Raising the Dead.

[Thalassamania]

After reading the story, I can't watch the clip....So incredibly sad....

I had to stop the clip. Maybe I'll go back to it someday, but not right now.

 

[Doubles]

A Deeply moving and tragic event. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Shaw Family.

Dave Shaw undertook the most challenging dive of all. I am sure there are few divers who would be able to consider such an attempt.

I would think that consideration might be given to closing this sink to divers. That it be a memorial to the souls who have passed there.

Don Shirley's CO2 test demonstrated the affects of hyperventilation. That was at the surface - I cannot fathom the affect it would have on you at that depth along with narcosis and O2 toxicity.

Wonder if there is an experienced rebreather diver who could talk to the subject of how hyperventilation would affect the scrubber and performance of a rebreather?

 

[SparticleBrane]

This is going to make me sound like a jerk...
But wow. This was a useless, senseless death. This dive should have never happened. One guy was already dead and other died trying (unsuccessfully) to bring him out. Yes they finally got the bodies out but Shaw didn't do it--the other guys did by bringing up the tanks...only because Shaw managed to get himself tangled in cave line.
What a waste.

 

[Divmstr223]

This is going to make me sound like a jerk...
But wow. This was a useless, senseless death. This dive should have never happened. One guy was already dead and other died trying (unsuccessfully) to bring him out. Yes they finally got the bodies out but Shaw didn't do it--the other guys did by bringing up the tanks...only because Shaw managed to get himself tangled in cave line.
What a waste.

I have to disagree SB. Dave Shaw was an adventurer, he had already made that dive once before, granted it wasn't to retrieve a body. And as one of his friends/peers mentioned, he would have returned to make that dive anyway, body or not. So it wasn't a senseless dive to retrieve a body; the body was just an added task to a dive that he would have done again anyway at some point. The whole process was only supposed to be a few minutes.

I read the entire article and I was captivated by the whole story. It's one thing to hear of a diver who has died, and another to read about their whole story and the events that led up to the incident. And of course the friends and families that knew and loved them.

For those of you who do not wish to view the video that was posted earlier; it does not show the divers death. Only a few mintues of the activities he was doing prior to his death. When the video ended, he was still working and trying to free himself of the entanglement. While reading the article, it stated that he was alive down there for 20+ minutes before he blacked out and eventually stopped breathing/drowned. I don't know exactly where the 4 minutes of video fit into the 20+ minutes of bottom time during that dive. But certainly not at the very end.

Very sad story. One can only wonder how Dave was actually affected at that depth. I'm sure in his mind he was acting very rationally and calm, even though in the video we could see otherwise. I hope his story will help others to not make the same mistakes.

The irony of it all is that the video that we watched is ultimately what killed him. Letting his light go freely off to the side becaue of the video camera is what they presumed entangled him, and in the end kept him there.

Rest in peace bro.

 

[ShoalDiverSA]

To quote Rob Davie (BigJetDriver) from one of the original threads discussing this tragedy:

Folks,

This thread has deteriorated completely from its original intent and purview. Discussion of the pro's and con's of choosing to do such an incredibly deep and difficult dive should be left to those who have the experience in rebreathers to know what they are talking about.

Dave Shaw was a good man, a great rebreather diver, and a daring explorer. The dive world is a much poorer place without him, and without individuals such as he was.
...

Cheers,

Andrew

 

[wardric]

I read the entire text, very touching story.

If I may add, Shaw himself admited (in the text) he was not doing it for the "good deed" only, he was doing it for the adventure of it. So in that case it was not useless or senseless, just a guy trying to push the limits. Now if he did or not commit errors, I was not there nor am i qualified to analyse such deep dives. I dont think many on the board have gone to such depth either.

 

[limbo]

I have to disagree SB. Dave Shaw was an adventurer, he had already made that dive once before, granted it wasn't to retrieve a body. And as one of his friends/peers mentioned, he would have returned to make that dive anyway, body or not. So it wasn't a senseless dive to retrieve a body; the body was just an added task to a dive that he would have done again anyway at some point. The whole process was only supposed to be a few minutes.

I read the entire article and I was captivated by the whole story. It's one thing to hear of a diver who has died, and another to read about their whole story and the events that led up to the incident. And of course the friends and families that knew and loved them.

For those of you who do not wish to view the video that was posted earlier; it does not show the divers death. Only a few mintues of the activities he was doing prior to his death. When the video ended, he was still working and trying to free himself of the entanglement. While reading the article, it stated that he was alive down there for 20+ minutes before he blacked out and eventually stopped breathing/drowned. I don't know exactly where the 4 minutes of video fit into the 20+ minutes of bottom time during that dive. But certainly not at the very end.

Very sad story. One can only wonder how Dave was actually affected at that depth. I'm sure in his mind he was acting very rationally and calm, even though in the video we could see otherwise. I hope his story will help others to make the same mistakes.

The irony of it all is that the video that we watched is ultimately what killed him. Letting his light go freely off to the side becaue of the video camera is what they presumed entangled him, and in the end kept him there.

Rest in peace bro.

Dvmstr223,

Seems to be a good analysis of what happened. A very sad story and it seems indeed that the unfamiliar vdo camera he had on his helmet, was a contributing factor for what happened to Dave.

 

[ronski101]

I read that story last year and will never forget it. A tragedy for sure but I can't help thinking that it should never have happened. It is easy to sit here and think about what he should have done while I am warm, dry and breathing wonderful deep breaths of fresh air. Maybe he was not thinking straight at that depth for that length of time. Did he practice putting a dummy in a bag in a pool? Did he discuss his plan with the other support divers on contingencies? Why didn't he just clip a line to the tanks on the body and attach to a lift bag to minimize his time exposure at depth. Out of the plan = out of the water. Clint Eastwood was right.

 

[wardric]

I read that story last year and will never forget it. A tragedy for sure but I can't help thinking that it should never have happened. It is easy to sit here and think about what he should have done while I am warm, dry and breathing wonderful deep breaths of fresh air. Maybe he was not thinking straight at that depth for that length of time. Did he practice putting a dummy in a bag in a pool? Did he discuss his plan with the other support divers on contingencies? Why didn't he just clip a line to the tanks on the body and attach to a lift bag to minimize his time exposure at depth. Out of the plan = out of the water. Clint Eastwood was right.

He practice with the bag at serious depth if I remember the text correctly.

They wanted the body to be in the bag since the victim's parents were at the site and it was filmed. For respect of the victim.

 

[Carribeandiver]

the first article I read concerning Shaw's initial dive and then his planned attempt to retrieve the body had me thinking he was successful in retrieving Deon. It wasnt until I reached the end of the article did I realize Dave Shaw was not successful. My jaw dropped, my mood saddened deeply and I felt a loss without ever knowing Dave Shaw.
A truly poignant story that will help us all realize the sport we love and enjoy cannot be taken lightly. What we do when we do it carries substantial risks. May God help Shaw's wife and 2 surviving children. And May Shirley take heed from his experience and exercise extreme caution as he continues his tech diving.