Scuba death at Rye Back beach

[Peter69_56]

I suspect he only had a recreational set on (BCD & single). I will try and talk with a LDS who's ex students pulled him out.

 

[Jan Kruger]

I guess in your circumstance the diver had the presence of mind to breath out while ascending? Not an easy thing to do when ones mind is screaming that one is out of air as survival instinct kicks in (keep the water out and the air in).

Luckily the friend diving with us did in fact breath out as he swam to the surface! He only had to ascend 2 meters.
Nothing wakes you up like having to do a 5 m emergency ascent because of an OOA situation which happened during my 5 th dive! How to breath out whilst your lungs are empty ! Today we laugh about it but at the time it was hectic ...I do check my air availability every time I dive nowadays...

 

[bowlofpetunias]

Any more information come out on this?

 

[Peter69_56]

No I must go and speak to LDS in the area

 

[Peter69_56]

From the information gained from people closely associated with the rescuers, it appears that the following was what is assumed to have happened.

The victim (who was apparently diving alone) has dived in with his air turned off and was unable to get it back on again in time and drowned. His body was then washed under a rocky outcrop where he was subsequently discovered by other divers who saw his fins poking out with no movement. When pulled out, his mask was apparently full of water. They brought him to the surface and performed CPR but it was too late. One of the rescuers was a recently certified OW student (which would have been a big shock to him I would think).

Again a message for all divers; never dive alone unless you have solo diver training. Check, check, check.

A question for all divers? How many divers can reach their tank valve to be able turn their air off and on (with BCD on) while under the water?
How many have tried it?

With a lot of luck and an ability to not be able to panic (and perhaps a shallow bottom) one might just be able to turn their air on in this situation. I know I can with twins, but it is not easy for me. Also it would appear the diver did not drop his weight belt allowing him to swim to the surface. All things we should practice to a "regular" basis.

 

[bowlofpetunias]

Certainly shouldn't be diving so heavy you can't swim your gear up even without dropping weights. You really need to wonder why so many divers don't drop their weight so sad!

 

[spectrum]

On the assumption that the story is correct as detailed in the ABC report (and who knows if it is or isn't), if this happened maybe the diver on realising he was out of air after descending may have then shot to the surface while holding his breath in a panic, thus causing an embolism.

It is possible that he got a few breaths of compressed air if his system was holding pressure with the cylinder valve closed. Perhaps more likely is that he never got a breath since leaving surface pressure and would not embolize.

Very sad, a somber a reminder to maintain routines and checks.

Pete

 

[Jan Kruger]

I would think that you would notice the problem within 2 -3 meters from starting your descend if your cylinder was closed. Won't you be able to swim upwards ? Or get out of your gear ? Very tragic that such a drowning can still happen today.

 

[Peter69_56]

I would think that you would notice the problem within 2 -3 meters from starting your descend if your cylinder was closed. Won't you be able to swim upwards ? Or get out of your gear ? Very tragic that such a drowning can still happen today.

I guess not if you panic.

 

[Bob DBF]

I guess not if you panic.

No one gets anything done once they panic.

When entering the water, I always have enough air in the BC to float.
If I decide to do a negative entry, I open the tank valve and guard it, then check again before I actually splash.

I have made mistakes, these have reinforced my belief in practicing dropping weights and ditching the rig. Of course with proper weighting, one should be able to swim the rig up and manually inflate, but when things are going to he** how much do you really want to save besides your own a**. This message brought to you by Old School Training



Bob
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That's my point, people, by and large, are not taught that diving can be deadly, they are taught how safe it is, and they are not equipped with the skills, taught and trained to the level required to be useful in an emergency.