Pensacola / Orange Beach Diver Down

[bbarnett51]

I have not spoke with anyone that was on the trip yet, so I do not have any answers. If I find out anything, I will post it. I do know that Larry was one of the nicest guys I've ever met. He was a Marine that served in Vietnam, had a zest for scuba diving that was infectious, loved life, and made friends everywhere he went. The last time I went diving with him was a couple of weeks ago, we dove a spring fed stock pond outside of Denton, Texas, where he lived. Any excuse to get wet was good enough for him. Prior to that, he and I traveled to Key Largo in May and dove the Spiegel Grove, the Thunderbolt in Marathon, and some reef sites. It was a great trip, and I'm glad we had that time together. It is hard to believe he is gone.

Really sorry. Obviously you lost a great friend and dive buddy. I've been on that Navy Tug and it always feels a little closer to home when you have done that same dive. Clearly this was much closer for you. No comparison there.

Prayers for your buddies family.

 

[jhayes75]

Its very Possible that it was a stuck inflator hose. I am curious to whether his BC was fully inflated.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

 

[bbarnett51]

I don't know if this is appropriate but it seems weird to me that Down Under is posting pics of happy divers and talking about how great the diving was this weekend.

 

[Rick Murchison]

This thread looks pretty accurate!
What I've heard so far...
Second dive on a two tank trip.
Site was the Navy Tug; first dive was on Lulu and uneventful.
The mishap diver had no complaints that anyone knows of before the mishap dive.
He suddenly left his buddy & surfaced, was not responding to hails from the boat.
Boat crew responded immediately.
Unconscious when reached, never regained consciousness despite correct first responder action.
At least two medical professionals were on the boat & assisted. (I heard 2 MDs & 1 RN)
--
There were two of "our" divers on the boat; if they have any additional info I'll get 'em to post it.
I'm speculating a medical problem rather than an equipment problem, but that's just the odds & not based on any concrete information.
Rick

 

[Tortuga68]

Its very Possible that it was a stuck inflator hose

Possible, yes. Very possible, way too early to speculate

 

[nolatom]

I was on Down Under on Sunday June 23 (meaning the day after) for dives on the Navy tug and the Liberty Ship ALLEN. Did not hear anything mentioned of a casualty the previous day, or at all. Maybe this is out of respect for decedent's family, though, rather than simply staying quiet about something unpleasant for their new divers to hear about.

Reading above, it sounds as though boat was blameless and went by the book in an unfortunate medical emergency. Based on the Sunday crew at least, I'm not surprised, they were professional, helpful, and competent.

Condolences to the family. And this must've been tough on the crew too.



Tom from New Orleans