Scuba Tragedy off Gloucester

[MSilvia]

I don't think there's much point in speculating, and there are a lot of underwater deaths that are (I suspect wrongly) ruled as heart attacks. We could invent scenarios that might explain it all day long, but at this point I don't think we have enough info.

Could be he was struggling with his DS buoyancy in the shallow water and landed on a torpedo ray, with the resulting shock causing him to spasm the reg out of his mouth and panic. Could be he slipped into a diabetic coma, had a heart attack, or had some other non-diving related problem. Could be he blacked out for any one of a number of reasons. Maybe he had a gear problem, or bad gas. Maybe not.

It seems like an unlikely death, but we don't really have enough info to make any kind of informed assessment, so I don't think there's much to be done but offer condolences to those he is survived by, and to remind us that it's a potentially dangerous sport and that we should be careful out there.

 

[under water]

I don't think there's much point in speculating, and there are a lot of underwater deaths that are (I suspect wrongly) ruled as heart attacks. We could invent scenarios that might explain it all day long, but at this point I don't think we have enough info.

Could be he was struggling with his DS buoyancy in the shallow water and landed on a torpedo ray, with the resulting shock causing him to spasm the reg out of his mouth and panic. Could be he slipped into a diabetic coma, had a heart attack, or had some other non-diving related problem. Could be he blacked out for any one of a number of reasons. Maybe he had a gear problem, or bad gas. Maybe not.

It seems like an unlikely death, but we don't really have enough info to make any kind of informed assessment, so I don't think there's much to be done but offer condolences to those he is survived by, and to remind us that it's a potentially dangerous sport and that we should be careful out there.

Agreed Matt.. I have my own list of possibilities.
And if you have a buddy.. stay with them. We may never find out what happened.

 

[ScubaSarus]

One of my worst fears when diving is losing a buddy who I cant find within a few minutes. I agree Matt; there are so many possibilities. Cold water does stress the body in many diff ways. Could have had a neck seal too tight, stress from being loaded with gear, or heart failure from over stressing the body to the cold or poor breathing (hyperventillation), embolism, . Scares me to hear about a lost diver under what seems to be benign dive conditions. Heart goes out to his family and freinds.

 

[LobstaMan]

I don't think there's much point in speculating

Matt, as usual, you are the voice of reason...it's just human nature to speculate.

LobstaMan

 

[jdelprete]

Yeah it is hard not to speculate as it is human nature to wonder. Certainly we have all run across experiences in our lives diving or otherwise that make us think twice and luckily we are still around to think twice. As in any case with anything that goes wrong, but especially I think in sports like ours is to learn from this and understand if possible what happened. Knowledge = power= and in the scuba world knowledge=power=safety...

 

[Thalassamania]

I'm jsut speculating here, but he probably had a heart attack.

Regardless of the proximate or ultimate cause, an unwitnessed fatality during a course of instruction is unacceptable and, I feel, way outside of the duty owed by an instructor. Maybe something will come out that will explain this.

 

[ScubaSarus]

The news is sketchy and unclear. I just read an article that said victim was simply going back in to retrieve a flag and was found floating with a fin near by and then another were he was with a buddy who decided to head in early and the victim stayed in the water to finish his dive. Then another second hand report he was taking a drysuit course. It's not too clear he was even being instructed from what I gather.

I remember last year I went wading back to get the flag with JUST my drysuit on and no fins. Suddenly the water was over my head, I became quite uncoordinated in JUST my drysuit and it was quite difficult to dog paddle back to shallower water with air in the drysuit and vowed never to go in that deep with JUST my drysuit and no fins etc..

What I do realize another similar scenario plays out a lot at Ft Wetherill as sometime I and my buddies like to finish the rest of their air in the shallows even if alone or not as it seems quite harmless. There may have to be a modification here. I never like to leave a buddy alone but always seems to like to ask my buddy to allow me to finish my tank in the shallows as he heads up to the lot. Looks like I'll have to consider these solo habits more seriously.

 

[Humble older aquaman]

This tragedy, like so many before it, and sadly, probably way to many to come, brings more questions than answers.

Should we speculate, or evaluate? What quality of service do we bring to ourselves on pursuing the what if game?

Yes, has divers, it can be life saving for us and students to evaluate what happened , and do our best to not have history repeat...but evaluation on speculation is almost worthless currency...better to wait for whatever facts that can be shared. If facts aren't shared, so be it...I'd rather be respectful of family, and authorities...final judgment will come soon enough to us all, don't you think it might be a tad better with a little humilty history on our parts!?

Hoa!

 

[wreckedinri]

Published: May 01, 2007 12:00 am

Authorities await test results in diver death

By Douglas A. Moser , Staff writer
Gloucester Daily Times


State officials are waiting for results of an autopsy and tests of the gear of a diver found in shallow water off Niles Beach on Sunday morning.

David Lenardis, 43, of Wilmington, was reported missing by his three diving colleagues at 10:54 a.m. Sunday. Police, firefighters, the Coast Guard and Harbormaster James Caulkett searched the water for about 40 minutes. Fire Capt. Tom LoGrande spotted him about 40 yards from shore in 6 feet of water.

Detective Steven Mizzoni, who investigated the incident for the Police Department, said the water was calm and flat, and the harbor floor where Lenardis was found face up was sand.

According to the police report, Lenardis was pronounced dead at Addison Gilbert Hospital at 12:12 p.m. Sunday.

The state police took his diving equipment to test it to see if anything had malfunctioned. The medical examiner is conducting an autopsy.

Lenardis' three colleagues gave statements to police Sunday and returned home.

One, Arthur Costa, 59, of Tewksbury, declined to comment on the phone. Two others, Dan Sprague, 42, of Tewksbury, and Butch Bradley, 65, of Woburn, did not return phone messages seeking comment.

Lenardis' fiancee, Maureen Travers, also did not return a phone message seeking comment.

 

[under water]

Here is an interesting local (Cape Ann) non-diving BB discussion on this incident.
http://p219.ezboard.com/Diver-Missing--Niles-Beach/fcapeannonlinefrm1.showMessage?topicID=12072.topic
don't miss page 2.