Salinas Diver died at Breakwater
- Thread starter bbianchi
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blewgrass
Contributor
Is there any conclusive COD? I hope this information can be released to help educate the public and save lives in the future. This especially scares new divers and those who venture out alone.
I'm not sure what to write about this incident, except to say how sad I feel for Greg's family and friends. I teach out at Breakwater, and I must say that is the last place I would think of seeing a dive accident. Having said that, the reality is solo diving is a recipe for disaster.
I tell my students over-and-over again, do not dive without a buddy. Perhaps this tragic event could have been avoided if the diver had postponed the dive for another day when his buddy...or any buddy could have gone with him. So sad.
Be careful out there people.
I tell my students over-and-over again, do not dive without a buddy. Perhaps this tragic event could have been avoided if the diver had postponed the dive for another day when his buddy...or any buddy could have gone with him. So sad.
Be careful out there people.
I just registered to post this. I'm not a diver though at one point I started to study Scuba with the intent of getting certified in the 1970's. I knew Greg reasonably well as we had common interests outside of Scuba, and I worked under/with him on advanced first aid volunteer work.
This quote is from Gregs wife who posted it on a board she frequents:
"I talked to the coroner. Actually, I think he’s the Jim Brass (CSI reference) of the Monterey County Coroner’s Office. Greg had an undiagnosed congenital heart defect – his tricuspid valve was missing the center cusp. The valve lets the blood flow in and stops it from coming back. The coroner said he didn’t consider this a diving accident. We talked for a while yesterday when I pick up Greg’s stuff. I think I have all my questions answered. No one knows exactly what happened, but we know the time frame and he had problems as soon as he hit the water."
I've looked around the web and this may have been a Bicuspid aortic Valve congenital disorder - if you search on that term you'll get plenty of hits.
When I knew him Greg was strong but also overweight [as am I ]. Pictures of him in his wetsuit reinforce my opinion. I've also found one quote from him on a board somewhere to the effect that 'even us out of shape folks can dive', implying that it wasn't a strenuous hobby. [that quote is heavily paraphrased, and I can't find the exact quote again at this time.] Diving is strenuous. Particularly for us overweight types in our late 40's. This particular problem apparently can become more dangerous as we get older.
I don't know Gregs history of physicals but I'm surprised this wasn't picked up if he had them. It reminds me, and should remind all of you late 40's types, to get a complete physical periodically. Who knows, maybe Greg had experienced some issues and was just too headstrong to admit them to himself. We'll never know.
Greg was a decent guy and leaves behind a bereaved family. Hopefully it will be a reminder to all of you out there to get a physical.
[edit]
Interesting. I just found this quote about the medical condition: "Much of the data relating to its complications derive from necropsy studies since reliable diagnosis has only been possible for the last 15 years or so by two dimensional echocardiography." That would explain it not being found earlier.
This quote is from Gregs wife who posted it on a board she frequents:
"I talked to the coroner. Actually, I think he’s the Jim Brass (CSI reference) of the Monterey County Coroner’s Office. Greg had an undiagnosed congenital heart defect – his tricuspid valve was missing the center cusp. The valve lets the blood flow in and stops it from coming back. The coroner said he didn’t consider this a diving accident. We talked for a while yesterday when I pick up Greg’s stuff. I think I have all my questions answered. No one knows exactly what happened, but we know the time frame and he had problems as soon as he hit the water."
I've looked around the web and this may have been a Bicuspid aortic Valve congenital disorder - if you search on that term you'll get plenty of hits.
When I knew him Greg was strong but also overweight [as am I
]. Pictures of him in his wetsuit reinforce my opinion. I've also found one quote from him on a board somewhere to the effect that 'even us out of shape folks can dive', implying that it wasn't a strenuous hobby. [that quote is heavily paraphrased, and I can't find the exact quote again at this time.] Diving is strenuous. Particularly for us overweight types in our late 40's. This particular problem apparently can become more dangerous as we get older.I don't know Gregs history of physicals but I'm surprised this wasn't picked up if he had them. It reminds me, and should remind all of you late 40's types, to get a complete physical periodically. Who knows, maybe Greg had experienced some issues and was just too headstrong to admit them to himself. We'll never know.
Greg was a decent guy and leaves behind a bereaved family. Hopefully it will be a reminder to all of you out there to get a physical.
[edit]
Interesting. I just found this quote about the medical condition: "Much of the data relating to its complications derive from necropsy studies since reliable diagnosis has only been possible for the last 15 years or so by two dimensional echocardiography." That would explain it not being found earlier.
Thanks for passing te coroner's information along.
I think that Greg's post you are talking about was this one:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ba_diving/message/23312
I think that Greg's post you are talking about was this one:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ba_diving/message/23312
He was in the water. Read the first post in the thread.
dwashbur
Contributor
Yes. If I'm reading this correctly, he died of sudden catastrophic heart failure shortly after he got in the water, before he could descend?
Ben_ca
Contributor
Nobody is sure... he went out solo...
From the available detail, and/or lack of precise detail, all we know is he was found in the water. We don't, and probably will never, know whether he had a problem as he humped his gear into the water, or if it happened underwater. I would also note that there is no specific word on the type of injury the congenital defect caused. Maybe it was a heart attack, or maybe it was a loss of consciousness while submerged.
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