Mini season death

[John_B]

The Lake Worth diver is one of the two listed in Busdriver's link.

 

[CraigAClark]

Just heard on the radio a third diver has died off of Bahia Honda. Two lost divers have been found by the Coasties and one is still missing. If the missing one is the same one from yesterday, I don't hold much hope for the out come.

Craig

 

[trtldvr]

This is correct. The Bahia Honda accident involved a 32 year old Miami man diving on a hooka rig.

 

[scubapolly]

What is it about bug hunting that leads to people dying?

Lots of things. What most boil down to is pure greed.... trying to snatch up as many lobsters as possible what ever the cost. Most people think woo hoo free lobsters- spend $50 renting gear and tanks, $200 to rent a boat, $30 for lobster gear, $20 or more for the fishing license depending on where they are from. Half don't catch any, and of the half who do, probably half don't know how to clean or cook them. Most could save a lot of money and just get some at a restaurant.

In the keys many people are lulled into believing that it is such an "easy dive", they become complacent in their quest for bugs. Some keys mini season deaths in recent memory include- wearing 50 lbs of weight, forgetting to turn on air, running out of air, panic, or some combination of the above.

 

[DandyDon]

What is it about bug hunting that leads to people dying?

There's something about hunting that tweaks some people. Anthropologist studying Stone Age cultures fine that the hunters of the tribes are more highly regarded even though the farmers of the tribes produce more food. Why is golf fun?

Florida Mini Season seems to be the biggest mystery. It produces too much revenue and taxes to even think of canceling, but they lose several there every year in spite of a Safety Rodeo done to promote safer diving...

Lobster mini-season claims third diver; two missing

By WILLIE HOWARD and JASON SCHULTZ Palm Beach Post Staff Writers

Thursday, July 31, 2008

Another lobster diver died Thursday morning near Bahia Honda State Park in the Florida Keys, marking the third death of the two-day sport lobster season, and authorities were searching for two other missing divers.

Lobster diver deaths happen every year, but this mini-season could be one of the deadliest in recent years if the two missing divers are not found. Four divers died in 2006.

The Bahia Honda diver, 32-year-old Carlos Urruchaga of Miami, was on a private boat with friends, diving with a hookah rig, which pumps air through hoses from the surface. He was in 20 to 25 feet of water between the old and new Bahia Honda bridges when he surfaced in distress around 9:45 a.m., the Monroe County Sheriff's Office reported.

Urruchaga was unconscious when he was brought aboard the boat. His friends called for help and performed CPR. He was taken to Fisherman's Hospital, where he died.

Urruchaga's death followed the death Wednesday morning of Robert Canada, 48, of Lake Worth, who was diving off the town of Gulf Stream when he was reported missing. Off-duty Delray Beach police officers found Canada on the bottom, in 55 feet of water, and brought him up. He was pronounced dead when taken ashore in Boynton Beach.

Also Wednesday, Randall Malcolm, 54, of Miami-Dade County died after surfacing from a lobster dive about 4 miles off Key Largo.

The Coast Guard, local fire-rescue and sheriff's departments and the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission were still searching late Thursday for a 63-year-old Indian River County man who disappeared while diving for lobsters about 15 miles east of Vero Beach.

The man, whose name was being withheld while Coast Guard officers tried to contact his family, was in 85 feet of water when he failed to surface from a 50-minute dive at 11 a.m., Coast Guard Commanding Officer Todd Kagarise said.

The man was diving with three friends on a private boat and had left the Sebastian Inlet earlier Thursday. Friends said he was an experienced diver.

Off Miami, the Coast Guard and other law-enforcement agencies continued to search for Yosmany Gonzalez, 33, who was reported missing at 7 p.m. Wednesday. Family members said Gonzalez did not surface from a dive while searching for lobsters off the Cape Florida lighthouse.

Boats, helicopters and a Falcon jet crew were deployed in the search for Gonzalez, the Coast Guard said. Coast Guard officials reported that they were still looking late Thursday.

 

[Puffer Fish]

I heard that the average is 5 deaths each year...don't know if that was rounded up, rounded down or a guess, but this year would seem to be on track for that number.

I think this is just the expected result from having lots of once a year divers, many who are not in the best shape, suddenly attempting to do a type of diving that can be fairly physical...still, I wish we could prevent this from happening every year.

 

[Stu S.]

The dive shop I use locally does a tremendous business leading up to mini-season. The clients served are often the gung-ho-mahco types that are competitive about the size and number of "bugs" they bring up. Most of these are not year-round divers.

Some places offer prizes for the most and biggest. Here is a link to the $25,000 Florida Lobster challenge.

Home - Florida Lobster Challenge

When it is all over, some folks are sad for a while. We wonder if the fun is worth the price. But, there is demand for this sort of diving, and dive boats will continue to operate round-the-clock for this "event".

 

[CraigAClark]

I'm curious about the hookah accident. I worked for a well known producer of the surface floating, gas driven units. Certification didn't seem to be a requirement for purchase. Training seemed only to be recommended, but not required. I wonder if we will ever know if this diver had any.

Craig

 

[CraigAClark]

Sad to say but one of the missing appearently has been found dead. There is still one unaccounted for. Hopefully the out come will be different.

Craig

 

[DandyDon]

Yes, this is the fourth confirmed dead I think, altho the identity has not been confirmed yet....
Body Found Floating In Water Off Haulover Beach - Miami News Story - WPLG Miami

Body Could Be Of Hialeah Man Missing Since Opening Day Of Lobster Mini-Season

POSTED: 2:17 pm EDT August 1, 2008

[NEWSVINE: Body Found Floating In Water Off Haulover Beach] [DELICIOUS: Body Found Floating In Water Off Haulover Beach] [DIGG: Body Found Floating In Water Off Haulover Beach] [FACEBOOK: Body Found Floating In Water Off Haulover Beach] [REDDIT: Body Found Floating In Water Off Haulover Beach] [RSS] [PRINT: Body Found Floating In Water Off Haulover Beach] [EMAIL: Body Found Floating In Water Off Haulover Beach]
MIAMI -- A body found floating in the water off Haulover Beach on Friday could be of a Hialeah man who disappeared while diving for lobsters on the first day of lobster mini-season.

Yosmany Gonzalez, 33, has been missing since Wednesday, when he went diving for lobsters with family about five miles east of the Cape Florida lighthouse on Key Biscayne.

The body, discovered by boaters shortly before noon, was wearing snorkeling gear and flippers, but a spokesman for the U.S. Coast Guard could not say whether it was Gonzalez.