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

[ajduplessis]

Not to my knowledge.

 

[clownfishsydney]

Coroner would not look at it for a long time yet, if they ever do. My guess is they will not and there will be no specific report. This is based on my involvement/knowledge of other diving deaths in NSW.

 

[CompuDude]

Excerpting...

That was indeed a major camera rig, seen in post accident recovery by police divers. I know from my clumsy experiences that my camera can distract my attentions, even tho I am hesitant too compare my diving to hers.

View attachment 168697

I am seriously saddened to learn of Marcia's passing. I learned of it just today, when I was looking up her information to pass onto a friend who was heading to Thailand to do some diving. Needless to say, I was shocked and horrified when I saw all the RIP posts on her facebook page. I logged onto ScubaBoard for the first time in several years to learn more. Time flies when you're not diving... Marcia didn't chat super frequently, but I didn't realize it's been over a year since we last spoke.

She will be missed. I have really been hoping to get back to Thailand in the next couple of years, and was looking forward to diving with her again.

I dove with Marcia for a week back in 2008, in Thailand. She was a good buddy... for my purposes. As we are both photographers, it's not uncommon for us to be separated at times, while we pursued our own photo opportunities... sometimes by relatively considerable distances (although 80 degree water and 200' vis means we could usually see each other... but not always, given some underwater structures) I'd be thrilled to dive with her again (again, knowing what I was going into), were it possible. But in my case, this behavior was planned for and expected, so that's just fine. In this case, she was part of a group with a designated buddy and not a "same ocean buddy", so that's not such a good thing. Diver0001's post on page 59 seems to make it clear that there were a serious of mistaken assumptions about who was with her at the critical juncture, which is a shame, but not something I'd blame either party for, completely. The other 3 buddies seem to have acted as well as anyone could ask, under the circumstances.

I'll note that ~750 psi in 15 feet (or less) of water really isn't exceptionally low on gas, for an experienced diver (even if 150 psi off). LowISH, for sure, but far from seriously low on gas, especially when heading in a relatively short distance in 10' of water. The real culprit (unless it turns out a medical situation existed after all) appears to be a gear misconfiguration, as in over-weighted, and a panic situation (or "inadequate fear" situation, leading to inadequate time to dump weight, as has been observed) in which she did not ditch her weights for unknown reasons. My heart goes out to her and her family.

As to the post above, I have to say (albeit nearly a year late): Baloney. It's NOT a "MAJOR" camera rig. It's certainly more than a simple point and shoot, but it's still fairly small, by the standards of people who take photography seriously. "Medium", perhaps. But that's no DSLR, that's a compact camera with external strobes. Further, looking at it, that's nearly the same camera rig she was using in 2008, with the addition of a second strobe (see photo of her with it below), so it was hardly new to her. Using it would be second nature, and nothing like it would be to someone who doesn't shoot regularly (and practically religiously). I don't believe it contributed to the actual accident in any truly meaningful way. (how much it contributed to her not sticking close to a buddy is a different discussion, but task overloading and reluctance to drop, I just don't buy it)

I will definitely be keeping this tragic occurrence in mind while diving, in the future. Lots to learn, here, when an experienced professional meets an untimely end in benign conditions.

I know it's been nearly a year since the accident, and a while since the thread was active, but I do hope this thread will be updated when any official news is released, or the actual parties to the incident permit more information to be posted. I've subscribed with notifications so I can keep up, as I'm not truly returning to regular SB haunting... at this point, at least.

 

[Safety Stop]

Hey CompuDude, you've been away from the board for a while

Envoyé de mon SM-T310 en utilisant Tapatalk

 

[CompuDude]

Hey CompuDude, you've been away from the board for a while

True that. Stepped away from diving for a time (although I'll be back when the time is right) so I haven't felt like I have a lot to contribute.

Some things are worth coming back for. The passing of a friend definitely applies.

 

[Tafflad]

Another death this weekend in Australia, this time at one of Sydney's more popular shore dive sites.

Scuba diver dies after being found floating in water

I met Quero in Thailand ... and had just been trying to contact herr to arrange next trip ............ this was such a surprise.
Marcia was such a nice person.
Thinking back to last time we met - sharing a coffee in Phuket.

As this is now 2 yrs later ......... what was found to be the cause ? .... assume there was an inquest.

 

[boulderjohn]

As this is now 2 yrs later ......... what was found to be the cause ? .... assume there was an inquest.

The cause of death is baffling. The people who are most knowledgeable about it honestly have no idea what could have led to her drowning.

 

[Tafflad]

Thanks ............ Marcia was such a nice person, and of great help on my trip to Thailand. This was such a surprise.

Diving has so many unknowns ...

 

[rjk75]

Tafflad, not to quibble about the timeframe since her passing but it was 14 months ago.

However, as to what caused her to drown, I recall reading something early on (probably in an online newspaper) about conjecture that maybe it was a box jellyfish sting or a sea snake bite. Sorry, I can't recall where I read that, but could that not cause someone to go into paralysis?

 

[boulderjohn]

Tafflad, not to quibble about the timeframe since her passing but it was 14 months ago.

However, as to what caused her to drown, I recall reading something early on (probably in an online newspaper) about conjecture that maybe it was a box jellyfish sting or a sea snake bite. Sorry, I can't recall where I read that, but could that not cause someone to go into paralysis?

I have been very close to this case, and I have never heard about either a box jellyfish or sea snake theory. She was wearing a dry suit, which would have made either case very unlikely to begin with.

Here is a quick summary for those who do not have the time to dig through this very long thread.

1. Marcia and friends surfaced near shore in shallow water at the end of the dive. She reported that she had about 50 bar of air left.
2. It was a short swim to shore in flat conditions--not much more than the length of a standard swimming pool. They submerged again for that short swim.
3. When the others arrived at shore, they waited briefly for her to appear, and then realized they did not see any bubbles.
4. A quick search found her unconscious at about the location where she submerged to head for shore.
5. On shore she was given CPR by an expert but never regained consciousness.
6. Her death was ruled due to drowning, and no other medical condition was identified.
7. Her gear was working.
8. She had no air in her tank when she was found.
9. She was new to dry suit diving.
10. She was overweighted.
11. Her BCD and her dry suit were uninflated--she was very much negatively buoyant when found.

Those are the facts. So far no one has been able to complete a fully plausible explanation from them.