Tourist lost - Cozumel

[Richard Dayan]

What happened to his dive buddy?

 

[Rob9876]

What happened to his dive buddy?

I have followed this closely, especially since I was diving Santa Rosa Wall earlier the same day (and currents were quite calm on my dive). Only thing I've seen is this article about a man who passed away while diving the same week, which one might assume is the same person:

Industry Legend Steve Forster Passes

Cleveland — Candy & Snack TODAY Founding Executive Editor Steve Forster passed away this week while diving in Cozumel. Forster spent nearly 30 years covering the confectionery industry with a unique passion, immersing himself and forming strong opinions and lifelong...

candyusa.com

From this post it sounds like his dive buddy was only a few feet away but the current came down too suddenly. I have not seen any other information.

 

[ChuckP]

What happened to his dive buddy?

This is from a post at the bottom of page 2 - lo siento, I do not know how to directly link a post:

This is from a Cozumel Divers FB group:

“Ericka Tapper Your info was correct.

I hate posting this info, but want to give accurate info to reduce speculation.

My wife and I were diving on the same boat, different dive group. The “lost” diver was VERY experienced. He was only several feet from his wife and his dive master on the wall as they were preparing their SMB. A sudden down current pulled him down before anyone could help.

The currents were strong and multi-directional, but manageable the whole dive…up until that point. Read about down currents online. They come on suddenly and unpredictably. (There was even a vortex at the surface over blue water as we came up from our safety stop.)

It does not matter which dive shop we were with. I was on the boat and witnessed it all. They had to account for the other divers/teams while preparing to search. I am confident they did not delay the search and they did not “lose him”. The dive master was within sight when it happened. The dive masters and dive company did everything they could.

Most importantly to everyone who reads this: Please, do not speculate. Please be respectful of the lost diver and his grieving wife. We spent hours consoling her last night and this morning.”

 

[Rob9876]

Just a little bit of extra information in this article:

Cozumel Diver Disappears from Surface: Undercurrent 02/2023

 

[Snoweman]

Speaking of 'low-tech'. I shoved a ' Hyper Whistle ' in the bottom of one of my weight pouches. This TINY thing will burst an ear drum it's so loud. But the best is, zero moving parts, zero maintenance, you can leave it in the pouch for 10 yrs - never look at it - and it will still work perfectly. OHH and it definitely is heard by almost any boat 1/4 mile with no wind. Cheap too at $15 on A-zon but not allowed to link it here.

View attachment 764854

Interesting. I bought a storm whistle quite a while ago, and finally used it in Cozumel a couple of years ago. I immediately got the attention of several boats that were off in the distance. I should note that I used it after the DM asked me to blow it.

This video may be biased, but the maker of the Storm Whistle appears to try to remove most of the variables.