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

[gypsyjim]

Denis has observed that Marcia's buoyancy control seemed good, but when I look at that last image, from her last dive I am seeing a wing already nearly fully inflated at a pretty shallow depth, leading me to think she could get very little more buoyancy from that tool. If for any reason at all she did not or could not use the dry suit for additional buoyancy, she might have had to struggle very very hard to remain on the surface. In the earlier image that bubble was more in the dry suit, which would have left a lot of potential lift in her wing.

Also I have dived with two of the three other divers who were with Marcia on her last dive. One, like myself nearly always dives with a camera (like myself, a small stow-able, instead of the typical monster rig) and the other diver never carries a camera, but always hovers and watches everyone. Even with cameras in our hands the diver who likes to shoot pics was never, ever so focused that contact was lost. I would dive with either or both of those two divers again in a heart beat, given the chance, because I rank them as some of the best buddy team divers that I have dived with, for maintaining constant contact and communication skills.

Off line I have spoken with other divers who wish to remain out of the spotlight, who also supports Denis's observation that Marcia was a great diver, but a very difficult buddy to keep track of underwater.

---------- Post added October 15th, 2013 at 09:08 AM ----------

Completely agreed. My point is only that being with others increases your safety margin, not that it should be a substitute for doing things right in the first place.

Amen.

I too solo from time to time, and at no time can I ever lose sight of the fact that I have just chosen to eliminate the single most important piece a safety gear any diver can have, a skilled, competent dive buddy.

Even a minor mistake or miscalculation when you are in water over your chin can be fatal, and solo dive training and set up, is all about minimizing, rather than eliminating those risks that going it alone have just added to the equation.

 

[Peter69_56]

I've not finished writing this article yet, so it isn't really ready for publishing, but I felt sharing it now would be pertinent:

The Dunning-Kruger Effect and Scuba Diver Over-Confidence

I like that a lot. I work in the electricity industry as well and am involved in training and assessment of operators as well as work as an operator and can relate this to our industry as well. It also applies to managers who appoint operators to higher levels. They don't know what they don't know and thus make significant decisions about people in ignorance.

 

[gypsyjim]

I've not finished writing this article yet, so it isn't really ready for publishing, but I felt sharing it now would be pertinent:

The Dunning-Kruger Effect and Scuba Diver Over-Confidence

Good article. Thanks.

Do you mind if I share it?

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

But you can't fix it if you don't survive it. Surviving a close encounter because a nearby buddy was able to assist can make the most stubborn of people rethink their ideas / systems / priorities / gear / etc. (I'm not saying that Marcia was stubborn)

In my experience, people who don't take a commitment to the buddy system seriously don't learn a thing from close encounters ... they just find some other rationalization for why it happened. This is especially true with more experienced divers who have an absolute faith in their ability to take care of themselves.

There are people I know well, like, and absolutely won't dive with because I've seen it happen to them ... and they will never change. You can't "fix" a problem until you own some responsibility for the fact that it exists ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

---------- Post added October 15th, 2013 at 07:18 AM ----------

I've not finished writing this article yet, so it isn't really ready for publishing, but I felt sharing it now would be pertinent:

The Dunning-Kruger Effect and Scuba Diver Over-Confidence

I've for years been using the sarcastic term "50-dive expert" to describe this behavior ... but Dunning-Kruger does a credible job of showing how it affects at the expert level as well.

I look forward to seeing the completed article ... and hope you don't mind my sharing it with my students ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Zippsy]

In my experience, people who don't take a commitment to the buddy system seriously don't learn a thing from close encounters

I only have my personal experience to draw from. Marcia couldn't be any more stubborn than I and I learned a lot from my close encounter then changed because of it. That's all I can go on though.

 

[Stoo]

It's easy to forget that a buddy can only do so much. If reports are accurate, which I believe they are, then Marcia had a bad habit of swimming off which puts the buddy in the position of having to be a babysitter as much as a buddy.

We underwater photographers are notoriously bad buddies. If we happen to be Instructors, we're even worse. If you are diving like this, accept it and dive like the solo diver you are... and make sure your so-called buddy is aware that they are too!

