Quarry fatality - Tavernier Florida

[DandyDon]

I didn't know there is a practice dive quarry there? Another case of buddies not staying together for the entire dive....

From Snorkeler, scuba diver die in Keys waters over the weekend - KeysNet.com

Deputy Becky Herrin says that on Sunday, Anne Morey, 64, from Monterey, Tenn., was diving in a rock quarry in Tavernier with her 65-year-old husband, Robert.
Herrin says he told Deputy Matt Koval they got into the water together but he discovered he didn't have enough weight. His wife told him she would go ahead and dive to the bottom and wait for him there, Herrin said.
Robert Morey got more weight, then got into the water to join her about 20 minutes later. He found her about 40 feet down, not breathing. He inflated her buoyancy compensator and managed to get her to the surface, but couldn't get her ashore.
He called the Sheriff's Office and, when deputies and paramedics arrived, she was taken Mariners Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

 

[JamesK]

That's a shame. When it is something as simple as someone grabbing more weight, why not just wait for them.

 

[DandyDon]

That's a shame. When it is something as simple as someone grabbing more weight, why not just wait for them.

I don't know the quarry at all, but it sounds like they had entered together and she didn't want to exit with him - and impulsively continued with the common mistake of "meet you on the bottom."

My home bud under weights at times. On a boat dive I have ascended with him and escorted him back to the boat for more, and on a shore dive we just gave up and went to lunch. On a quarry dive in NM where there is a ledge 4 ft deep where divers frequently gather before descending, I have waited with his camera while he climbed the steps and went back to the car for more. He couldn't see me from the steps or parking lot and if I messed up falling off the ledge, he'd have no idea if I got in trouble. I guess I need to change my actions on that as I am the one constantly reminding him that we enter together and leave together after some other problems there.

 

[Carl_F]

On a quarry dive in NM where there is a ledge 4 ft deep where divers frequently gather before descending, I have waited with his camera while he climbed the steps and went back to the car for more. He couldn't see me from the steps or parking lot and if I messed up falling off the ledge, he'd have no idea if I got in trouble. I guess I need to change my actions on that as I am the one constantly reminding him that we enter together and leave together after some other problems there.

How far do you take this? If your now standing on the step prior to the water, should you not step 20 ft away from the water's edge lest you slip in? If I'm standing in 4 ft of water, I am not using any SCUBA equipment or relying on any SCUBA training for my safety. Thus, at this point, I don't see the buddy system as part of the safety equation. I support the buddy system as I was trained but there's a point where the safety provided by the buddy system ends and personal safety begins. I don't expect my buddy to drive with me to ensure I'm obeying the speed limit or other laws. I don't expect my buddy to hold my arm walking down the trail to the beach. I expect my buddy to be there when I start diving, during my dive and when ending my dive.

Just my thoughts.

Carl

 

[Bombay High]

Why did he join her 20 MINUTES later ? Seems crazy that it took him that long ... and that they made such a ridiculous plan. How did he even find her mid water ?
What a crazy avoidable tragedy !

 

[DandyDon]

How far do you take this?

From pre-dive buddy check & dive plan thru post-dive debrief & wellness check.

Now, the ledge I am thinking about is in 4 ft of water backed by a stone wall far above my head so there is no way we can see each other once he climbs the stairs. Our agreed rule is we enter the water together and leave it together, so any rationalizing can backfire. He couldn't see what happened to me if I slipped off the ledge unprepared any better than the husband in the above accident.

 

[Randy43068]

it could have taken him some time to add the weight to his kit. Took him time to search.. who knows, it's a second hand report not a fact filled narrative of the events.

Some of you are assuming that the "buddy" system would have saved her, I'm dubious of that assumption.

 

[deeper thoughts]

I live here and dont know this quarry. Does anyone know where it is?

 

[reefman]

I live here and dont know this quarry. Does anyone know where it is?

walter there are 2 quarrys in tavernier, the 1st between the wild bird center and hammer point visible from the overseas highway(oceanside with rock boulders on the entrance, mm93). the 2nd off burton drive on the way to HH park. check the google sattelite map and you'll see they are close by each other. unverified, however, i heard the incident was the quarry off OH, mm93,,,


reefman
key largo

 

[Randy43068]

I can't imagine the angst to lose one's spouse like this. Cannot imagine it at all. I feel badly for the poor fellow losing his wife.