San Diego Dive Fatality 9-29-09

[jridg]

I don't have much info on the incident - but the DnD is a regular charter boat with a proper ladder. There would be no need to remove gear prior to getting back on the boat.

 

[DandyDon]

I have no idea what happened or if this is even relevant, but I've dived from small boats like zodiacs and pangas where I have had to remove my BC before getting back into the boat, and the order of things is super important: keep reg in mouth, inflate BC, remove weights, put weights in boat. Attach BC to boat (with clips, etc.), remove BC. Make sure you are buoyant without BC, then remove reg from mouth. Keep fins on and kick up into the boat.

Removing a BC while still wearing a weight belt is a scary thought.

Yep, I've seen divers in Cozumel do just that. Newbies are more likely to wear belts there at least so the scene scares me a bit.

My guess would have been that the diver removed his bcd to get into the boat but failed to remove his weights. That would explain (1) why he was separated from his gear, and (2) why he sank. (If he was wearing a wetsuit, he would have floated pretty well unless he was also wearing weight.) However, if the boat was a 5 person charter, I'm not clear why he might have needed to remove gear to board. In any event, very sad.

I'm sure he was wearing at least a wetsuit in those chilly waters, but also lots of lead to compensate. We see so many threads where the body is found with weights still attached, but so few where the diver ditched for the save.

It's common on smaller boats to take the BC off in the water in Coz, altho a 8 diver boat there may be smaller than this boat. My bud had hurt his back and I had a bruised hip from a fall the previous week so we both were last month, and it can also decrease the chances of a hit.

 

[scubadada]

I don't have much info on the incident - but the DnD is a regular charter boat with a proper ladder. There would be no need to remove gear prior to getting back on the boat.

Charter Vessel Dn'DII
A 32' Custom Modutech Dive Boat, The Dn'DII, is Coast Guard Certified (near Coastal). Cruising speed 10 knots, Coast Guard Certified for 18 divers. Equipped with the latest in marine electronics and added diver safety equipment including, OTS diver recall, O2 and first aid kit with current provider on board. Picture on Dive Connections website http://www.gottadive.com/fleet.html

There must have been a reason, rational or otherwise, that the diver removed his BC with or without weights. I have dived on the Dn'DII and it is certainly not necessary to remove equipment prior to reboarding the boat after a dive under usual circumstances.

Very sad to hear about this unfortunate occurrence

Craig

 

[Oside Jimc]

Diver drowns off Sunset Cliffs
By Susan Shroder
Union-Tribune Staff Writer
8:19 p.m. September 29, 2009


SAN DIEGO – A 46-year-old man drowned Tuesday afternoon while scuba diving about a mile off Sunset Cliffs, authorities said.

The diver, part of a group on a charter boat, had already made one dive with two companions. The three then took an hour break and made a second dive, said Rich Sillanpa, president of Dive Connections in Mission Bay.

The three were returning to the boat after the second dive when the man became separated from the other two.

It appeared he may have panicked on the surface, Sillanpa said. The diver had taken off his tank but still had his weight belt on, Sillanpa said.

Lifeguards who responded found the man under water about 1:30 p.m. and performed CPR, said Maurice Luque, spokesman for the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department.

Sillanpa said they were unable to revive him.

Diving conditions were excellent at the time, and the man had no problems with the first dive, Sillanpa said.

The man's name has not yet been released by the Medical Examiner's Office.

 

[scubadada]

Diver drowns off Sunset Cliffs
By Susan Shroder
Union-Tribune Staff Writer
8:19 p.m. September 29, 2009


SAN DIEGO – A 46-year-old man drowned Tuesday afternoon while scuba diving about a mile off Sunset Cliffs, authorities said.

The diver, part of a group on a charter boat, had already made one dive with two companions. The three then took an hour break and made a second dive, said Rich Sillanpa, president of Dive Connections in Mission Bay.

The three were returning to the boat after the second dive when the man became separated from the other two.

It appeared he may have panicked on the surface, Sillanpa said. The diver had taken off his tank but still had his weight belt on, Sillanpa said.

Lifeguards who responded found the man under water about 1:30 p.m. and performed CPR, said Maurice Luque, spokesman for the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department.

Sillanpa said they were unable to revive him.

Diving conditions were excellent at the time, and the man had no problems with the first dive, Sillanpa said.

The man's name has not yet been released by the Medical Examiner's Office.

The DMs on these charters do not dive. I guess the DM on this trip did not witness and/or did not have the opportunity to intervene in this tragedy. From the newspaper report, I initially thought the accident had been observed, but then decided it may have been reconstructed after the fact.

There's certainly a lessen here concerning ditching equipment, especially in an emergency. When having trouble establishing buoyancy at the surface (assume you've tried to inflate BC), first thing to do is to ditch your weight. This seems like perfect common sense but perhaps we should all make sure it's our common sense before the need ever arises. I've certainly done a few relatively minor lame things while diving because I "forgot" my training or temporarily abandoned common sense.

 

[DandyDon]

The DMs on these charters do not dive. I guess the DM on this trip did not witness and/or did not have the opportunity to intervene in this tragedy. From the newspaper report, I initially thought the accident had been observed, but then decided it may have been reconstructed after the fact.

