Pompano Beach Fatality Sunday April 16th

[Divin'Papaw]

I’ve heard some details but they’re all 3rd hand. I’ve been told it was a suspected medical emergency while on a dive on a deep wreck off of Pompano. But you’ve probably heard that much already @tekkydiver. I’ve not heard or seen anything from anyone who was actually there.

 

[TravelGas]

I don’t understand why it is disrespectful to name a dead person. You are helping to keep “the lid shut on this one”.
It is fact they are deceased? The family presumably has already been notified. You do know that the dead have their names on tombstones, right? Seems like you are adding to the drama and not helping in anyway. As soon as Facebook was mentioned I should have known.

Anyone who wants to be helpful know which wreck this unfortunate event happened on?

 

[TravelGas]

Is there a reason why you don't release the name?

Yes, its OK to release the name if you are on Facebook, but apparently not if you are on Scubaboard. Obviously the family was notified even before it was released on Facebook which is now the site for all things Scuba .

 

[Divin'Papaw]

Anyone who wants to be helpful know which wreck this unfortunate event happened on?

Lowrance I was told, again, that’s third hand.

 

[TravelGas]

Lowrance I was told, again, that’s third hand.

Thanks. Lowrance is on my list of wrecks for this year.

 

[TravelGas]

https://joecitelli.com/?page_id=328

 

[kensuf]

There's no "shut lid", simply a bunch of unknowns at this point and a bunch of stunned and shocked friends that are trying to make sense of it all. What we know is that for whatever reason, our friend lost consciousness on the descent at a depth of approximately 180' and the people he was diving with made a valiant effort to get him to the surface and save his life.

Was the root cause hyperoxia, hypoxia, or a medical event? We do not know at this point.

I've known Joe for almost 30 years, we talked at least once a week on the phone about everything from jokes to cave diving to deep reef/wreck diving to just family stuff. I am confident that Joe would have wanted any information out there that would lead to an improvement in diver safety, that will be honored.

 

[sheeper]

Joe was one of the most experienced, hardcore tech divers around. The details are still a bit unknown and i'm avoiding speculation. I've always enjoyed running into Joe on the south Florida dive boats doing some deep stuff. And when Joe was there, i KNEW it would be a great day! I have no doubt that he would have wanted any details public, if and when they are known.
RIP Joe Citelli....Fair Winds and Following Seas.

 

[boulderjohn]

The day I dived the Lowrance in a group that included Joe and several other highly reputed divers was memorable for more reasons than one. It happened right when I started arguing with PADI leadership about some of the absolutist language in their wreck diving course. I described the dive in detail, showing how every single one of us routinely did what the course said no diver should ever do on a wreck. I highlighted Joe's presence on the dive because of his reputation in the world diving community. It was a big step in the planned changes to the language of the course, moving from absolutism to an explanation about using good judgement to make appropriate decisions about diving practices in wrecks.

 

[doctormike]

He was using a rebreather...'nuff said.

Please. Can you not…?