Teen diver dead - Catalina Island, California

[Scott]

1.) Was the 'Instructor' just a customer on the boat that day doing a recreational dive, or was he there in the capacity of an Instructor? A number of people in other threads on this forum have written of the practice of just providing an AOW cert. to qualify for boat dives, not Instructor, DM (or maybe even Rescue Diver?) in order to avoid liability exposure or getting expected to supervise/be responsible for other divers.

I can tell you that a minimum of two instructors were on board.
There are times when the charter is for injured vets to experience diving in the ocean and there are times when certifications are conducted or both.

2.) Did the Instructor know this teen as underage? With a 15 year old it may sound like a goofball question, but some people look much younger than they are.

I can guarantee one instructor knew the age of the young man and pretty certain one other did too. If there was more than two instructors on board I would suspect the other(s) did too.

3.) Did the 'Instructor' know the experience of these two? When people on the forum speak of pre-dive discussion, I wonder how many ask detailed questions about # of prior dives & where they were? I suspect people often inquire to get a sense of whether a buddy will be competent; I wonder how many try to screen potential buddies so as to police them?

See #2

4.) When a 15 year old books with a dive boat, what extra paperwork/requirements are involved over an adult? Just a signed consent for him to dive? Does he have to bring an identified supervising adult? Does some adult have to go on record as 'responsible' for him?

I can't say what paperwork was in place on this particular instance, but I can say that there was a supervising adult and I'm sure it was on record he was 'responsible" for him

 

[diverrex]

It's standard procedure for authorities to take possession of a diver's equipment after an incident, so I'd expect them to make an effort to acquire anything that the diver is believed to have had.Chance that overweighting was an issue, but the limited information we have doesn't suggest an immediate problem so I'll assume things went smoothly at the beginning. I expect they'll "analyze" it if they get it, but not being an expert I don't see what that's likely to reveal other than it is in fact his weight pocket.

It would reveal how much weight the diver was using. Without it you could only speculate that it contained the same amount of weight as the other pocket.

 

[Sam Miller III]

Some where in Utah a congregation is gathering to remember a young man who lost his short life underwater at Eagle reef in California.

I send the parents, grandparents and his brothers and sisters my most sincere sympathy for their tragic and unnecessary loss.


There are three dive locations in a row in that area; Ship rock, LuLu reef (Dr. Bill can tell you about that one) and Eagle Reef. The last two are open water dives, although at a minus tide the top of Eagle reef can , on occasion, be seen...Actually in the past I have stood on top of it numerous times.

Eagle reef begins a few feet under the water and, as I recall, drops off to 120 or more feet. Because of its location the reef is subject to boat traffic, open water wave action, strong currents and has been known as one of the more advanced dives on the front side of the island.

In the past the trio, Ship rock, LuLu reef and Eagle Reef were favorites for lobster diving and spearfishing; the hunt would begin at Ship rock , work our way via boat to Eagle reef and often reverse the procedure prior to call it a day.

The young victim was also spearfishing. At this juncture one can only speculate as to his spearfishing ability and weapon of choice .

Also one can also only speculate as to the amount and type of training he received in Utah to prepare him for California open water diving.

I suspect there are a number of divers in Utah as well as in California who are doing some very serious soul searching as to what they could have said or what they could have done to prevent his tragedy from occurring.


SDM
LA Co Underwater instructor #11 UICC
NAUI Underwater instructor #27
PADI # 241 or 2241
(And many more in the instructor's alphabet)

 

[USdiver1]

Tragic. My sincere condolences to the young man's family and friends.Having begun scuba diving as a thirteen/fourteen year old Jr. Diver myself, and having had my own sons certified at age thirteen, I can only imagine that a young, inexperienced diver, spearfishing at depths of up to 100+ feet was engaged in an activity (spearfishing) and at a depth (60+ feet) that he should have had no business doing. Typically, spearfishing requires that your buddy be at a substantial distance from you to avoid: 1) spooking the fish you are hunting; and 2) being within the range of your spear in the event of an accidental discharge. All hunters are essentially on their own while engaged in spearfishing, and must be self-reliant.Spearfishing can be hard and strenuous for an experienced underwater hunter. Any fish over 20 lb. has enough strength in it to make you wish you had never shot it, if you don't either break its spine or hit a "head shot" with your spear. You can burn up a ton of air in very little time while fighting a speared fish.Having had an OOA situation myself when engaged in underwater hunting (from 50 feet), making a controlled ascent from any depth is a challenge. Keep your regulator in your mouth and you may be able to get another breath or two when you ascend. A 100+ OOA ascent is extremely difficult. Tragic loss.

 

[chillyinCanada]

90% of the Ops I've dived with never ask to see my card. For the 10% that do, I show them my faulty, blank card that says nothing - and they never notice.

View attachment 218152

You should be picking better operators. I've never not been asked to produce my card(s) and had the number recorded.

 

[diver 85]

If you are talking about PADI, there are some specific rules for that age, but the wording is slightly tricky and frequently confused. The key confusion is the difference in rules between the ones that govern certification training and the ones that govern diving after certification.

• For adults, rules about depths (etc.) only govern dives taken during training. There are no rules for your diving after certification.
• For youths age 10-11, there are rules for training and also rules for diving after being certified. After certification, the youth must be accompanied by a parent or dive professional, and the maximum depth is 40 feet.
• For youths age 12-14, training dives cannot exceed 6o feet for OW training and 70 feet for continuing education training dives. After certification, divers must be accompanied by a certified adult, but there is no depth limit.

I do not know the rules for other agencies.

Yes, speaking of PADI, sorry--forgot to put that in my post......

 

[vladodessit]

I don't know what operations in California you've experienced, but Sundiver, my favorite charter, does pay attention to who is paired with who. I've been asked to go dive with out of town guy for his first dives in Cali, I've been asked to go with a couple that didn't have any recent dives, or a guy that never dove cold water. I normally dive solo (and have always been allowed to) but don't complain if asked to make sure someone is going to be OK. Especially, since I've had one dude that helped us on the first day of diving California (and totally screwed up his day of diving). On another hand, I've seen crazy dives that people were doing when it was, obviously, way over their heads. Still amazed accidents don't happen more often at some popular "AOW required" dives, with number of divers obviously lacking basic diving skills. And I have 14 yo son that dives with me from time to time. He has a very good buoyancy and trim, excellent control. But I would NEVER take him to 100' depth.

 

[Centrals]

You should be picking better operators. I've never not been asked to produce my card(s) and had the number recorded.

I have the same experience.
In all those "third countries" in SE Asia that I frequent, the card is a MUST ie. no card no dive.

 

[boulderjohn]

I don't recall ever doing a dive with an operator that did not already know me in which I was not asked for my certification card. Now, once I have dived with an operator and my information is on file, they usually don't ask again.

 

[JohnN]

I have the same experience.
In all those "third countries" in SE Asia that I frequent, the card is a MUST ie. no card no dive.

I had the pleasure of diving with Liberty Dive in Tulamben, Bali in early September. I wasn't asked for a card (although I did show up with all my gear, lugging a camera )