tom wicker
Contributor
www.sun-sentinel.com
It seems mini season is taking its toll on divers this year is this normal?
It seems mini season is taking its toll on divers this year is this normal?
ouch mini season
- Thread starter tom wicker
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Former FLL Now MSP Diver
Contributor
Losing a few divers during mini season is pretty normal. Yet despite all this I wish I wasn't missing it this year. 
3 dead, 2 boats capsize as lobster mini-season opens
sun-sentinel.com staff & wires
July 26, 2006, 6:06 PM EDT
At least three people are dead and several others injured as the two-day lobster mini-season got on its way Wednesday. Seven others were rescued in the Port Everglades Inlet when two boats capsized.
Here is what authorities said about the deaths and other mini-season-related injuries:
A 58-year-old man drowned while diving for lobster about five miles off the Fort Pierce Inlet on Wednesday. His name and hometown were withheld pending notification of next of kin.
A 66-year-old woman from Coconut Grove had just entered the water at Big Pine Island when she reportedly began having some type of cardiac trouble. She was transported to Fishermen's Hospital in Marathon where she was pronounced dead.
Todd Hilkert, 36, from Palm Harbor, Florida was diving with a friend at Davis Reef about four miles off of Plantation Key. He and his friend were in about 15 feet of water scuba diving for lobster when they got separated. The friend surfaced and looked for Hilkert, but couldn't find him. He radioed for help and the U.S. Coast Guard and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission responded. FWC Officer Tom Hill found Hilkert on the bottom.
Autopsies will be performed on the victims to determine the cause of deaths.
Two small boats that capsized in unrelated incidents around 9:40 a.m. at Port Everglades. Three people were aboard one boat, four on the other. No one was injured.
A diver suffered severed arteries when he was runover by a 23-foot boat and struck by its propeller around 7 a.m. in Marathon in the Florida Keys. He was taken to a hospital.
"Apparently, a diver, once he was in the water, the boat he had just came off of backed up and the propeller sliced part of his leg," explained Lewis Diaz, of the U.S. Coast Guard.
A diver was found unconscious at Content Key around 12:15 p.m. He was given CPR and then taken to a hospital.
"There are a lot of boaters out on the water," said Coast Guard Petty Officer Dana Warr. "It's probably quadruple the daily numbers."
The two-day mini-season runs from 12:01 a.m. Wednesday to midnight Thursday. The regular season is Aug. 6 to March 31.
In the Fort Pierce case, divers on the boat told the Coast Guard that a friend was diving and didn't come back up, according to Operations Officer Sean Sewell. They went down for him and discovered him on the ocean floor, 60 feet down.
Two search and rescue boats from the Fort Pierce Coast Guard station were called out about 9:35 a.m. and reached the boat about 10 minutes later, Sewell said. When they arrived, they found a diver on the deck of the boat and began administering CPR.
The man was brought back to the Coast Guard station where he was pronounced dead. The Coast Guard is continuing to investigate the incident.
OUTDOORS | LOBSTER MINISEASON
Annual lobster adventure under way
Although many bagged their lobster limit, the usually festive opening day of the lobster miniseason was marred by three deaths and several citations.
BY SUSAN COCKING
scocking@MiamiHerald.com
You would have thought Wednesday was Labor Day or the Fourth of July by the volume of boats motoring through South Florida's waterways.
But it was the first day of the annual two-day lobster diving miniseason, and it brought the usual excitement, derring-do and -- unfortunately -- casualties that come with this widely observed unofficial state holiday.
Thousands managed to bag their limit -- or close to it -- safely. But three people died -- one near Fort Pierce, two in the Keys -- and several others were struck by boat propellers in the frenetic hunt for lobsters.
Still others received notices to appear in court for infractions such as taking too many or undersized lobsters, or for diving in off-limits areas such as the Biscayne Bay-Card Sound Lobster Sanctuary or Key Largo's John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park.
