TSandM: Missing Diver in Clallam County, WA

[Jlpskydive]

Coast Guard suspends search for missing diver near Cape Flattery

Well that sucks, but they are pros as well and face horrible facts every day. So sorry this has worked out like this. Like I said before, you can do everything right and still come up short. "BSBD" it's a skydiving thing and it's great respect. I was/am a lurker here mostly and even I know she will be missed and mourned.

 

[DaleC]

I think a natural reaction to tragedy is to try and make sense of it. Partly to understand how it could have occurred and partly to convince ourselves that it won't happen to us. But the truth is sometimes bad things happen, even to good people, and there isn't an easy way to understand so it won't happen to us.

I think Lynne falls into the diver category of prepared and safe but that doesn't shield any of us from the unavoidable or unpredictable. She may have become entangled in line or netting (not always an easy exit in strong current), become disoriented from acute vertigo without a visual reference and perhaps inhaled water while puking, had a medical event such as an acute MI, stroke or even simple syncope. The list goes on and on. Part of diving is accepting the small risk that something beyond our control may occur, just as I accept a car may smoke me from behind while cycling - even if I'm in the bike lane.

I also think Lynne would be the last to call a decision to not dive lame as she was very conscious of knowing ones limits and not exceeding them and telling others it was acceptable to do likewise.

 

[fisheater]

Anyone know if Lynne and Peter were using their scooters on this dive?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalko

 

[diversteve]

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A ScubaBoard Staff Message...

Some off topic comments/replies have been removed

Someone who most of us greatly admire has passed. Her husband will see this.

So please make an attempt to govern yourselves accordingly.

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[Akimbo]

Is it enough to prevent an experienced diver from surfacing and turning on their personal locator?...

My speculative “best guess” is consistent with Tom’s

… I honestly think this was a medical event...could have happened sitting on the couch. 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. Realistically, if she headed to the surface, she should have been found by now. Sad day for many of us.

We know they were at the beginning of the dive (so had plenty of gas), she dove with gas supply redundancy, buoyancy redundancy, a GPS enabled VHF radio with DSC, and had the skill and experience to use them. We also know she was not a fan of solo diving and I suspect she would want to rejoin her dive partner husband. Something prevented her for using her many options to return to the surface and some form of incapacity is a logical explanation/possibility.

It “MAY” well be that she suffered a medical event that happened to be during an adrenaline filled dive. Sadly, the cause may never be learned as with so many diving accidents — even when the body is recovered. I truly hope that is not the case so Peter can get some minor comfort from the closure.

 

[Peter Guy]

Facts, facts -- First of all, Lynne was diving with me as a team of 2. We entered the water as a team, we descended as a team, we hit the first ridge together and then hit a downdraft which I stopped at about 115 feet with Lynne some feet (10 - 15?) below me. We both came up and I stabilized about 85 feet, she was above me (10-15 feet?). Vis was good -- current was fast.

At that point I saw her venting her suit but then turned away for some reason -- never saw her again. At 80 feet I could see the sun on the surface. I looked around for a minute (?) and then ascended hoping (KNOWING!) I would see her on the surface and that we would say -- Well that sucked! -- as we have several times before.

She had a 3' SMB, Nautilus Lifeline (fully charged) and Dive Alert.

Swell -- almost none

Waves -- one of the last things Lynne said to me before gearing up was "This is a PACIFIC ocean." It was dead flat.

Current -- not much on the surface when we entered.

The second team dropped maybe 10 minutes after we did and their comment upon coming up was "That was a wild ride."


We were both diving 32% and so certainly blew our hard deck of 90' for less than a minute.

Someone speculated about a heart attack and also her vertigo -- both of which I wonder.

The charter captain is a very experienced diver/captain in the area and this was his big treat to Lynne because the conditions appeared to be so perfect.

I really, really hurt so please be kind.

 

[pensacolaracer]

Thanks for posting Peter. It takes an uncommon gravitas to share the way you have.

My heart aches for you.

 

[LeadTurn_SD]

Thanks for the additional information Peter. Please be kind to yourself at this time.

It sounds like she was under very good control when you saw her last. It sounds like current again separated the two of you, and you did exactly what you should have done, and what Lynne would do: surface.

This feels like a random "Act of God" type of accident.

Please take care of yourself.

Best wishes.

 

[gcbryan]

Sorry you have to go through this Peter. Was this basically a drift dive then even when you got into the "canyon"? In other words were you two just along for the ride, did you have to struggle to do any more than just drift or could you still tuck into the rocks and take your time?

You did all you could do.

Thanks.

 

[Texas Torpedo]

Thank you for sharing what took place with us, Peter. I know that none of our pain over the loss of Lynne even begins to scratch the surface of what you are experiencing, but as you may have read, pretty much everyone who has crossed paths with Lynne (in the flesh or online) are reeling over this, because anyone who knew her knew what kind of a diver she was.. And that makes me (and possibly others) feel much more human & vulnerable than I felt the last time I went diving, despite training and a bit of experience..

My first thought was medical.. My second was that I need to get into better shape, but of course, Lynne appeared to be in great shape. You just never know, I guess..