I was able to unhook (with GREAT difficulty and a lot of brute strength) and hand-over-hand over to her. She was almost completely panicked by this point; I started to revolve her body to get her untangled. The current was so strong that if I had unhooked her, she would have been blown over the plateau still hooked up. I couldn't get her loose alone, but fortunately the dive-master had by this point noticed the problem. He and I were able to get her loose and she aborted the dive.

I guess the story has a few lessons: 1) DON'T stress if you miss your hook in, you can always explore the plateau or circle around for another attempt; 2) DON'T attach the hook to your BC; 3) DO get your hook out and ready to attach BEFORE you ever get close to the wall (I suggest leaving it in your hand once you get off the boat); 4) BE PREPARED to lose your mask, it happens; 5) You CAN move around using handholds (again, the coral at the lip is pretty blasted anyway so you won't be doing any damage).

These dives are an amazing rush, and are totally worth it. It's a shame the dive masters don't brief people properly, as they are dangerous, especially if you panic.

TIM TOBISH
Venice, CA

 

[Scubaroo]

MuscLA once bubbled...
I guess the story has a few lessons: 1) DON'T stress if you miss your hook in, you can always explore the plateau or circle around for another attempt; 2) DON'T attach the hook to your BC; 3) DO get your hook out and ready to attach BEFORE you ever get close to the wall (I suggest leaving it in your hand once you get off the boat); 4) BE PREPARED to lose your mask, it happens; 5) You CAN move around using handholds (again, the coral at the lip is pretty blasted anyway so you won't be doing any damage).

Thanks for the mini-trip report, Tim.

Personally, the lesson I'm taking away from all of this is 1) DON'T reefhook. It just sounds like a dangerous practice and harmful to the environment. I'm sure the experience is a rush, but so is BASE-jumping, and I'm not signing up for that in any hurry

Just my 2c

 

[kevink]

I lived in Palau for a year, and did a ton of diving as a tourist, student, and eventually a guide.

The tip of Peleliu is not to be taken lightly. huge volumes of water pass between there and Anguar to the south. On good days it is gorgeous. On bad days it is like Blue Corner on horse steroids.

The diving has its own worries, but all too often people wind up going for a 'swim' as their chase boat struggles to locate them in all of the chop. There were 6 people lost there in '94, but scores more have had to wade the waves for hours waiting for a pickup. Locals like to joke that the next stop after Peleliu Corner is the Phillipines, so bring your passports with you.

Many of these safety issues seem to revolve around the liveaboards operating there. The land based shops occaisionally have their own issues, but the lack of local experience on the part of the liveaboard crews becomes an issue. Just do a search on this board or on Undercurrent and see who they have been sending for a 'swim' lately.

I am not going to tackle the pro/con reef hook issue. If you have not used one, or personally seen one used you cannot comment on what they do or don't do to the reefs. In Palau there are exactly 5 dive sites that have the potential of employing them (Blue Corner, New Drop Off, Peleliu Corner, Peleliu Cut & Peleliu Express). You are not going to fully experience any of these sites without the ability to stop and hold in the current to watch the big animal life.

The currents RIP at times. I won't attempt to put a number on it (reference the previous posts). At times you need to put a hand over your 2nd stage to keep it from free flowing. Looking right or left instantly causes your mask to flood on its way to being blown off. I have seen at least a dozen BC's have their plastic D-Rings ripped out when they could no longer hold the force of the reef hook attached to it. I have had to chase an errant fin taken from a diver by the current.

On these reef hook dives your guide should be snorkeling over the site to see what the underwater current looks like. Depending on how many fish, how close they are to the reef, and what the anenomes look like they should be able to judge what the group is in for. You should force your guide to get in the water if you are ever in doubt. You can never be 100% sure of what is happening below from the surface current (unless it is glass calm). Don't realy on looking at the surface to get an idea of what is happening below.

Peleliu as the 2nd day's destination is questionable at best. Write to any of the land based shops and tell them you want to dive Peleliu the frist few days of your trip and see the sort of response you get. Unless the group was very experienced, or looked great at Blue Corner, this would have been a stretch. These are not the sort of dives you want to teach anyone how to use a reef hook.

17 guests and 1 guide was pure INSANITY. The land based shops (Sam's & Fish-N-Fins) take 8 people max for good reason. On these dives in particular the guide should strive to keep the group together so that they can be picked up in a reasonable amount of time without having to go for a 'swim'.

If the current was ripping the guide should have waved the entire group off and had them ascend in the deep blue. With 17 people I doubt everyone was within visual range of the guide to facilitate this. Individual buddy pairs could have avoided hooking in, but they then risk separation and going for a 'swim'. I am sure the guide encouraged the entire group to stay togehter when he breifed them on the surface.

Aside from the inner lagoon wrecks, all of the dives in Palau are dependant on wind, waves, current, and tides. If the conditions were not good, the driver or guide should have had the insight to motor somewhere else. Palau is not the sort of place where you point to a dive site on a map and go there and dive it without checking it out first.

