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

[nimoh]

And if she had a buddy at her fin, no doubt, at that depth, that buddy would be able to:
a- get her physically to the surface herself OR
b- bolt to the surface and ask the other two divers for assistance

The outcome would likely have been different and better in this instance.

a- as drrich2 pointed out, this may not be as easy as it sounds
b- assumes the other divers were on the surface

You're probably right that the outcome would have been better, but it is speculation. We might have been reading about two divers dying in Sydney that day.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I disagree. I think over analyzing the other factors that played into this, although helpful, did not result in her death. I still believe that, if she had a buddy at her fin, no matter what else happened, in 10 feet of water, she would likely have been able to live to tell about it. No, a buddy is not a guarantee of a safe dive. But for this scenario, I believe it would have saved her- notwithstanding any other facts.

... but there's a good example of what I'm trying to tell you ... your buddy shouldn't be at your fin. That's great for the buddy in the back ... but it SUCKS for the buddy in the front, because they can't see where their buddy is!

It's a major reason WHY there are so many buddy separations happening in scuba diving.

Do you really think that having one diver chasing another diver around constitutes a buddy team? It doesn't! Unless BOTH DIVERS can maintain contact with each other ... and have a mental commitment to maintaining communication and visual contact, YOU DON'T HAVE A BUDDY ... you have two solo divers swimming around in proximity to each other.

What you're describing amounts to one diver spending their entire dive chasing another diver, who isn't paying attention to them. That isn't buddy diving.

And ... realistically ... you have no idea what resulted in her death. Based on what I've read in this thread so far, neither does anyone else. All we have are some indicators of what MAY have caused it.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[clownfishsydney]

How much reserve do you need for 10 ft depth? The question is not why she went down with only a little air, it is why she did not ditch her lead and float up. Endless speculation, but no new information has been released.


Why won't anyone answer the basic question pertaining to what kind of weight belt/integrated weight/ pockets that she was wearing?


This is critical to understanding.. say if the lead was not readily ditched...

She had integrated pockets. They were hard to remove apparently. Her BCD was also hard to remove and had to be cut off her (no visible quick remove clips - there may have been but they were not obvious).

ADDED: I have no knowledge of they type of BCD of if carrying a cutting device.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

She had integrated pockets. They were hard to remove apparently. Her BCD was also hard to remove and had to be cut off her (no visible quick remove clips - there may have been but they were not obvious).

... was she using a hog harness? And if so, was she carrying a cutting device?

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[raftingtigger]

We do lots of things in life that having a buddy with us might prevent a fatal outcome, but for many reasons we choose not to have a buddy for them. Some examples: hiking alone, piloting an aircraft alone, living alone. If you have a medical event that causes incapacitation while piloting, unless you have a person who can take over in a pinch (not required by regulation in most of general aviation), then the outcome is almost certainly fatal. Diving solo, like other solo activities is a risk/benefit choice. Did it have a factor in Quero's death? Maybe is all we can say at this point. Was it the only factor? Not likely.

 

[Cave Diver]

I am not a dry suit diver so perhaps my thoughts on this are way off base but here goes. We are told Quero was diving with 26lbs of lead and a 17lbs of lift in her BC.

slightly off base with the maths.

the 26lbs lead was there to compensate for the lift from the drysuit.

It has been brought to light that the 26 lbs was only an estimate, and very possibly erroneous.

That she was a member of SB and respected by and helped moderators, owned her own dive shop in Thailand, etc is a reason to not speculate and discuss this tragedy is offensive to me.

I haven't seen anyone saying not to speculate. There were some initial pleas to keep wild speculation to a minimum while information was gathered and presented. That has been done. There has also been several requests to keep the thread on topic, which is SOP for all accident threads.

 

[Mike]

And if she had a buddy at her fin, no doubt, at that depth, that buddy would be able to:
a- get her physically to the surface herself OR
b- bolt to the surface and ask the other two divers for assistance

The outcome would likely have been different and better in this instance.

C. buddy would have supplied air to her

It's hard for me to fathomed anybody being in denial of that this.

 

[Namreg 58]

... was she using a hog harness? And if so, was she carrying a cutting device?

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

From what I can see in the photos, the white pull tabs look like the Sea quest ditch weights and being a rear bladder type would probably make it a Libra or Balance BC. Given the fact that there were no visible release clips as in side release types, it would have been the round center / swivel release clips that need to be pressed in the middle to disengage as found on Seaquest/Aqualung products.

These wings have either 30 or 36 lb of lift depending on size.

 

[razorbackdiver]

Apparently not, because I pretty much always dive with a pony bottle. The point is that you need to have a set of options for survival that is more robust than being dependent on a single hose or O-ring or guage. I am willing to bet my life on not having two independent failures on one dive, but I want to have a plan for survival of all accidents that involve a single failure.

DumpsterDiver
Here we are somewhat on the same page. When I dive my aluminum 80 with a K-valve buddy or no, I carry a pony. My steel 120 has an H-valve so two first stages and I can reach the valves. I also dive manifolded 108’s. When I travel the pony goes with me. If it means I incur and overweight charge, then I pay it.

With that said for those that insist on diving without a redundant gas supply, their options are to rely on a buddy who will hopefully be there for you or have an adequate reserve. Since it appears Quero was not being good buddy the latter was her best chance.

A free flowing reg can be breathed and a blown O ring does not mean you are instantly out of gas if you have an adequate reserve. You may not get more than a breath or two but that breath or two gives you a better chance than being without gas.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

From what I can see in the photos, the white pull tabs look like the Sea quest ditch weights and being a rear bladder type would probably make it a Libra or Balance BC. Given the fact that there were no visible release clips as in side release types, it would have been the round center / swivel release clips that need to be pressed in the middle to disengage as found on Seaquest/Aqualung products.

Hmmm ... wonder where the 18-lb travel wing comments came from then ... those are integrated (one-piece) systems, and AFAIK both are designed to hold a max of 30 lbs of weight (20 lbs ditchable, plus two 5 lb trim pockets) ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)