Non scuba deaths but request for information

[boulderjohn]

but I can't see how there was two deaths and then to be found 10 clicks apart

Currents can be very unpredictable in terms of what they do with items or people.

ScubaBoard lost a very dear member in a dive accident a few years ago, and even though the precise location in which she was lost was known and a search began immediately, her body was never found. In the famous case of divers exploring the then unidentified uboat wreck as described in the book Shadow Divers, one of the divers died while exploring the wreck, and when another diver tried to bring him up, he dropped him and was unable to go back down to get him. The body was later found 5 miles away.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

“I’d like to hear other opinions about how best to avoid drowning when on the surface and caught in a current.”

Wear a life jacket.

 

[dmaziuk]

“I’d like to hear other opinions about how best to avoid drowning when on the surface and caught in a current.”

Wear a life jacket.

Well... if you're in the middle of open sea with your only boat drifting away fast, that's not really the answer. Not without a PLB and a Coast Guard ready to spring to your rescue.

Even with a rip current near shore, you better not get pulled far out and into a bigger current while you're swimming at a right angle to it.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

Well... if you're in the middle of open sea with your only boat drifting away fast, that's not really the answer. Not without a PLB and a Coast Guard ready to spring to your rescue.

Even with a rip current near shore, you better not get pulled far out and into a bigger current while you're swimming at a right angle to it.

But at least you will be on the surface and not drown. It beats trying to tread water endlessly to stay on the surface until you tire out and finally drown. Many places have boating laws requiring life vests be worn for this very reason.

 

[DandyDon]

Wear a life jacket.

I'm sure that some snicker, but I do not board a boat smaller than a ferry without donning my snorkel vest. It stays on until I switch to my BC, and when I go into the water be it for diving or otherwise, I've got one of those on.

Not without a PLB

I carry one of those onto the boat too, take it on dives, and keep it handy between dives. Some boats just sink at times.

 

[dmaziuk]

But at least you will be on the surface and not drown. It beats trying to tread water endlessly to stay on the surface until you tire out and finally drown. Many places have boating laws requiring life vests be worn for this very reason.

The point was, it works well when you're somewhere you're likely to be noticed and rescued. If the options are drown now or die of hypothermia in 8 hours, or of thirst in three days: not so much.

 

[InTheDrink]

Thanks for your replies

If the sea is choppy what would you do? Hold your hand against your mouth whilst lying on your back til the wave past?

are there other strategies?

 

[InTheDrink]

Currents can be very unpredictable in terms of what they do with items or people.

ScubaBoard lost a very dear member in a dive accident a few years ago, and even though the precise location in which she was lost was known and a search began immediately, her body was never found. In the famous case of divers exploring the then unidentified uboat wreck as described in the book Shadow Divers, one of the divers died while exploring the wreck, and when another diver tried to bring him up, he dropped him and was unable to go back down to get him. The body was later found 5 miles away.

Lynne I know. So tragic

 

[InTheDrink]

One last request as I will post about how not to drown elsewhere but if waves are big, what is the best strategy to avoid ingress of water.

I want this to be educational as I see so many kids getting into dangerous situations
TIA

 

[boulderjohn]

One last request as I will post about how not to drown elsewhere but if waves are big, what is the best strategy to avoid ingress of water.

If you are a swimmer and not a diver or snorkeler, it won't be easy. Consequently, your best strategy is to avoid being a swimmer in big waves. I don't go into the ocean for a swim in big waves.

If you are caught in such a situation, a lot depends upon your physical characteristics; that is, your personal buoyancy. My wife floats on the surface like a cork without moving a muscle; I sink like a rock without making some kind of effort. If I (with my lack of buoyancy) were just needing to drift with the current for a while and not make any progress toward a destination, I suppose I might try drownproofing, a strategy where you hold your knees and float with your head just below the surface, holding your breath and periodically raising up for another breath.