Ponte Vedra (Jacksonville) Spear Fisherman Dies

[H2Andy]

Ponte Vedra man dies during scuba dive

Associated Press

MAYPORT, Fla. - A 40-year-old Ponte Vedra Beach fisherman failed to return from a dive to catch grouper and snapper and was found dead two hours later on the ocean floor.

Richard "Rick" Stowe was on his third dive of the day. It was the first day of a five-day fishing expedition when he failed to surface about 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, about 66 miles east of St. Marys, Ga.

James Williams, captain of the Reef Raider II, a commercial fishing boat, said Stowe had worked for him for about two years.

Williams said he knew something was wrong when Stowe's fish surfaced but he did not.

The crew of the Reef Raider first looked to see if Stowe had surfaced farther away from the boat, but they knew the current wasn't strong enough to carry Stowe far. Then they searched the bottom where he was fishing. They found his spear gun and his body.

Stowe was pronounced dead at Baptist Medical Center.

Vic Lloyd, owner of the fishing boat, could only speculate on what could have happened to Stowe and said it was a freak accident.

"Somewhere close to the surface he hit some kind of problem and blacked out," Lloyd said.

 

[H2Andy]

a new article in the local press. unfortunately, not much is added to the details.

http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/051304/met_15594939.shtml

this is as close as the article touches on what might have happened:

"[Boat] owner Vic Lloyd said he could only speculate on what could have happened to Stowe in what much of the crew is describing as a freak accident.

'Somewhere close to the surface he hit some kind of problem and blacked out,' Lloyd said."

I am not sure why he says that. I can't find any details.

 

[simbrooks]

"[Boat] owner Vic Lloyd said he could only speculate on what could have happened to Stowe in what much of the crew is describing as a freak accident.

'Somewhere close to the surface he hit some kind of problem and blacked out,' Lloyd said."

I am not sure why he says that. I can't find any details.

That is because it is speculation, reports sometimes speculate, but try to stick to facts (or at least should). Do we even know how deep the previous dives were? But isnt spearfishing about depth more than time? Really not into that side of diving, so no idea. I would imagine the boat owner would know more details than the report (on what happened, not post mortem etc) as he was there, but that doesnt lead him to be an expert or able to make that assumption about the loss of life of a friend of his (i guess).

Sad to hear of more people dying out there.

 

[TropicalDiver]

Latest info is that the diver had a lethal concentration of O2 in the tank - 49%. Sad that such an experienced diver was lost over skipping a safety check of O2 percentage in the tank.

Here's the link to additional discussion: http://www.spearboard.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=8794

 

[H2Andy]

i called Atlantic Pro Divers, who supposedly tested the tank, and they told me they couldn't comment, but the manager didn't deny anything. the manager had known the victim for over 10 years, and was understandibly sensitive about talking about this.

I called the Coast Guard, and they said the investigation is not over and couldn't comment. I'll try back in a couple of weeks. Their public affairs person here in Jacksonville is Petty Officer Dana Warr at (904) 270-0730.

 

[dvleemin]

Latest info is that the diver had a lethal concentration of O2 in the tank - 49%. Sad that such an experienced diver was lost over skipping a safety check of O2 percentage in the tank.

Here's the link to additional discussion: http://www.spearboard.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=8794

Wow - that's scary!

 

[dvrgaryc]

i called Atlantic Pro Divers, who supposedly tested the tank, and they told me they couldn't comment, but the manager didn't deny anything. the manager had known the victim for over 10 years, and was understandibly sensitive about talking about this.

I called the Coast Guard, and they said the investigation is not over and couldn't comment. I'll try back in a couple of weeks. Their public affairs person here in Jacksonville is Petty Officer Dana Warr at (904) 270-0730.

The Coast Guard investigator came to our shop shortly after this incident to download his profile from his computer. They also brought along his tank to do a second analysis of its contents. We didn't have the downloader at the shop at the time, but the computer allows the user to access the profile in thirty second intervals, so we checked it at the store. The computer profile showed the diver descending to 146 feet and staying at that depth for 11 minutes. After 12 minutes the diver ascended to 112 feet. Thirteen minutes into the dive, the diver reached 72 feet, then descended back down to 156 feet and remained there. Total bottom time was 112 minutes. The computer was programmed for an oxygen content of 21 percent. We then checked the contents of the tank. The oxygen analysis showed an oxygen concentration of 49.8 percent, which means the diver had a ppo2 of 2.85 ata. I was thinking this might be a decompression mix for hanging under the boat and the diver grabbed it by mistake, but there were no special markings identifying it as a deco mix tank. I asked the investigator where he got his tank filled and he told me the boat had its own compressor and oxygen tanks. I then asked him if they had an oxygen analyzer and he told me they did not. I noticed the tank was equipped with just a tank harness, no wing or jacket BC. I asked if the diver was wearing a horsecollar BC or some kind of personal floatation device and the investigator said no.

 

[alemaozinho]

scary ****...............

 

[H2Andy]

just tragic. i understand that he had a daughter he dived with. lots of loss here.

 

[MikeFerrara]

Not much to say about that one other than make sure you know what you're breathing.