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officer Santi Ayala marvelled at the lengths to which divers would go to bag dinner.
''Look at how much fuel, the expense,'' Ayala said. ``Think about it -- you can go to Publix and spend a lot less. It's the adventure, the excitement.''
TRAGIC TURN
Although Ayala and fellow officer Robert Fernandez spent a relatively quiet day patrolling the waters of Biscayne National Park, things turned tragic to the north and south, where three deaths were reported.
According to law enforcement officials, a 66-year-old woman died while on a diving trip off the Content Keys; a 36-year-old Palm Harbor died while scuba diving near Islamorada; and a 58-year-old man died while searching for lobsters off Fort Pierce. Two other divers also were hospitalized after being struck by boat propellers in separate incidents.
The accidents occurred despite a heavy law enforcement presence throughout South Florida -- over water, on land, and in the air.
Some divers reported being stopped and checked by officers two or three times Wednesday. Still, others who were determined to get their limit (six per person in the Keys and Biscayne National Park; 12 everywhere else) took risks out of desperation or ignorance.
Ayala and Fernandez cited two men in a 28-foot boat that they watched diving well within the boundaries of the Biscayne lobster sanctuary.
''See that whole line of boats out there?'' Ayala told the skipper, pointing to other boats anchored just outside the sanctuary boundaries. ``You're the only one in here.''
CONFISCATED CATCH
The officers confiscated the crew's meager catch of two lobsters -- which they claimed they caught legally beneath the Rickenbacker Causeway -- and wrote them notices to appear in court. The men face a maximum fine of $500 and up to a year in jail. But Ayala told them that if this was their first offense, a Miami-Dade judge might give them a break.
The officers later stopped a couple of other boats whose required red-and-white dive flags were missing and cited a diver for taking an undersized black grouper that he speared during the lobster hunt near Soldier Key.
The diver with the illegal grouper was part of a six-man crew who managed to bag only 12 lobsters despite diving all night and most of the day Wednesday.
Some lobster hunters complained their favorite go-to spots contained few bugs.
A crew of seven aboard Eric Fassbach's boat scored 23 lobsters by midday freediving in 10-12 feet of water off Cape Florida -- well short of its limit.
''We hit some spots where there normally is a bunch and there weren't many,'' Fassbach said. ``We were disappointed. Everybody said it was real plentiful this year.''
He said they planned to try another spot today.
Biscayne National Park workers reported a little over half the 71 boats they had surveyed at Black Point Marina by Wednesday afternoon had limited out.
''I feel there's less people out today,'' park biologist Max Tritt said. ``I don't know if it's gas prices or weather, or what. There's plenty of people on full scuba gear who didn't get their limit.''
DIVINE INTERVENTION
But there were some success stories, such as Miami's Jorge Velazquez and his party of four, who got their maximum of 30 in about three hours of freediving in 15 feet of water east of Sands Cut.
''We went to the spots we went to last year. A zillion boats were around them, but no one had hit them,'' Velazquez said, as he wrung lobster tails at Black Point Marina. ``The water was murky. Lo and behold, they were there. The ocean gods were with us today.''
The lobster miniseason concludes at one minute past midnight tonight. Then the waters become off-limits to bug catchers until the regular harvest season Aug. 6.
Marc
3 dead, 2 boats capsize as lobster mini-season opens
sun-sentinel.com staff & wires
July 26, 2006, 6:06 PM EDT
At least three people are dead and several others injured as the two-day lobster mini-season got on its way Wednesday. Seven others were rescued in the Port Everglades Inlet when two boats capsized.
Here is what authorities said about the deaths and other mini-season-related injuries:
A 58-year-old man drowned while diving for lobster about five miles off the Fort Pierce Inlet on Wednesday. His name and hometown were withheld pending notification of next of kin.
