Lost Diver in Cozumel, Mexico, February 2016

[Ron Lee]

Why do you think that is unreasonable?

Do you think OW divers are unprepared? Do you think OW divers should give up at the sign of any situation that they are unprepared for? I think this is a poor assumption or OW Certification has really gone down hill. You pick which one...

Does PADI open water teach students to bring up another diver from a ocean bottom? I cannot recall.

Imagine a dive buddy who has very few dives being stressed and scared, in currents. I just cannot fathom most novice divers being able to rescue the buddy. That assumes that she had not already drifted past the other diver and been unable to swim into the current to reach that diver.

 

[boulderjohn]

Does PADI open water teach students to bring up another diver from a ocean bottom? I cannot recall.

The process is described in the current OW course manual, but it is not practiced until the rescue diver course.

 

[boulderjohn]

I think I found the Lynne/Peter event:

TSandM: Missing Diver in Clallam County, WA

It is a long thread and I do not recall ever seeing it before and at this point do not know the specifics. However, it does not seem to be a similar scenario to a Cozumel dive. It also appears to be very experienced divers which is not the case with this one.

I will summarize it for you.

Peter and Lynne were doing a dive and got caught in a swirling current that threw them around, down, and then back up again. When Peter recovered his stability, he clearly saw Lynne about 20 feet above him. She was adjusting the buoyancy of her dry suit and appeared to be fine. He took his eyes off her for a few seconds, looked back, and she was gone. He followed the standard procedure they always used for buddy separations--look for one minute and then surface. She never surfaced, and her body was never found.

The reason they were brought up in this thread is the issue of buddy separation. They were my friends, and we have dived together in the cool water of Puget Sound, the caves of Mexico, and the warm clear water of the Philippines. I know their habits. Lynne was very much committed to the buddy system as used by GUE and UTD. UTD means "Unified Team Diving," and Lynne is the one who came up with that name. The two were meticulous in following protocols. They had outstanding skills. Both were experienced cave divers, and they both had well over 1,000 dives. Yet they not only became separated on this instance, they had become separated in the past.

Anyone who thinks it is impossible for alert and skilled buddies to become separated is seriously mistaken.

 

[Basking Ridge Diver]

The process is described in the current OW course manual, but it is not practiced until the rescue diver course.

While my son and I were OW certified this was one of our skills that we would practice on a dive platform - only to get the feel of what it was like...

Imagine a dive buddy who has very few dives being stressed and scared, in currents. I just cannot fathom most novice divers being able to rescue the buddy. That assumes that she had not already drifted past the other diver and been unable to swim into the current to reach that diver.

I guess my point is if you are stressed and scared you should either reconsider your diving site or you should seek further training or experience.
As an aside dragging an unconscious or body from the bottom is not easy depending on the depth - but if you use the BC it makes it easier... Any OW certified diver should know this in my opinion. If they don't know this they should think about scenarios and how they might get themselves out of a situation. This is just being interested in self preservation and helping potential buddies.

BTW - I do not have nor do I plan on becoming Rescue certified. I am certified in CPR and I play what if games with my son to get him thinking...

 

[mmmbelows]

He looked away briefly, and when he looked back, she was gone.

Sorry, it might not be popular, but not buying it if you're saying it was in 100 foot of visibility during the day and in a calm water column. If it was murky crappy viz, exceptional current, that's a different story, and has nothing to do with anything I said as I very distinctly and carefully made that distinction.

 

[Richard Phillips]

Crappy viz, exceptional (out and down) currents, those seem to have been factors in Connie's loss. Group drifted away from wall before descending due to equipment problems. No clear dive plan. Not descending together as a group. Divers lost visual contact with each other in the chaos. Scary. Fighting strong currents. Buddy was not to blame. My heart goes out to her and rest of family.

 

[MMM]

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A ScubaBoard Staff Message...

I would remind people that this forum is not intended to find blame. In fact, it is specifically against the rules for this forum. Marg, SB Senior moderator [/mod]

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[gopbroek]

Crappy viz, exceptional (out and down) currents, those seem to have been factors in Connie's loss. Group drifted away from wall before descending due to equipment problems. No clear dive plan. Not descending together as a group. Divers lost visual contact with each other in the chaos. Scary. Fighting strong currents. Buddy was not to blame. My heart goes out to her and rest of family.

On that afternoon I personally did not experience any 'Crappy viz, exceptional (out and down) currents' in the Cedral / Santa Rosa areas. The visibility I experienced was easily 100'+ and the currents seemed normal. I think we are mixing the condition reports of this tragic accident up with the side issue of buddy separation and the tragic accident with Lynne Flaherty. Adding to this tragedy seems to be a lack of recoverable remains to allow for forensics which means that we will most likely never know the true cause of this accident.

 

[CuzzA]

It would be great for many reasons if the rest of her remains were found. If I read it correctly, they were diving the Santa Rosa wall and her skull was found on the Turnich reef. That's quite a ways away, right? Which leads me to hypothesize she never descended since that was the cause of separation and was lost at sea and drifted for some time. Cause of death could have been a medical condition, hypothermia or predation coupled with drowning.

Of course I'm not an expert in these matters, but that seems like a long way for a body to travel if she died underwater. Thoughts?

 

[Ayisha]

...Adding to this tragedy seems to be a lack of recoverable remains to allow for forensics which means that we will most likely never know the true cause of this accident.

If you check posts # 75, #76, and #90, you will see that the victims remains have been found and positively identified.