Tourist lost - Cozumel

[bilboinsa]

I have been searching for a week for an update. Every news article is of the original story that they are searching. Do we ever get an update of where the person is from, what happened, age, etc? I find it odd that there has been nothing at all.

Well, it depends on a lot of things, despite the navy searching for several days. First, depending on how he was weighted, your buoyancy decreases as you go deeper (remember gas compression). So, the corpse just stays down there or even sinks. Second, currents take stuff. Third, it’s a big ocean.

Lastly, details of the diver’s identity is probably limited for privacy reasons, and respect for the family.

 

[DandyDon]

Do we ever get an update of where the person is from, what happened, age, etc?

Not that I have seen. News stories compete for coverage and attention to further investigation and this one stopped. I'm amazed that he wasn't found somewhere.

 

[The Chairman]

I'm amazed that he wasn't found somewhere.

It's a big VAST ocean. I'm happily surprised when they do find lost divers.

 

[Robert H. Diver]

What to Do if You’re Caught in a Downcurrent • Scuba Diver Life

Getting caught in a downcurrent is unnerving for even the most seasoned diver. Here’s what to do (and what not to do) if you’re caught in a downcurrent.

scubadiverlife.com

 

[Dan]

This picture is for laminar flow, which the down-current on a wall is probably not. It will be much more squished up, with the transition region from zero to a lot being pretty thin.

How do you know it is not laminar? It takes > 20 knots of downdraft to create an air turbulence, Turbulence

 

[tursiops]

How do you know it is not laminar? It takes > 20 knots of downdraft to create an air turbulence, Turbulence

Water is denser than air so the Reynolds Number is much larger for wster, and that is what determines the transition from laminar to turbulent flow. Hey, you asked.

 

[woodri]

When I first joined DAN they were giving out these nifty name tags that are also signal mirrors. I've worn it ever since. I carry an SMB, and I learned how to whistle about as loud as most of the regular whistles - but that one that @Johnoly posted looks good.

I hope things turn out well for this diver. I'd really like more details to help me determine what I can do better to avoid this happening. That said, sometimes things happen you simply can't prepare for - and 'you don't know what you don't know'.

It sounds like maybe the diver got caught in a down current never to surface?

 

[woodri]

It sounds like maybe the diver got caught in a down current never to surface?

5 years ago I was diving on that wall. I was seeing lots of bubbles from underneath, thinking it was other divers, but then realizedI had drifted quite a way in front of group I realized they were my bubbles getting sucked down!! I was a bit shaken up and took 2-3 shots of air into my BCD to start rising. During my safety stop. The current was rotating me around and around.It was a stressful dive. I am returning to Cozumel this April and plan to dive less challenging sites. FYI

 

[Hatul]

This picture is for laminar flow, which the down-current on a wall is probably not. It will be much more squished up, with the transition region from zero to a lot being pretty thin.

That's similar to my thougths on this. Likely the cause of the downcurrent is a horizontal current hitting the wall. The water can only go up or down so I would expect the maximum speed of the current near the wall. Not next to the wall because of friction with the wall, but not that far either. On the other hand swimming toward the wall and holding on to the wall is more of a sure thing.

I wish someone did an analysis of divers response to these downcurrents to see which is the better alternative.

 

[Hatul]

Water is denser than air so the Reynolds Number is much larger for wster, and that is what determines the transition from laminar to turbulent flow. Hey, you asked.

Also I don't think it really matters if the flow is laminar or not. What we do know is that the wall is the cause of the downcurrent, and that the flow right next to wall is close to zero due to friction. The article from Scubadiverlife.com suggests it's better to swim away from the wall as water speed drops off away from the wall. The bet is that the current drops off more quickly away from the wall than waiting at the wall for the current to stop.