TSandM: Missing Diver in Clallam County, WA

[LeadTurn_SD]

Just a general question for those who know the site:

Would this have automatically been a "live boat" ("drift") dive at this site, in which they did a fast drop from the boat along the lee side of the rock?

I'm guessing they (Lynne, Peter and boat captain) would have made a "go / no-go" decision as they motored near the rock and checked the current, and with a "live boat" there would have been no anchor line to swim down... just trying to wrap my mind around the dive since I'm mostly a shore diver and can count on my fingers and toes how few times I've dove off a "live boat" near a nasty coastline...

Thanks.

Best wishes.

 

[gcbryan]

One thing I'm noticing about some of these articles and descriptions is that it can give the wrong impression. The AlertDiver article calls Waddah Island Fingers an advanced dive.

This is just in the sense that you don't take a beginning dive class there but it's a mellow dive if you're doing it right as are most of the dives inside the strait.

Duncan Rock is advanced in the sense that you need to have experience with the usual more adverse conditions present in the PNW before you try that one. If the conditions aren't good it's not "advanced" it's just a no-go.

When conditions are good it just takes knowing what you are doing and being prepared for a little rough treatment getting in and out (surge mainly). The dive itself is pretty mellow but it's just an environment that only a diver with some experience in these kinds of conditions should be on.

Peter and Lynne were more than "advanced" for these conditions. It's more of a physical thing for an older person than anything else.

(Just saw the post above)...It's definitely not an anchored dive. Most boat dives here aren't however.

 

[Slamfire]

Other than massive current and huge swell??? That’s enough...

Is it enough to prevent an experienced diver from surfacing and turning on their personal locator? I have been in rough swells puking my guts above and below surface. I have also been in current. Neither condition kept me from surfacing when I needed to. Others don't seem to think that those two conditions in themselves would have prevented Lynne from surfacing:

...Lynne had her **** together, and I don't see her having a problem with the conditions. Even separated and dizzy I'm sure she would have headed to the surface if she physically could.

I dove with Lynne in current so fast that I had to grab a hold of a wreck to stay on it, so this wasn't her first rodeo in current.

Is it a particularly long surface swim to Duncan Rock?

 

[gcbryan]

Is it a particularly long surface swim to Duncan Rock?

From where? Tatoosh Island is a mile or so away. No one is going to swim TO Duncan Rock?

 

[Texas Torpedo]

Is it correct that she had a personal locator/radio with her (I assume nautilus?). Because if it is and it hasn't been activated ... :'-(

It's my understanding from talking to someone close to this that she did have a Nautilus with her, in addition to an SMB, etc.

 

[Slamfire]

From where? Tatoosh Island is a mile or so away. No one is going to swim TO Duncan Rock?

I was under the mistaken impression that it was a shore dive. I have no familiarity with this site.

 

[Airleron]

This is so incredibly heartbreaking. I really have no idea if I want to continue to dive, especially as I get older. Lynne was so steady, levelheaded, a rock. I can't wrap my head around it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I believe the intent, not just from Bob but from other posters, is to convey that the choice to go to a well known dive site (albeit challenging) was not a reckless one from Peter and Lynne. Most feel they were adequately qualified to face the challenge. I'm sure lesser divers have successfully completed said dive without incident.

Thank you.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

---------- Post added August 26th, 2015 at 06:35 PM ----------

This is so incredibly heartbreaking. I really have no idea if I want to continue to dive, especially as I get older. Lynne was so steady, levelheaded, a rock. I can't wrap my head around it.

None of us who knew her can wrap our head around it. But the ocean is more powerful than the best of us ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[diversteve]

Not good news I'm afraid...

Coast Guard suspends search for missing diver near Cape Flattery

 

[H20doctor]

Other than massive current and huge swell??? That’s enough. The open sea along the northern Oregon and Washington coasts are more akin to Alaska than California. There’s a reason the USCG chose Cape Disappointment for Surf Training at the mouth of the Columbia River.

We’re not talking about a “normal” current. Water transiting the Strait of Juan de Fuca, the major route for tidal water in and out of the massive Puget Sound, is one of the major tidal flows in the North America. That alone creates a lot of challenges even though it isn’t that deep. Duncan Rock is very near Cape Flattery, a few miles inside the Strait from the open sea.

most all of Neah Bay diving is live boat .... the only site you could anchor at would be the break water .. and Possibly Sail rock ...BUT with all Neah bay diving , and Open ocean diving , your dealing with current and surge every dive ... almost always surge , rarely Have i been out to Neah bay on sites where there isnt current ... And for those Here on Scuba board who havent done washington dives , we have some tough stuff here... Low viz, cold water, and current... Not at every dive site ... But most of the time we have 1 of those factors , It also goes dark once you get deep here .... Im sad about what happened , and Im just as upset as everyone here... But i just wish this wouldnt have happened... I love Neah Bay , i dive there every year , its my top site to dive , But its not easy diving , and you need to have the skills to dive there , and in the environment it puts divers into.. yes they were qualified , i knew them , there part of our local dive family here... and im not questioning that ... take care