Scuba diver found face down in the water at Crescent Bay Beach, unresponsive during rescue efforts
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Thank you Ken
Appreciate your input
Now for @HBVetera n2312 input
SDM, 111
LA Co UW instructor #11
NAUI A 27
PADI 241
etc
Appreciate your input
Now for @HBVetera n2312 input
SDM, 111
LA Co UW instructor #11
NAUI A 27
PADI 241
etc
HBVetera n2312
Contributor
Or I could just ask the Internet like everyone else in 2018............
Either way, I am asking this question not to be nosy with some lifeguards or being "discreet" with city employees or bugging the LDS guys while they are trying to fill tanks and rent gear, I am asking to learn if there were any in-water hazards us locals may like to know about like maybe, I don't know, Great White shark attacks, giant squids, alien life forms, etc........ a lot of us dive here regularly and it is tragic that someone who shares our love of recreational diving died while doing so. That's how I see it. Not just "some body washing ashore". That was a person. And I, like others, do not want to see it happen again if we can help it. I honestly could care less who battled for whatever ordinance that everybody ignores, or how expensive those homes are, but I do care about a possible hazard that exists in the water. Mitigate risks, right? Right.
That's my input and I'm sticking to it.
Either way, I am asking this question not to be nosy with some lifeguards or being "discreet" with city employees or bugging the LDS guys while they are trying to fill tanks and rent gear, I am asking to learn if there were any in-water hazards us locals may like to know about like maybe, I don't know, Great White shark attacks, giant squids, alien life forms, etc........ a lot of us dive here regularly and it is tragic that someone who shares our love of recreational diving died while doing so. That's how I see it. Not just "some body washing ashore". That was a person. And I, like others, do not want to see it happen again if we can help it. I honestly could care less who battled for whatever ordinance that everybody ignores, or how expensive those homes are, but I do care about a possible hazard that exists in the water. Mitigate risks, right? Right.
That's my input and I'm sticking to it.
Ken Kurtis
Contributor
My SPECULATIVE OPINION based on zero reports or first-hand knowledge, just what I saw from post #1, is that this is a case of diving beyond your limits. The surf was reported as 3-5' feet. That's pretty big. From a personal standpoint, I'll dive at 2-feet or less, 2-3' is maybe, and over 3-feet is find-something-else-to-do. You can certainly envision a scenario in these conditions where a wave picks him up and slams him down, knocking him unconscious (aka non-responsive) and he drowns.
So, if I'm on the right track, the lesson (as always) is to dive within your comfort zone and limits. And if there's ANY doubt in your mind, abort. My favorite saying: You never get hurt on a dive you don't make.
- Ken
HBVetera n2312
Contributor
Ken,
Yes Sir! 3’ and over and I’m surfing.
Yes Sir! 3’ and over and I’m surfing.
Ken Kurtis
Contributor
SLIGHT UPDATE - I was able to confirm through my sources that the diver in question died. No word on if the equipment was tested or on the actual cause of death or any other info that would give us some insight into what happened and what we can learn from it.
- Ken
- Ken
Ken Kurtis
Contributor
I was able to get some more details about this through some sources of mine who have friends with some direct knowledge of this. (To be clear, I have not seen or written any reports. This is what's being relayed to me and what I'm told is OK to share with the diving/ScubaBoard community.)
First of all, his condition is now known and it is dead. He lingered for about a week and died on September 21 at the hospital. Cause of death is listed as drowning. But now is where it gets interesting.
There's absolutely no indication he was scuba diving as there was no dive gear found with him. Official reports say he was found floating face-down about 40 yards offshore. My BEST GUESS, based on Capt. Bond's statement, is that it was an adult male scuba diver who discovered the body and pulled him out and they assumed the victim was a diver too. Christy Cones (not sure who that is - Phil found her comments on Twitter so unclear is he's a diver or not) on her #3 Twitter post above while she is doing live narration as the rescue efforts unfold before her says, " . . . just a body in a wetsuit with flippers and everything, washed up ashore a little while ago." I'm not sure if "and everything" means tanks & BC but what's significant is that the victim was known to be an avid ocean swimmer, so I'm hearing Christy's comments - if the absence of scuba gear is correct - as possibly describing someone who was in a wetsuit with Duckfins or something like that out swimming, either had a heart attack or got pounded by surf, and went unconscious.
So one takeaway here, other than that this is a tragedy, is that initial information is not only correct. Either Capt. Bond mixed two people up, or the initial article was reported wrong (not sure where Phil found this - no source cited in post #1), or there really WAS gear with the guy and for some reason, it never made it to the Coroner's Office and into the official reports. And this is why, even thought we know the scuba community wants answers NOW, we always say to give us time to investigate and corroborate facts so we can get an accurate picture of what happened and reach conclusions that will actually prove to be useful instead of speculating based on limited and sometimes wrong "facts".
- Ken
tarponchik
Contributor
If you dive off a sandy beach in a 3-5 ft surf, what kind of visibility would you expect?
OP
I posted the initial report exactly as it is on this local news site which I alluded to in post #5. As with all scuba related news reports there are bound to be some inaccuracies. In Christy Cones' third video there is a blue aluminum 80 attached to a BC to the left of the diver and rescue personnel.
“A single scuba diver was pulled out by a good Samaritan, an adult male with scuba equipment. Lifeguards performed CPR on scene at Crescent Bay Beach, but he was unresponsive,” Capt Bond said.
The adult male was then taken to Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo by paramedics.
Although the writing is poor, it sounds like it was the adult male who had scuba equipment, not the good samaritan.
“A single scuba diver was pulled out by a good Samaritan, an adult male with scuba equipment. Lifeguards performed CPR on scene at Crescent Bay Beach, but he was unresponsive,” Capt Bond said.
The adult male was then taken to Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo by paramedics.
Although the writing is poor, it sounds like it was the adult male who had scuba equipment, not the good samaritan.
Bob DBF
Contributor
I'm older now and, like Ken, don't go out in conditions like that any more, however in my misspent youth I did, and knew a number surfers as we were out at the same time. Point being, after a 300 yard, or so, swim the bottom dropped off significantly and it was rocky and viz was decent. It was good for hunting rockfish, other than the swim in and out.
Since we are unsure if he was a diver, body surfing comes to mind, as well as surfing.
Bob
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