A 66-year-old woman from Coconut Grove had just entered the water at Big Pine Island when she reportedly began having some type of cardiac trouble. She was transported to Fishermen's Hospital in Marathon where she was pronounced dead.
Todd Hilkert, 36, from Palm Harbor, Florida was diving with a friend at Davis Reef about four miles off of Plantation Key. He and his friend were in about 15 feet of water scuba diving for lobster when they got separated. The friend surfaced and looked for Hilkert, but couldn't find him. He radioed for help and the U.S. Coast Guard and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission responded. FWC Officer Tom Hill found Hilkert on the bottom.
Autopsies will be performed on the victims to determine the cause of deaths.
Two small boats that capsized in unrelated incidents around 9:40 a.m. at Port Everglades. Three people were aboard one boat, four on the other. No one was injured.
A diver suffered severed arteries when he was runover by a 23-foot boat and struck by its propeller around 7 a.m. in Marathon in the Florida Keys. He was taken to a hospital.
"Apparently, a diver, once he was in the water, the boat he had just came off of backed up and the propeller sliced part of his leg," explained Lewis Diaz, of the U.S. Coast Guard.
A diver was found unconscious at Content Key around 12:15 p.m. He was given CPR and then taken to a hospital.
"There are a lot of boaters out on the water," said Coast Guard Petty Officer Dana Warr. "It's probably quadruple the daily numbers."
The two-day mini-season runs from 12:01 a.m. Wednesday to midnight Thursday. The regular season is Aug. 6 to March 31.
In the Fort Pierce case, divers on the boat told the Coast Guard that a friend was diving and didn't come back up, according to Operations Officer Sean Sewell. They went down for him and discovered him on the ocean floor, 60 feet down.
Two search and rescue boats from the Fort Pierce Coast Guard station were called out about 9:35 a.m. and reached the boat about 10 minutes later, Sewell said. When they arrived, they found a diver on the deck of the boat and began administering CPR.
The man was brought back to the Coast Guard station where he was pronounced dead. The Coast Guard is continuing to investigate the incident.
OUTDOORS | LOBSTER MINISEASON
Annual lobster adventure under way
Although many bagged their lobster limit, the usually festive opening day of the lobster miniseason was marred by three deaths and several citations.
BY SUSAN COCKING
scocking@MiamiHerald.com
You would have thought Wednesday was Labor Day or the Fourth of July by the volume of boats motoring through South Florida's waterways.
But it was the first day of the annual two-day lobster diving miniseason, and it brought the usual excitement, derring-do and -- unfortunately -- casualties that come with this widely observed unofficial state holiday.
Thousands managed to bag their limit -- or close to it -- safely. But three people died -- one near Fort Pierce, two in the Keys -- and several others were struck by boat propellers in the frenetic hunt for lobsters.
Still others received notices to appear in court for infractions such as taking too many or undersized lobsters, or for diving in off-limits areas such as the Biscayne Bay-Card Sound Lobster Sanctuary or Key Largo's John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park.
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officer Santi Ayala marvelled at the lengths to which divers would go to bag dinner.
''Look at how much fuel, the expense,'' Ayala said. ``Think about it -- you can go to Publix and spend a lot less. It's the adventure, the excitement.''
TRAGIC TURN
Although Ayala and fellow officer Robert Fernandez spent a relatively quiet day patrolling the waters of Biscayne National Park, things turned tragic to the north and south, where three deaths were reported.
According to law enforcement officials, a 66-year-old woman died while on a diving trip off the Content Keys; a 36-year-old Palm Harbor died while scuba diving near Islamorada; and a 58-year-old man died while searching for lobsters off Fort Pierce. Two other divers also were hospitalized after being struck by boat propellers in separate incidents.
The accidents occurred despite a heavy law enforcement presence throughout South Florida -- over water, on land, and in the air.
Some divers reported being stopped and checked by officers two or three times Wednesday. Still, others who were determined to get their limit (six per person in the Keys and Biscayne National Park; 12 everywhere else) took risks out of desperation or ignorance.
