Tourist lost - Cozumel

[Kimela]

What dive op lets divers surface without at least the DM's safety sausage on the surface?

@bilboinsa posted this from a FB page as clarification - this is just part of a post on the second page of this thread:

"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."

I'm not sure if that means the dive master was preparing his/her SMB or the diver was, but the diver was within feet of other divers (and safety sausage) as they were likely beginning their safety stop.

 

[Dan]

I’ve often read that, if near a wall, either swim to to wall and climb up or swim out away from wall to get out of the “waterfall”. I’ve also read to swim left or right as in a rip tide as the current usually is no that wide? Depending on how fast you get dragged down, you’d have to think and act very quickly… which in the panic of the moment may be easier said than done?

Swim to the wall would be my reflect, as I don’t know how wide the “waterfall” is. From physics, the velocity of the downdraft is zero at the wall and maximum away from the wall, as shown, below.

There are plenty of stuff to grab on at the wall or overhangs to hide under.

Waterfall
Brown = wall.
Dark blue = increasing velocity vectors with distance away from the wall.

You need to face square towards the current to avoid your mask being flooded or got ripped away from your face by the current.

 

[Belzelbub]

I always do. I also carry a Garmin In Reach, a whistle, and of course an SMB. I’ll probably add a Nautlis to my gear as well because the one concern i have with the Garmin is it’s not rated to be submerged more than 6 feet i think and Garmin doesn’t claim it to be waterproof. Maybe the solution is a housing that lets you activate it without opening it?

There is a dive housing for the InReach. The Garmin Descent (at least the MK2 line) can activate the InReach without having to open the housing.

 

[Snoweman]

Swim to the wall would be my reflect, as I don’t know how wide the “waterfall” is. From physics, the velocity of the downdraft is zero at the wall and maximum away from the wall, as shown, below.

There are plenty of stuff to grab on at the wall or overhangs to hide under.

Waterfall
Brown = wall.
Dark blue = increasing velocity vectors with distance away from the wall.
View attachment 765532

You need to face square towards the current to avoid your mask being flooded or got ripped away from your face by the current.

Everything I have read says to swim away from the wall. Eventually, the "waterfall" loses it's reach.

 

[Dan]

Everything I have read says to swim away from the wall. Eventually, the "waterfall" loses it's reach.

Yes, “eventually”, but you don’t know the strength and width of the reach. Once you are in the blue, you lose point of reference. Have you experienced it? I did & survived several times.

If you swim towards the wall, you know how far you are from the wall. You can see the wall and no down current at the wall.

 

[ChuckP]

"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."

Why are we ending dives on the wall? You can't get 60 minutes on the wall at Cedral even with nitrox........ They have said the accident happened at the end of Cedral, beginning of Santa Rosa.......

 

[Snoweman]

Yes, “eventually”, but you don’t know the strength and width of the reach. Once you are in the blue, you lose point of reference. Have you experienced it? I did & survived several times.

If you swim towards the wall, you know how far you are from the wall. You can see the wall and no down current at the wall.

Once you are out in the blue, you would do the safest ascent you can do with the depth and air you have. Once on the surface, you will have reference to where land is.

 

[Centrals]

Yes, “eventually”, but you don’t know the strength and width of the reach. Once you are in the blue, you lose point of reference. Have you experienced it? I did & survived several times.

If you swim towards the wall, you know how far you are from the wall. You can see the wall and no down current at the wall.

Listen to the pre dive brief.
I stay close to the wall because there is nothing to see out there most of the time. It has nothing to do with down current.
If I am away from the wall then I will swim out from it.
There is no concrete rule on this.

 

[Biotech Diver]

There is a dive housing for the InReach. The Garmin Descent (at least the MK2 line) can activate the InReach without having to open the housing.

I’ll have to get it. My dive housing requires me to take it out of the case to activate it.

 

[Belzelbub]

I’ll have to get it. My dive housing requires me to take it out of the case to activate it.

This is what I was referring to.

inReach Mini Dive Case | Garmin

www.garmin.com

Looks like it’s for the InReach Mini and Mini2. Doesn’t appear that you can press any buttons with it in the housing, but there is an InReach app for many of the Garmin watches, but only the Descents will be good on a dive.