 

[dytis-sm]

I was once talking with the LA County Sheriffs that handle diving accidents. Aside the interesting stories, my conclusion from the discussion was that accidents occur typically to either new divers or very experienced divers. I took this to mind and do realize that the more I dive the more comfortable I get with being separated from my buddy particularly when hunting. This is why at depth I do carry a 30 cf pony tank but still I feel that diving with a buddy is fun and the only way you can get help if something goes seriously wrong. I can assume someone being an instructor felt very strongly that they are experienced enough to deal with almost anything. In this case the "almost" made the difference and there was obviously something seriously wrong and that is where a good buddy diver could have helped. Unfortunately it is irrelevant to her but she did provide us with an invaluable lesson that anything can happen to anyone at depth and there is a reason for having a diving buddy. Her loss may have served the rest of us a valuable lesson.

My condolences to her family and friends.

 

[Diver0001]

We underwater photographers are notoriously bad buddies. If we happen to be Instructors, we're even worse. If you are diving like this, accept it and dive like the solo diver you are... and make sure your so-called buddy is aware that they are too!

I wonder if Marcia would have viewed her kit and gas-management choices differently if she had planned it as a solo dive? I really can't speculate about that but I can say that when *I* choose to dive solo that I go through a different thinking process during preparation than I do when I choose to dive with a buddy but accidentally become separated....

That's bad, I know, but it's a fact, and a fact that I'm sure a lot of people can relate to. Maybe there is something to learn in that?

R..

 

[beaverdivers]

I was only a friend of Quero on Scubaboard ( SB ). However, I feel that I can relate to her independent style of diving and horrific final dive. ( Is anyone else loosing sleep over trying to figure out how this incident happened ? )

If you look at Quero's profile on SB, it is clear that she was a true adventurer having covered the globe exploring the most exotic dive sites including cold water sites in Indonesia & the Galapagos. The water temps in the Galapagos can be almost the same ( 18 degrees C ) as the final dive. She was an independent business owner. She was an instructor & expert dive guide. She was an avid U/W photographer. ( I have had the fortune to dive all over the world & have my own business. I am an instructor, dive guide and U/W photographer. See any resemblance. )

As a dive guide/photographer, I feel the group is my buddy. I have local dive masters leading the group & buddy teams & solo divers exist in the group. But, I am diving " solo " but with the group. Often I am darting around taking pictures of buddy teams, the site and the marine creatures. I am a solo diving instructor with the proper tools; pony tank, etc.

Quero was on vacation with a mission to shoot the weedy Sea Dragon.

Many details have been provided that have given us an idea of " What went wrong "

However, I still have these questions:

Did Quero usually dive with a pony tank?

What devices did she have to monitor her tank pressure? I know she had the SPG that read 150 PSI when the tank was empty. Was it her SPG?
Was this her only device? Did she have a air integrated computer? I thought I recall a mention of one.

Did she have a dive computer that could be downloaded? If so, has anyone analyzed this final dive?

What was the visibility on the final dive?

How could she not make it to the surface from 10' ( 3 meters )?

Was this meant to be the last dive of her vacation?

 

[jkaterenchuk]

How could she not make it to the surface from 10' ( 3 meters )?

This is a critical issue from my perspective for those that are discounting panic or a medical issue in favor of other causes. As an instructor she would know that if she was out of air that she could breath off her wing, hold her breath for at least a minute all enough time to get out of her gear/drop her weights and swim to the surface. As an experienced instructor she has take gear on and put it on underwater many many times in demonstration to students. She has done gear exchanges underwater. I am sure she would know that she could do this IF SHE WAS ABLE TO THINK STRAIGHT AND CALMLY.

Obviously she was not able to think straight at the time which could easily be a result of panic or a medical issue.

It is easy for someone to say they can keep calm in a panic situation but completely another to actually be in a panic situation and experience it first hand. I have when I ran OOA at 100ft and my buddies secondary had a hole in the diaphram.
I only knew Marcia via conversation on the froums and from others I often travel and dive with in Thailand. She was too experienced as a diver and instructor and comfortable in the water under much more severe conditions for the above two issues not to be considered highly.

John