There's certainly a lessen here concerning ditching equipment, especially in an emergency. When having trouble establishing buoyancy at the surface (assume you've tried to inflate BC), first thing to do is to ditch your weight. This seems like perfect common sense but perhaps we should all make sure it's our common sense before the need ever arises. I've certainly done a few relatively minor lame things while diving because I "forgot" my training or temporarily abandoned common sense.

Yeah we have no real idea what happened from these articles. We might learn more in time if someone with the facts comes forward to post them, but that often does not happen here.

The best we can do is to remind ourselves how to avoid the possibilities as they seem, and I have read so many death threads here where the diver surfaced, had problems, and did indeed sink with weights on, later found with them on. If you have but a second to react...

Get positive!

If other measures fail, drop the lead!​

I've observed skipper remind of this in briefings, but not often - and I wonder how far back the idea may be in our minds at times. When I screwed up last spring and did a CESA, I did gain new air from the tank as I ascended, was even able to use it to inflacte my BC, but I was thinking on the way up: get ready to orally inflate and/or jettison...!

 

[GrumpyOldGuy]

Don,

While I agree with you on ditching weight as an immediate reaction to a surface issue, a properly weighted diver with a 7mil suit should be slightly positive on the surface with the weight belt on and without their BC. The weight of a full tank of gas is more than enough to sink you if you are properly weighted when fully rigged and the 7 mil suit will compress enough to hold a safety stop with a near empty tank. Once you hit the surface with an near empty tank, you will float with or without you BC.

If the diver was over-weighted, then a secondary issue like entanglement in kelp and a panic ditch of the BCD could have led to this issue.

 

[reefphreak]

newest on this fatality:
SAN DIEGO - A scuba diver who got separated from his underwater breathing equipment during an outing off the coast of Point Loma Tuesday was found dead an hour later about 65 feet below the surface.

The deceased man was a tourist from Arizona, diving from a charter boat with five other people in the ocean west of Sunset Cliffs when he went missing about 12:30 p.m., city lifeguard Lt. Andy Lerum said.

The president of Dive San Diego, which ran the excursion, tells San Diego 6 that the man was a certified diver, but apparently panicked at the surface when he and his equipment were entangled in kelp. He reportedly was fighting the dive master who was trying to help him.
"He took off his buoyancy compensator which had his scuba tank on board and as soon as he did that, likely he submerged, because he still was wearing his dive belt," said lifeguard Lerum.

Lifeguard divers searched the sea in the area and found the man shortly after 1:30 p.m., Lerum said.

They brought the diver, who had no vital signs and was missing his scuba tank and respirator, to the surface and performed CPR while transporting him to the city's lifeguard headquarters on Mission Bay.

After the personnel got the man to the Quivira Basin station, city paramedics took over the ultimately futile attempts to resuscitate him, Lerum said.

The man, whose name was not immediately available, was pronounced dead on a dock at the lifeguard facility.

 

[DandyDon]

Don,

While I agree with you on ditching weight as an immediate reaction to a surface issue, a properly weighted diver with a 7mil suit should be slightly positive on the surface with the weight belt on and without their BC. The weight of a full tank of gas is more than enough to sink you if you are properly weighted when fully rigged and the 7 mil suit will compress enough to hold a safety stop with a near empty tank. Once you hit the surface with an near empty tank, you will float with or without you BC.

With your BC maybe; mine is pretty buoyant - and I like to be slightly negative even with an empty tank in case I feel the need to dodge a boat or jet ski. Much of this will vary with divers.

If the diver was over-weighted, then a secondary issue like entanglement in kelp and a panic ditch of the BCD could have led to this issue.

Looks like you were right there tho...

Thanks for the more factual info, reefphreak.

 

[K_girl]

This illustrates how stressful the cold water environment is. I learned in cold water. When I finally dove warm water, I was delighted when I discovered I could bend all my joints easily without having that strong opposing rubbery push-back, that I could look down and see my chest - even through my mask. I could see my BC and everything on it without having to feel for it. I had better periferal vision because I didn't have a thick hood that you have diligently work the mask skirt underneath. Even turning my head was easier. I think it would be hard for a warm water diver to appreciate the extreme feeling of constriction that cold water protection requires. It's even hard to move your fingers in those thick gloves. Dealing with kelp on top of all these other new experiences will produce even more stress. I don't know the cold water diving experience of this man, but certainly can understand if he was not accustomed to it how it could escalate a bad experience.

I would advise anyone who is an experienced warm water diver who wants to try cold water to put on all the protection, including gloves and work with your equipment with your eyes closed. Practice dropping weights with the gloves on and eyes closed. Also practice putting the mask on and getting the skirt underneath the hood. If you don't have a pool, still practice out of the water. This will go a long way to making your experience much easier.

Kelp is not that hard to deal with. I've been wrapped up in it and tossed around in surge like a cartoon character at a 15-foot safety stop. Kelp is easy to bend and break and it works wonderfully like an anchor line. If you're buddy gets ahead of you and you get caught - just take a compass heading on him, free yourself and go on, you'll be fine. If it is really thick on the surface and you have some air and a ways to go to the boat or shore, drop down if you can. If you are having a hard time getting back down through the kelp, use the kelp to pull you down. Otherwise, you have to crawl over the kelp on the surface which is very slow going.

I am so sorry to hear what happened to this man.