Ayala and Fernandez cited two men in a 28-foot boat that they watched diving well within the boundaries of the Biscayne lobster sanctuary.
''See that whole line of boats out there?'' Ayala told the skipper, pointing to other boats anchored just outside the sanctuary boundaries. ``You're the only one in here.''
CONFISCATED CATCH
The officers confiscated the crew's meager catch of two lobsters -- which they claimed they caught legally beneath the Rickenbacker Causeway -- and wrote them notices to appear in court. The men face a maximum fine of $500 and up to a year in jail. But Ayala told them that if this was their first offense, a Miami-Dade judge might give them a break.
The officers later stopped a couple of other boats whose required red-and-white dive flags were missing and cited a diver for taking an undersized black grouper that he speared during the lobster hunt near Soldier Key.
The diver with the illegal grouper was part of a six-man crew who managed to bag only 12 lobsters despite diving all night and most of the day Wednesday.
Some lobster hunters complained their favorite go-to spots contained few bugs.
A crew of seven aboard Eric Fassbach's boat scored 23 lobsters by midday freediving in 10-12 feet of water off Cape Florida -- well short of its limit.
''We hit some spots where there normally is a bunch and there weren't many,'' Fassbach said. ``We were disappointed. Everybody said it was real plentiful this year.''
He said they planned to try another spot today.
Biscayne National Park workers reported a little over half the 71 boats they had surveyed at Black Point Marina by Wednesday afternoon had limited out.
''I feel there's less people out today,'' park biologist Max Tritt said. ``I don't know if it's gas prices or weather, or what. There's plenty of people on full scuba gear who didn't get their limit.''
DIVINE INTERVENTION
But there were some success stories, such as Miami's Jorge Velazquez and his party of four, who got their maximum of 30 in about three hours of freediving in 15 feet of water east of Sands Cut.
''We went to the spots we went to last year. A zillion boats were around them, but no one had hit them,'' Velazquez said, as he wrung lobster tails at Black Point Marina. ``The water was murky. Lo and behold, they were there. The ocean gods were with us today.''
The lobster miniseason concludes at one minute past midnight tonight. Then the waters become off-limits to bug catchers until the regular harvest season Aug. 6.
Marc
SFLDiver
Contributor
Me thinks I shall reiterate my personal creedo
of Mini-season being the only two days of the year
I really dont want to go diving.
Too many idiots ... too many risks.
I can wait another week or so.
of Mini-season being the only two days of the year
I really dont want to go diving.
Too many idiots ... too many risks.
I can wait another week or so.
dkramer
Contributor
I've found that the best time to dive in the Keys is the few days between the mini season and the opening of the regular season. Tis nice & quiet then.
BHB ScubaTroll
Contributor
SFLDiver:
Always reminds me of St. Patrick's Day and New Year's Eve (lots of amatuers mucking it up)
Mini-season here was uncrowded. The Palmetto Street ramp parking lot had more police cars than cilvilian vehicles. Nicer water conditions today than yesterday too, although I had a 3' remora slam into me in the middle of the water column while I was offgassing in the gloom. When you spin around, at first glance, you can't tell if it's a 3' remora 3' away or a 10' shark 10' away.
And lots and lots of lobsters.
And lots and lots of lobsters.
There's nothing normal about people dying and getting sliced up when they dive. Unfortunately, it is very common though during the seasonal adrenaline rush.:shakeheadtom wicker:
OP
tom wicker
Contributor
MB:
Your definition of normal in this case differs a great deal from mine I would hope that no one would be thinking along those lines. My normal is as in common occurrences.
Indeed it is unfortunate lives are lost this way and Im trying to understand why. My post was intended to get some feedback from members that make this crusade
Semantics. It should never be normal. However, it IS common. And very sad. People should stay fit to dive year-round, yet so many people only dive during short season and they are out of shape. It gives diving a bad rep for being more dangerous than it really should be. And don't get me started about the moronic boat skippers who haven't a clue!!!
