Oregon woman dies in Washington diving accident

[DanBMW]

There is very good follow-up info in this thread that can save lives if followed. I really like the idea of getting into the habit of orally inflating the BC at the end of the dive when on the surface. I have never done this and plan to in the future! Seems like a great habit to get into.

For a little background; I do a lot of the "check out" dives for so called Rescue Certified divers at the aquarium where I dive several days a week and ORALLY INFLATING the BC on the surface after different out of air situation drills is the MOST often forgotten act to do! 9 times out of 10 the out of air diver tries to inflate his BC with the button and does not orally inflate his BC till I remind him on the surface that he is OUT OF AIR!

The above suggest of doing this at the end of every dive is to me, a great suggestion.

 

[Rhone Man]

Never ceases to amaze me how many times in a "surface" accident the diver doesn't drop their weight belt... back when I was certified that was really drilled into you - drop your belt as soon as you get into difficulty if you are at the surface.

 

[mikerault]

Actually out of air on the bottom may mean enough to fill the BC will be left at the surface. Of course if you try to breath off itall the way up or something such as a first stage freeze occurs then this is moot. Oral inflation should be practiced frequently.

Something that was never really stressed that much during my OW training was gas conservation and management. This could have been prevented by simply following the rule of thirds or establishing and maintaining a responsible turn pressure.

Mike

 

[divengolf]

How about putting a modest amount of the inwater rescue material back into the entry level course?

Absolutely correct. Plus more time on bouyancy control and weighting. We've dumbed it down TOOOOOO much.

I applaud the OW instructors who demand more and take the time to do it the old fashioned, tough way.

 

[Ed Palma]

Something does not sound rite... ? WHY DID THE DIVER NOT LOOK FOR HER ?

Taking a stab at conjecture... quite possibly he was out of air as well.

I will admit that orally inflating my wing at the surface is one of the skills that I seldom practice. I guess I better start doing it more often.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Of course, from the story, we don't know that she hasn't taken Stress/Rescue, although your point is well taken.

Not being able to release your weights --and that point being made in the story is strange sounding to me. I mean, we know that in most fatalities at the surface, divers don't release their weights. But in this case, if the report is to be believed, it sounds as if she tried to ditch her weights but couldn't for some reason.

This is clearly tragic, but I hope we learn more about what happened because I think it could help prevent a future tragedy.

Jeff

Jeff, the following comments are based on both observation and speculation ... so take them for what they're worth. But I WOULD like everyone who's using integrated BCDs to consider them ...

I live in the area where this accident occurred. A few months ago we had another fatality where a reasonably new diver lost his life because he ran out of air and was unable to ditch his weights ... when they found his body on the bottom the searchers were also unable to ditch his weights ... they were jammed in too tightly to allow the release mechanisms to function properly.

The problem with a lot of weight-integrated BCDs is that they were not designed with adequate capacity for cold-water diving. Add to that the habit of newer divers to overweight because they "can't get down", and you have some BCD designs out there that won't break away like they're supposed to.

I don't know if this was the case with this woman ... I have no knowledge of what type of BCD she was using. But I DO know it was the case with the previous accident. His weight pockets were stuffed so full ... and he was so overweighted ... that they removed his BCD in order to bring him to the surface ... and even when completely filled the BCD was not floatable.

Divers ... new divers in particular ... need to be aware of the design specifications of the BCD and not overstuff the weight pockets ... which is quite easy to do with soft weights. Many designs are meant to slide out, and once on your torso ... especially if you've got some air filling the wraparound air cell ... they simply won't come out.

Any time I hear a story of someone being unable to drop their weights, the things that come to my mind are that they're overweighted, and have probably overmaxed the capacity of their BCD weight pockets. Newer cold water divers sometimes do this to compensate for a skill set they haven't had the opportunity to develop yet.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Rick Murchison]

How about putting a modest amount of the inwater rescue material back into the entry level course?

But, but.... that would take more time, and money... we couldn't do our "$99 weekend specials" any more.
Next thing you'll be suggesting we teach reaching your own tank valve and other hard stuff like that!
Perish the thought!
Rick

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

How about putting a modest amount of the inwater rescue material back into the entry level course?

NAUI does this ... but I suspect you knew that ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Slonda828]

I wish the woman's family my sincerest condolences. I hope we will all be mindful of the fact that she lost her life, and that her family may be on this board and not flood this thread with rhetoric.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

You should dive with a good buddy & know your limitations !!!!
Something does not sound rite... ? WHY DID THE DIVER NOT LOOK FOR HER ?

Because the dive buddy was also low on air ... one story said he only had 400 psi when they began their ascent. By the time he got to the surface, he'd have been so low that it would've been a very poor call indeed to go back down.

One thing you will learn in Rescue class is that while helping out another diver you should not put yourself in a position to become another victim.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)