Propeller accident after diving at Galápagos Islands

[Diver0001]

It's not too shocking. As near as I can tell without having read everything in exact detail yet, in addition to the other surface skills that are still in the course we'll now need to instruct students on a couple of new habits.

• leaving the reg in and mask on after an ascent until the diver is sure that sufficient positive buoyancy has been achieved (building good habits)
• leaving the mask on at all times and either a snorkel or reg in the mouth while in the water (building good habits)
• assisting your buddy with a weight check is now part of OW (students will do it for themselves AND learn to assist their buddy with it)
• more emphasis on creating positive buoyancy on the surface (was obvious but is now formalized)

R..

 

[Nathalie_nl]

I'm glad more divers are using smbs and that it will become part of basic training material. One subject that still needs to be addressed is how to educate boat owners (e.g. commercial, recreational and fishermen) of the significance of that orange or yellow tube that suddenly appears out of the deep.

Any ideas?

Nathalie.

 

[Diver0001]

Well.... before it was the norm to get a boating license in the area where I grew up, scuba divers were instructed to NOT put up their "diver down" flags where they were diving. Instead, we we told to put up the diver-down flag at least 200m away from where we were diving.

Why?

Because the flag attracted all the boaters. The further the flag was from the divers the safer the divers would be. That's not a joke, that's a true story. Once boaters were required to become educated, this pretty much stopped. It wasn't that boaters were taking deliberate risks, many simply didn't know any better.

So, Nathalie, one of the things that really makes a difference is awareness. Local divers everywhere should use the connections they have to make sure that all boaters are fully aware of the meaning and protocols surrounding dive-flags and surface markers. In the Netherlands it's not a problem, I would think, given that 100% of boaters have some training, but in some other countries it could be.

R..

 

[rafamart]

I always thought of an SMB as something to be used only in rough seas or when in high currents.
You have hereby convinced one more diver; I'll definitely use it every single time noone else in the group has deployed theirs or if I happen to do my safety stop a bit further from the rest.

Thank you for sharing the story and all the best to you!

 

[Adventure-Ocean]

Thank you for sharing your story Nathalie. I have lived, worked, and played in the ocean all my life and have seen a few terrible accidents. You have given me much to think about when it's my turn to be in that hospital bed. Whether it's an accident or just getting old and falling apart, we will all be looking up from a bed feeling helpless and hoping everyone around knows what their doing.

I have been a licensed captain all my life so I too wonder about the boat operator. Of course it does you little good but hopefully all the mistakes made that day by the captain and responsible parties are addressed and corrected.

I truly hope you recover from this and are able to enjoy diving again. Perhaps you can post your progress or describe your feelings after your NEXT dive.

I'll be sharing your story on my dive safety site in hopes it will inspire and teach others. Heal quickly and stay safe. adventure-ocean

---------- Post added November 21st, 2013 at 04:09 PM ----------

Moderator- Once when doing transects on a very shallow dive with a couple of students two idiot jetskiers used our dive float as their turn bouy while racing. They did a couple of donuts around the buoy and we were blasted by their jet stream while we were spidered to the bottom. It would have been smart to not have the flag right over us but I never thought people would be so reckless and ignorant. Adventure-Ocean

 

[Nathalie_nl]

Dear all,

It has been a while since my last post, but I'm proud to show you this:

zwem - YouTube

This was filmed last Friday and it captured the moment that I was found underneath the surface for the very first time since the accident, with a scubatank on my back. I'm happy! It felt like a huge achievement, both physically as emotionally. Unfortunately I'm still not allowed in open water. The physician has convinced me to wait another year. The consolidation of the fractures has not been fully compleded yet. Tiny blood vessels which are being formed as part of the healing process - as I've been told - are at risk when nitrogen bubbles form in the area of my knee. That could jeopardise all the progress that I've made in the previous 10.5 months. I'm not willing to run that risk, so I'll be a good girl and wait another year.

I'm doing great. The recovery is going slow, but is still progressing. I can walk a few kilometers (or miles) now, I can jump when I do it carefully, I can ride a pushbike (also as of last Friday and of huge significance here in the Netherlands) and I'm starting to learn how to run again. I have a very positive look on the future and I fully appreciate how extremely lucky I am, being able to recover as well as I do. Right now I have about 40% of my muscular strenght back in my left leg. So I still have 60% room for improvement. I will always feel a bit of stiffness in my ankle and knee, but I'm positive that in the near future my accident will stop controling my life. Next year I'll resume teaching students how to dive! And how to dive safely!!

Thank you all for your kind words when I needed them most! Dive safe!!

Warm regards, Nathalie.

 

[D_B]

I love to hear that your doing so well
(and also not surprised , because of the determined spirit you have) :bounce3: