Scuba diver goes missing off Catalina Island

[BMC-9]

And yes, there is a high probability that the boat leaving did not cause her death. But if it were someone from my family, that doesn't provide much comfort.

 

[undrwater]

There is a forum here on scubaboard called "The Pub". If you wish to question the character of anyone in this post, please create a new topic there. It will float to the top of the new posts, and people will read it.

If you have any helpful information / ideas / speculation related to THIS incident, please post it here.

Thank you.

 

[Ken Kurtis]

"We don't know that she wasn't using a BC . . .

This whole "no BC" thing is bugging me becaue I don't think it's true, so I tried to track down the source. (As others have said, pictures posted of Laurel show her wearing a BC.) I started at the beginning of this thread. The first mention of "no BC" is in post #25 from AADiver69. If he's still watching this thread, perhaps he can provide more info on how he knows that or why he believes that to be true.

The next time this comes up is from Zog in post #60 where he quotes AADiver69's post and then there are a number of posts talking about diving without a BC and stuff like that and it all seems to have morphed into "Laurel wasn't wearing a BC".

I don't know if that's true or not but it strikes me as odd so I'm inclined to believe it's not true. But some clarification would be nice.

- Ken

 

[Tribes]

Ken you really stepped in it. You should know that you can't use logic on the internet. Lots of haters, lots of know it all's, I don't know why you even try.
You have done more dives, more teaching, ran more boat trips, more vacation trips, ran a dive shop for many years, and worked tirelessly for the Catalina Chamber.
Yet no respect (wow).
I really think that if she had been diving with a buddy she would be alive today.
That's my analysis.

 

[chickuita]

Ken, I have no hidden agenda. I always post anonymously on public forums due to the sensitive nature of my job. I keep my personal life and professional life separate. I have 30 plus years as a researcher. The topic of whether or not the boat leaving played any part in the death of a diver struck close to heart.
As divers, we can do everything in our power to make sure our equipment is functioning properly, that we dive within our limits and we follow our training. But if the people we rely on to get us back to shore do not do their job, someone could die. And absent definitive proof i.e. either the diver's body or dive computer we cannot determine with 100% certainty either way that the boat leaving did or did not play any part in her death.

I am in a similar situation for my job and I am not sure why it the forum shows me as a new member. I have been a member for almost three years now.

 

[Dive Time Remaining]

I agree with BMC-9 here. We put a lot of trust in these boat crews to follow standard procedures and protocols to give every diver the best chance of rescue or recovery in case of an emergency. This is the Duty of Care that we rely on. It start with the dive roster and the captain ensuring that everyone is on it. From there we rely on a certified DM that hopefully has personal liability insurance to log our times in and out of the water along with keeping watch over the dive site during the dive and knowing when a diver is overdue to be back to the surface. If a diver is overdue then that DM should be organizing a search. I have had good DM's tell me man you guys covered some ground on that dive and proceeded to tell me everywhere my group went. Now there were over 20 divers on this boat and he was keeping track of all the bubbles! This appears not to be the case here. I do find it disturbing that many comments seem resolute to the fact that if these norms would have been followed there could not have been a chance for a successful rescue. The chamber was very close to this site so help was not far away. I have read comments that there was a DM on the trip but when asked directly if this was a certified and insured DM that was not diving we do not get an answer. We have also heard that two others, a student and an instructor, were also left off the roster and they actually surfaced after the anchor was pulled at Ship Rock. Now this is just hearsay from friends of friends that were on the boat, but once again when we directly ask those who seem to have the most info they clam up. With what we know about this I do believe it is fair to give this operation a vote of no confidence.

 

[ChrisM]

Was always my favorite choice for day trips to Catalina but have to agree, a vote of no confidence here.

Didn't Frank Farmer go by AAdiver, saw him a lot on Ray's boat so maybe he was there. Frustratingly, but I guess understandably, no one that actually knows what happened will speak up. Leaving us with rumors an innuendos.

 

[archer1960]

Ken you really stepped in it. You should know that you can't use logic on the internet. Lots of haters, lots of know it all's, I don't know why you even try.
You have done more dives, more teaching, ran more boat trips, more vacation trips, ran a dive shop for many years, and worked tirelessly for the Catalina Chamber.
Yet no respect (wow).
I really think that if she had been diving with a buddy she would be alive today.
That's my analysis.

There's really no way you can have any idea if that's true or not. If she had some kind of medical issue (heart attack, etc). a buddy might have been able to do something to save her, but he might not have either. A buddy may well have helped ensure that the body was recovered, though.

 

[EagleDiver]

Getting back on our primary topic, I am hoping someone comes in with more confirmed information. I think we've covered plausible scenarios but nothing can be resolved without more factual details of what transpired.

 

[Tribes]

• Someone has died or been injured. Please show the proper dignity, etiquette and refrain from any demeaning remarks. We discourage the family from reading these threads, but you can bet they still will. Let's be civil, sensitive and still remain relevant. This forum is only intended for learning and not assigning blame.

• This is a strict 'No Troll' and 'No Chest Thumping' zone. It's not the place to keep repeating your favorite topic no matter how important or relevant you may imagine it to be. Nor is it the place to tell us how this wouldn't have happened if they dove/taught the way you do.

• You may not use real names here, until after they have appeared in the public domain (articles, news reports, sheriff's report etc.) Please cite the source if you do.

• Discussions should only be about the causes, theories and remedies for these accidents. Off topic posts or those with off topic comments may be removed without notice. Condolences, including comments indicating surprise and indignation, should be kept to the Passings Forum, legal action should be kept to the Scuba Related Court Cases Forum and so forth.

• If you are presenting information from a source other than your own eyes and ears, please cite the source. Links are preferred.

• Those who can not seem to follow these rules will have their access to this forum quickly revoked. As always, you should use the report button rather than bicker about possible infractions in the thread.

Just a reminder about what the rules are on this forum. This is not the Witch Hunt, Character Assassination Forum. Maybe we need a Haters forum, that way many who posted on this thread could go there.