Scuba diver dies after being found floating at Kurnell, NSW, Australia

[tracydr]

I have a DUI 30/30. I have around 50 hours diving it in Komodo, Indonesia & using it for pool dives to train Open Water ( OW ) students. ( I am allergic to the chemicals in fresh water pools, the water is 84 degrees F ) I suggested a DUI TLS. Please note the 30/30 has seals at the ankles so you can wear full foot fins in warm water. Therefore, there are two more seals for the dry suit to leak. I don't know if this fact is important or not in her incident.

In a very recent thread, I replied to Quero about the 30/30. I pointed out that it didn't have an extending torso so it was more difficult to get in & out of the drysuit. The 30/30 is a tropical drysuit. It is meant to fit snug using a thinner undergarment.

As far as doffing a B.C./wing, it might have been more difficult for her if it was too tight. However, I don't believe ditching your B.C./wing is an appropriate response to most emergency situations. Don't we teach ditching your weights in OW training? As a SCUBA instructor, didn't Quero demonstrate this skill many times?

Why didn't she ditch her weights?

Depends on where she put her weights. If she had them all on the backplate and tanks, or if the weight belt was trapped and didn't have pockets, this could have complicated things.

Also, she may not have had quite as much experience as we give her credit for. Yes, she was a full-time diver. But, she joined SB in 2004 and said that she had been diving a few years before that. That's a lot but not gobs and gobs of experience. Especially if it included very little cold water diving.
Did she use a drysuit or wetsuit for her cave training last summer?

 

[gypsyjim]

Why were the weights not ditched(?) is a very logical question, that I so far have not seen answered.

 

[Ayisha]

...The red flag, No, OF ALL THE RED FLAGS, THE BIGGEST RED FLAG was her dealing with the new drysuit issues on ScubaBoard up to the day that she got onto the plane. There was a complete lack of understanding with respect to putting together a balanced rig that would keep her warm, fit, safe, and underwater for her planned dive goal and dive time.

Go back to her very last post to us. I was trying to get her to layer. Layering takes much more time to “dial in” than just pulling on a big bulky fleece. She said she didn’t want a “bulky” suit so she wouldn’t be a “sail” or get caught in current. Truth seems to be that she ended up with a suit that was too small and had inadequate room for undergarments.

So how did she end up in Botany Bay in 15°C water? She just booked a trip and met up with dive buddies. Who mentored Marcia from her warm water roots into coldwater diving? IMHO, it looks like she tried to garner enough information from us on the board to be able to throw together a cold water drysuit day pass…

It's true. A lot of the time when a SB member is having issues with a drysuit or gear configuration or anything that could potentially lead to serious consequences, we encourage them to take a course, a refresher, consult a professional or competent mentor in real life. We encourage them with stories of our own and some tips on what worked for us with similar issues. When we sense that something sounds dangerous, or isn't quite right, we have little or no qualms about saying so and leading them to get help. In this case that doesn't seem to have happened, perhaps because Marcia was a respected and very competent instructor herself, as well as a beloved Advisor on the Board. Perhaps we have to re-think the nature of our advice when people are struggling, regardless of their perceived position or abilities.

 

[gypsyjim]

It's true. A lot of the time when a SB member is having issues with a drysuit or gear configuration or anything that could potentially lead to serious consequences, we encourage them to take a course, a refresher, consult a professional or competent mentor in real life. We encourage them with stories of our own and some tips on what worked for us with similar issues. When we sense that something sounds dangerous, or isn't quite right, we have little or no qualms about saying so and leading them to get help. In this case that doesn't seem to have happened, perhaps because Marcia was a respected and very competent instructor herself, as well as a beloved Advisor on the Board. Perhaps we have to re-think the nature of our advice when people are struggling, regardless of their perceived position or abilities.

Assuming that they are willing to accept that advice, of course. I believe that I read one of Quero's posts saying that she had taken a dry suit course, but that it had been @4 years since then. The normal advice we would offer is to "take a refresher", but that is only advice, and the diver is under no obligation to follow such advice. From personal experience (painful personal experience) I am a firm believer in occasional retraining, especially if using gear I am not recently experienced in, but I am sure that I am no where near as confident or experienced a diver as Marcia was, and she easily might have seen that sort of retraining as unnecessary in her case.

 

[Ayisha]

...she easily might have seen that sort of retraining as unnecessary in her case.

Exactly. As most other people ASSUMED it was unnecessary in her case. But in hindsight, was it unnecessary?

 

[Tortuga68]

Why were the weights not ditched(?) is a very logical question, that I so far have not seen answered.

The thread title says she was found floating... did I miss something?

 

[DiveWithPassion]

The thread title says she was found floating... did I miss something?

That's what was reported in the media but here in the thread it was reported that she was found on the bottom with her BCD fully inflated.

 

[scubafanatic]

Overweighted, OOA, and failing to ditch weights will kill anyone.

And I really hate the temr "travel wing/BC." So many brag about how easy it is to fly theirs, but so dangerous in an emergency.

Agreed! For some, it's a bizarre competition on who has the smallest, lowest lift 'micro-wing', with no reserve capacity for contingencies (over weighting miscalculation, strong downdraft currents, buddy rescues). Whatever caused Quero's emergency, 'surplus' wing lift capacity could have saved her life!

 

[gypsyjim]

Exactly. As most other people ASSUMED it was unnecessary in her case. But in hindsight, was it unnecessary?

A problem with assumptions is that the need not be based on reality.

 

[FM1520]

Agreed! For some, it's a bizarre competition on who has the smallest, lowest lift 'micro-wing', with no reserve capacity for contingencies (over weighting miscalculation, strong downdraft currents, buddy rescues). Whatever caused Quero's emergency, 'surplus' wing lift capacity would have saved her life!

Not sure about any competition but you don't need a surplus of wing lift capacity. The problem here is not the her alleged inexperience with diving dry but the very basic practice of being properly weighted including including the right amount of ditch-able weight and proper wing lift. There is nothing complicated or unusual with this scenario which makes it hard to believe given her experience level.