Lost diver in Puget Sound

[raviepoo]

And quite frankly I couldn't sleep at night the rest of my life if I was the person he saved. My dumbass choices should be mine alone, and I just couldn't deal with the fact someone died saving me from my stupidity. It's one thing to be saved from fires or floods where the fireman dies trying to save me. It's something entirely different when someone dies saving me from being stupid.

I know what you mean. I don't think I could live with that weight either.

 

[DandyDon]

Originally Posted by Bobbin-along
And quite frankly I couldn't sleep at night the rest of my life if I was the person he saved. My dumbass choices should be mine alone, and I just couldn't deal with the fact someone died saving me from my stupidity. It's one thing to be saved from fires or floods where the fireman dies trying to save me. It's something entirely different when someone dies saving me from being stupid.

I am sure he does feel remorse. I hope he doesn't read this, as I doubt he needs more.

We All Screw Up In Life, sometimes we're bailed out by others - sometimes at cost. The best we can do is try to make amends and pass it on to others...

 

[Vayu]

It is silly to blame the victims. Regardless of the bad decisions that led up to this dive I think everyone can agree that the responsibility is on the shoulders of the instructor that planned and orchestrated this catastrophe. He should never teach or dive again. Everyone else on this dive that made it out alive has learned some respect for the ocean. I'm sure this event will change the way they approach the water. Some of the other students posting here about doing deep bounce dives need to go back to OW class or give up diving altogethor. Diving has inherent risks that must be approached with care. Instructors and buddies that take a casual stance on dive planning and treat the water like their personal playground likely have similar lessons on the horizon. Regardless of what happens in the future the cost of this dive has already been taken from the family. I hope everyone involved in this finds it within themselves to move on. I hope they do what they can to make sure this tragedy does not repeat itself.

 

[piikki]

I have mixed emotions about the Hero/Goat argument around Chad. I know for sure I never would have hit the water with that dive plan, so I can't put myself in his shoes. Unless you can mentally say that you would/do accept the risks of that dive plan you can't understand the decision making process that went on for him to go after another diver. But I look at his decision to go after another a diver and say good on him, but then groan that he didn't have the proper equipment (and obviously training) that would have made this a good choice for him personally. And quite frankly I couldn't sleep at night the rest of my life if I was the person he saved. My dumbass choices should be mine alone, and I just couldn't deal with the fact someone died saving me from my stupidity. It's one thing to be saved from fires or floods where the fireman dies trying to save me. It's something entirely different when someone dies saving me from being stupid.

I think that is somewhat rough statement. If I could not sleep, I still would not announce it in this manner because it sounds so much like Steve should not be either. What good would that do to anyone? I am sure Steve has quite a lot to deal with right now.

I agree with you - it is very hard for me to place myself into this situation because it is so outrageous from the outset. However, I can understand Chad's decision to go back EVEN IF he understood what is the likely outcome (we do not know if he did). Chad would have been the one not being able to sleep if he did not go after a buddy he'd taken for a dive and who he knew was way less experienced than he was. After all, he must have known he was the most experienced diver after the instructor, and for how it sounds what kind of guy he was, it would have mattered to him to look after the newbies (even when it was in this kind of twisted scenario to begin with).

I have refrained participating in this thread this far, I failed

 

[Bobbin-along]

I will not apologize or recind my feelings about this. It's just the way it is. I take my responsibilities as a Captain, coach, harbor pilot seriously, as the activities I particpate in have inherent risk without adding poor decision making to the mix. Make a mis-statement to a ships captain and I could ultimately put an oil tanker on the rocks. Inadequately prepare a crew and boat for an offshore race and someone could die.

Call me old-fashioned, call me silly, but it's my concience and I have to be able to live with the choices I make.

 

[sambolino44]

I've been following this thread and firstly I'd like to express my condolences to Chad's family and friends. From what I've read he must have been a heck of a guy.

I've read several posts on this thread that seem pretty presumptuous. We have no way of knowing what was going on in Chad's mind that day. It may well be that he was ignorant of the risk level of that dive plan, was unduly influenced by his instructor, and didn't know the danger to himself by going back down after Steve. OR, it may be that he was fully aware of the risks, and made a choice different from what someone else might choose to do. I am irritated by people who refuse to accept that some of us choose to do things that they wouldn't do; and they assume we're either ignorant, gullible, stupid or crazy instead of just accepting that some people choose to be different. I mean, jeez, we're all divers here. Haven't you run into people who think you're crazy just for diving at all?

I read stuff like this because I hope to learn something useful. I don't think speculating what went on based on what YOU would do is very helpful.

What I'm left wondering, though, is: What's going on with this Dave guy? Is he still diving? If so, who's going with him as a dive buddy these days? Who's filling his cylinders? Has anybody had any contact with him?

 

[Darnold9999]

I too have been following this thread and agree that Chad took the risk of a 200 foot bounce dive and paid the ultimate price for this decision. He had enough experience and ought to have known, and probably did know, the risks he was taking - even if he had an instructor that sounds like he shouldn't be let anywhere near new divers.

We all take risks, some more than others - sometimes they don't work out - so far everyone reading this hasn't paid the ultimate price for their risk taking. I know that in my case at that age I did some things that were considerably more risky than a 200 foot bounce dive and survived. Of course this was just good luck, but I can't imagine living and not taken those risks. My life would have been much more boring as a result.

However, as I understand it, he was part of a group that included at least two divers who had no business even contemplating a 200 foot bounce dive - as I also understand it he was buddied with one of them. I have a lot of trouble with this, the instructor should have known better but he sounds like an irresponsible idiot, Chad should, and probably did, know better and doesn't come across as an idiot from what I have read, just someone young, invulnerable and reckless. Was the knowledge that he was leading a beginner into an extremely dangerous situation part of the reason he went back down to rescue the other diver - we will never know, but I hope so, and frankly I suspect so. "I got you into this, I'm going to do my best to get you out." could very well have been going through his mind and may be the reason he went down for the second diver knowing he was likely to go OOA on the way up. Speculation - of course.

Taking the beginner down in the first place - not heroic at all, pretty stupid actually.

Rescuing two divers knowing the risks - sounds pretty heroic to me notwithstanding the earlier stupid decision(s).

 

[Dive_Girl PNW]

Possible update: http://blog.oregonlive.com/breakingnews/2007/08/body_of_scuba_diver_found_in_c.html

 

[Rick Inman]

A diver vanished in the same area in November, but "we have people missing from all over Puget Sound," Troyer said. "There's more than one person it could be."

Really? Divers missing from all over Puget Sound? What, is there an epidemic or something?

News people...:shakehead

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Really? Divers missing from all over Puget Sound? What, is there an epidemic or something?

News people...:shakehead

I believe the quote was "people missing from all over Puget Sound" ... I suspect a tiny minority of them were wearing scuba gear at the time they went missing.

From the sounds of it, Kirby found Chad ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)