As far as where to start putting blame, I would not look at the victim. Being certified, as ANYTHING, (and I am an instructor) does not mean you are ready for this level of diving. The only thing that would makes you ready is experience. On someone's second day in Palau I would not expect them to be proficient enough to tackle a ripping reef hook Peleliu dive.

PHD on the other hand has some accounting to do. 17 people and 1 guide? What is the current price of their Palau trips?

The guide williingly took 17 people (on their 2nd day) to an area NOTORIOUS for challenging diving?

The driver of the chase boat dropped this group in the water, without evaluating the current himself, or having the guide evaluate the U/W conditions. As with most of the drivers out there he should have had the 'Right of First Refusal' and had them dive elsewhere, regardless of what people were requesting.

 

[Braunbehrens]

Kevink, thanks for your candid assessment.

I don't know much about reef hooks, having never used one, but I can tell you that I would have sat out this dive if a reef hook was required. The idea of sitting in a ripping current hooked to a reef and not knowing if they would find you if you let go is not appealing to me, either from a safety or from an ecological perspective.

I wonder if there is not some other way to enjoy this site...if not, there are plenty of beautful places to dive, not every area covered by water is appropriate for diving.

 

[Otter]

I took a quick look at PHD's website to see if they had posted anything about diving expertise required to dive in Palau. The following is an excerpt from their web page

"..You can expect mostly wall and drift diving with visibility ranging from 60 feet to in excess of 150 feet, depending on existing conditions. PLEASE BE AWARE THAT PALAU’S DIVING MIGHT BE CONSIDERED CHALLENGING IN MANY INSTANCES AND DUE TO THE LOCAL CONDITIONS, AS WELL AS ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS, TENDER DIVING IS THE RULE RATHER THAN THE EXCEPTION. Due to the above, diving in Palau from a live-aboard is better suited to those with considerable open-water experience, with the ability to maintain Perfect Buoyancy Control, and who are comfortable getting in/out of a dive tender. "


We can all debate if that is enough, but it seems to me that they made it pretty clear that a newbie shouldn't make this trip.

Otter

 

[detroit diver]

And if you havent' read their website? What do the brochures say, and what do they tell you when you sign up?

Otter once bubbled...
I took a quick look at PHD's website to see if they had posted anything about diving expertise required to dive in Palau. The following is an excerpt from their web page

"..You can expect mostly wall and drift diving with visibility ranging from 60 feet to in excess of 150 feet, depending on existing conditions. PLEASE BE AWARE THAT PALAU’S DIVING MIGHT BE CONSIDERED CHALLENGING IN MANY INSTANCES AND DUE TO THE LOCAL CONDITIONS, AS WELL AS ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS, TENDER DIVING IS THE RULE RATHER THAN THE EXCEPTION. Due to the above, diving in Palau from a live-aboard is better suited to those with considerable open-water experience, with the ability to maintain Perfect Buoyancy Control, and who are comfortable getting in/out of a dive tender. "


We can all debate if that is enough, but it seems to me that they made it pretty clear that a newbie shouldn't make this trip.

Otter

 

[Web Monkey]

O-ring once bubbled...

BS reef hooking scenario (IMHO, just like a jon line in a really stiff current) - realize there are problems and you need to get to the surface, current too strong for you to unclip, cut line and perform procedures outlined in above paragraph.


What's a "jon line"?

 

[Web Monkey]

Seadeuce once bubbled...
Hi,
TWO - why is it generally accepted that being "certified" makes one a diver?
Diving agencies (commercial ones, that is) have profit as their goal, and in so doing inadvertantly, and I say that with deliberate sarcasm, misinform their students.
Do a course, get the C-card, you're now a diver!
The courses contain all "positive" points of diving. They don't mention the negatives.

I was all set to say that the SSI "Open Water Diver" course contained a ton of information on how to not get killed, but I just checked the book before shootng my mouth off, and it turns out that the book actually doesnt' contain much on emergency conditions or other "Bad Things," and that almost everything safety-related we learned was from the instructor, not the book or video.

That said, the "Stress & Rescue" course contained a ton of information on how to deal with and recover from potentially unpleasant events and conditions, but again, most of the really useful stuff came from the instructor.

I'm wondering if maybe there shouldn't be some sort of standardization of dive conditions vs. certification level. ie. "You need this card and this particular set of skills to dive here."?

It doesn't do any good to have 300 dives in a 60 degree freshwater lake when you get dropped onto a wall with a huge currents.

Personally, I think enforcement of various certification/experience levels would be good for all involved. Someone who was recently certified OWD and wants to do a 40 - 50 foot cool reef dive can go enjoy themselves. If they sign up to go explore "The Wreck of The Somthing Dangerous" at the bottom of the Marinas Trench, they should be politely told "This is a bad idea", and "Sorry, but we can't take your money"

Conversely, divers should be taught in no uncertain terms that "Tomorrow is another day, and there's no shame in aborting a dive that you don't feel completely confortable with."

Both divers and dive operators need to learn to that it's OK to say "No" to unacceptable/out of comfort zone conditions.