DennisS
Contributor
And another one
By Macollvie Jean-François
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Posted July 28 2006
[FONT=Verdana,Arial, Helvetica]A Palatka woman died and her diving partner was missing in the Keys as lobster mini-season drew to a close Thursday, officials said.
As of late Thursday, four people in South Florida had died during the recreational lobster hunting season that precedes the commercial harvest, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.
LocalLinks
"This does seem like a high number" of deaths, said Dani Moschella, a spokeswoman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. "Of course, we feel a sense of sadness when we see this over the two-day period."
Moschella said no official state records are kept tracking deaths related to the mini-season because local agencies usually handle diving deaths.
The Palatka woman's body was found floating off Big Pine Key at about 10:30 a.m., Monroe County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Becky Herrin said. The woman still wore her scuba gear and there was an unoccupied boat nearby, anchored with a dive flag. Herrin said the woman would not be identified until her relatives were notified.
Authorities said they were still looking for a 54-year-old man believed to be her diving partner.
That man is among a dozen divers who were reported missing over the past two days, said Petty Officer 1st Class Dana Warr, spokesman for the Coast Guard. Most were rescued or returned to their boats safely.
"People getting lost is inexcusable because there should be a flag," Warr said. "They have to maintain some kind of communication or visual sight of their friends and families that are diving off their boats."
By late Thursday, a few hours before the season ended, all the deaths had been diving-related, officials said. Inexperience and the increase in boaters and divers may be contributing factors, Herrin said.
Also Thursday, Herrin identified diver Joan Radford, 66, who maintained homes in Coconut Grove and Big Pine Key, as the woman who died Wednesday.
Radford's Big Pine Key neighbor Diane Bleich, 68, was sad to hear of the deaths.
"There's always a death during the two days," said Bleich, a 12-year-resident. "It really gets wild out there. Coming home yesterday afternoon, you could walk from boat to boat."[/FONT]
By Macollvie Jean-François
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Posted July 28 2006
[FONT=Verdana,Arial, Helvetica]A Palatka woman died and her diving partner was missing in the Keys as lobster mini-season drew to a close Thursday, officials said.
As of late Thursday, four people in South Florida had died during the recreational lobster hunting season that precedes the commercial harvest, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.
LocalLinks
"This does seem like a high number" of deaths, said Dani Moschella, a spokeswoman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. "Of course, we feel a sense of sadness when we see this over the two-day period."
Moschella said no official state records are kept tracking deaths related to the mini-season because local agencies usually handle diving deaths.
The Palatka woman's body was found floating off Big Pine Key at about 10:30 a.m., Monroe County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Becky Herrin said. The woman still wore her scuba gear and there was an unoccupied boat nearby, anchored with a dive flag. Herrin said the woman would not be identified until her relatives were notified.
Authorities said they were still looking for a 54-year-old man believed to be her diving partner.
That man is among a dozen divers who were reported missing over the past two days, said Petty Officer 1st Class Dana Warr, spokesman for the Coast Guard. Most were rescued or returned to their boats safely.
"People getting lost is inexcusable because there should be a flag," Warr said. "They have to maintain some kind of communication or visual sight of their friends and families that are diving off their boats."
By late Thursday, a few hours before the season ended, all the deaths had been diving-related, officials said. Inexperience and the increase in boaters and divers may be contributing factors, Herrin said.
Also Thursday, Herrin identified diver Joan Radford, 66, who maintained homes in Coconut Grove and Big Pine Key, as the woman who died Wednesday.
Radford's Big Pine Key neighbor Diane Bleich, 68, was sad to hear of the deaths.
"There's always a death during the two days," said Bleich, a 12-year-resident. "It really gets wild out there. Coming home yesterday afternoon, you could walk from boat to boat."[/FONT]
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