Shannon Lewis - The True Story

[The Chairman]

It's not the medication that should have kept her out of the water, but the medical problem with her ears. That she couldn't equalize demonstrates that her problem was severe enough to not dive. A reverse block could have induced pain, vertigo and a complete and utter disorientation. While she wasn't in a cave, she was still under water. A sudden loss of a regulator and a loss of direction and balance with the subsequent confusion could easily have caused her death. In these cases, it's usually not one single vector that precipitated the incident. Diving when you're sick or your head is not on straight is not the best decision. Taking that circus into a cave only exacerbates your problems. People spend a lot of time, effort and money getting to a dive destination and that often clouds their judgement and puts them into denial. Be honest with yourself and then everyone else. I want to know what you're dealing with if you're diving with me.

 

[Omisson]

Not sure if Jim meant middle or inner ear infection- but here's s nice breakdown on inner ear infections:

Labyrinthitis and Vestibular Neuritis | Vestibular Disorders Association

 

[LiteHedded]

So, summarizing..... If I understand your story then the situation is as follows;

- an ex student tags along during a training dive
- she has ear problems
- you escort her to within 5m of the surface
- you leave her alone at that point
- somehow or other she managed to die in those 5 metres despite all her training, all her experience and wearing (I assume) fully redundant scuba gear in which she was trained and competent in using.

Frankly hindsight is 20/20 but I would also have been perfectly comfortable leaving the diver alone in that circumstance.

R..

i think what this case shows us all is that we should be diving as a team and unlikely things can happen at any point in a dive. i know this incident changed the way i think about seemingly trivial solo ascents

 

[The Chairman]

i think what this case shows us all is that we should be diving as a team and unlikely things can happen at any point in a dive. i know this incident changed the way i think about seemingly trivial solo ascents

Not all of us are as enamored with team diving. I've been in teams where I've been pushed beyond my comfort zone without them ever realizing it. I'm sure I've done the same without realizing it either. Peer pressure, positive and negative, is a real motivator and often clouds/distorts our judgement without anyone realizing it.

I think it's important for everyone to understand and respect their individual limits. In fact, diving is all about limits, isn't it? Time, depth and pressure should be agreed upon on every dive as well as the physical, mental and skill aspects. I'm looking forward to (gasp) spending some time in the caves this week with no one around but me. I don't want to have to worry about where you want to go, or how you want to do things. I want to perfect my art and have some fun on my own. That doesn't mar my buddy skills when I dive with others as the week progresses.

 

[DandyDon]

Certainly a lot of dive computers will not shore short ascents as they only record the maximum depth at a certain point or in a certain period. Therefore it is possible to ascend to the surface, spend a few seconds there, and descend back to (say) 10 metres and the dive computer will only show you coming to up to 10 metres. More recent computers save data at more frequent intervals, but back in the 2000s it was not uncommon for only one sample to be taken each minute. I have seen this before in my own (old) computer.

My older Oceanic computers can be set on a choice of several sampling rates. I think 30 seconds is one of the choices, but I think I have mine on 5 seconds. I don't know if Pelagic computers are still so now?

 

[Jack Hammer]

Not all of us are as enamored with team diving. I've been in teams where I've been pushed beyond my comfort zone without them ever realizing it. I'm sure I've done the same without realizing it either. Peer pressure, positive and negative, is a real motivator and often clouds/distorts our judgement without anyone realizing it.

I think it's important for everyone to understand and respect their individual limits. In fact, diving is all about limits, isn't it? Time, depth and pressure should be agreed upon on every dive as well as the physical, mental and skill aspects. I'm looking forward to (gasp) spending some time in the caves this week with no one around but me. I don't want to have to worry about where you want to go, or how you want to do things. I want to perfect my art and have some fun on my own. That doesn't mar my buddy skills when I dive with others as the week progresses.

Part of being in a team is participating, otherwise you are just tagging along. There is no psychic mind reading bond, If you are uncomfortable you need to make the others aware so appropriate action can be taken. The same applies for all technical diving.

 

[Superlyte27]

I'm confused as why the 55' matters. I haven't read this deposition in quite some time. But if I remember correctly, Jim says he watched Shannon ascend from the chimney or some such phrasing.

I've watched Jim countless times over the years as he perches his self right at the top of the chimney with his students above him, ensuring the students are doing a good job rolling up the reel. He's in the flow, but wedged in so not to move, but can respond very quickly if the need arises (with tons of flow at his back to push him at rocket speed). Depending on water levels, that perch where Jim is wedged is easily 55'. Before Boulderjohn knew me, I was the person he asked to check this out for the research into the NSS-CDS inquiry. The day I checked, the perch was at 50' and the water level wasn't high at all. I'm uncertain of the water levels the day Shannon died, but it's very easy to believe that he could have been at 55' and still witnessed what Jim said he witnessed.

 

[Jack Hammer]

My older Oceanic computers can be set on a choice of several sampling rates. I think 30 seconds is one of the choices, but I think I have mine on 5 seconds. I don't know if Pelagic computers are still so now?

My Suunto had sampling rate options in 10 second increments between 10 - 60 seconds. My Dive Rite Nitek+ you choose to sample at either 15 or 30 second intervals. I've had both not show the deepest portions of a dive or completely miss a 20' depth change while going over/under something.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

i think what this case shows us all is that we should be diving as a team and unlikely things can happen at any point in a dive. i know this incident changed the way i think about seemingly trivial solo ascents

... sounds to me like this had less to do with team diving than it did someone deciding to ignore an issue that should have kept her from diving at all ... also that she was less than forthcoming with her dive buddies about what was going on with her own personal health. Team diving requires a certain degree of honesty and openness among team members, and that ... from Jim's description of the incident ... was lacking from the person who ended up a casualty.

Knowing your limits is a fundamental tenet of diving ... team or otherwise. And that entails a certain degree of personal responsibility ... whether you're in a team or not, your buddies have no way of evaluating your fitness to dive without it ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[The Chairman]

Part of being in a team is participating, otherwise you are just tagging along. There is no psychic mind reading bond, If you are uncomfortable you need to make the others aware so appropriate action can be taken. The same applies for all technical diving.

And you don't think that 'peer pressure' plays a part in this? I certainly enjoy diving in a team, whether it be one or two others. But I also enjoy the times where I'm not worried about another diver. As an instructor, I almost always take the nurturing role, even when I don't need to. a.t.o: a tus ordenes. "at your service". I almost always put my wants way behind yours and my needs as well as the situation warrants.

To put this into context, 'peer pressure' is probably why she never disclosed her medical condition. She knew she was wrong but she still put her desires ahead of her needs and the needs of the team. Make no doubt about it, her decision has had negative impacts on Jim and Dave for seven years now. She paid the ultimate price, but they have not stopped paying. We assume that somehow she could have been saved IF she had a buddy next to her. Oh wait...

IF she had a buddy next to her.

I had to change the font, because that's a huge 'if'. There are any number of medical conditions that can have no positive outcome if they occur under water. People still die with their buddies valiantly trying to save them and that often results in the buddies' injury or death as well. Why put yourself, your buddy or your team in jeopardy of having to risk their life and health trying to save your butt? To me it's simple: team or no team, if you have medical issues, stay out of the water.