Whidbey Island fatality - Washington state
- Thread starter DandyDon
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911 would be the best call because if the tide is flowing out of the pass the current will carry one out and away from the shore line that trails away to the south. The possibility of the current pushing one towards lighthouse point to the north is unrealistic and from the bridge it would be very difficult to see a head bobbing on the surface from that height and one would need glass like surface conditions and a slack tide. The best opportunity would be for early activation of either Coast Guard or police boat units.
-Z
White Chocolate
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Sadly I was a part of that dive. I only got to meet Rich a couple times but he was a great guy and will be missed. There were several loose buddy teams that day but Rich was actually diving solo and started his dive before the rest of us, so nobody was there to help or saw him at any point other than when he descended. He was spotted by fisherman floating on the surface during slack and rushed to a marina less than ten minutes away but it was too late. I heard the boat overhead at the halfway point of my dive but had no idea that something terrible had happened. The rest of us were informed by the park rangers upon returning to the beach. I haven’t seen the official autopsy results but it preliminarily (per his obituary and a friend of his off the record) sounds like a medical condition was to blame.
Diving at this site is definitely challenging from the shore and those that do it regularly always treat it as a solo endeavor. The vis is typically 5 to 10 ft and there is always fairly strong current before and after slack even on the best days. Buddy teams just don’t function well when upwellings, downdrafts and bad vis are both present and predictable. My usual plan involves drifting out under the bridge at the tail end of the flood and waiting in a back eddy for things to calm down before dropping because I’ve only been diving there a couple years and am still learning the ropes. Lots of other people though like to descend earlier and closer to the entry and then ride the current underwater past the bridge until slack hits, and then they reverse their steps. Rich was telling me stories in the parking lot beforehand about similar dives over the years so I assume that riding the current was his plan for the day, but we didn’t specifically talk about it. This is more challenging but with experience you can recognize when slack is late and either hold on to barnacles behind some boulders slightly out of the current or surface until things start slowing down. That particular day the slack was running a little bit late but it still came and was longer than usual. There weren’t any eddies to fight on the way back either. We also had 20 ft plus vis which is incredible for the location. I had 93 minutes of bottom time and up until I got back to the beach it one of my best dives ever. I really hope Rich was having another great dive and I’m sorry I never got the chance to know him better.
Diving at this site is definitely challenging from the shore and those that do it regularly always treat it as a solo endeavor. The vis is typically 5 to 10 ft and there is always fairly strong current before and after slack even on the best days. Buddy teams just don’t function well when upwellings, downdrafts and bad vis are both present and predictable. My usual plan involves drifting out under the bridge at the tail end of the flood and waiting in a back eddy for things to calm down before dropping because I’ve only been diving there a couple years and am still learning the ropes. Lots of other people though like to descend earlier and closer to the entry and then ride the current underwater past the bridge until slack hits, and then they reverse their steps. Rich was telling me stories in the parking lot beforehand about similar dives over the years so I assume that riding the current was his plan for the day, but we didn’t specifically talk about it. This is more challenging but with experience you can recognize when slack is late and either hold on to barnacles behind some boulders slightly out of the current or surface until things start slowing down. That particular day the slack was running a little bit late but it still came and was longer than usual. There weren’t any eddies to fight on the way back either. We also had 20 ft plus vis which is incredible for the location. I had 93 minutes of bottom time and up until I got back to the beach it one of my best dives ever. I really hope Rich was having another great dive and I’m sorry I never got the chance to know him better.
A suggestion for local divers on who to call, depending on the location:
Calling 9-1-1 from that beach would have activated either Island or Skagit County EMS. I suspect their response time would be pretty good. On the other hand, if you're diving San Juan County and not near Friday Harbor (e.g., in Rosario Strait), might be better to call Coast Guard dispatch. San Juan County response won't be as fast as Coast Guard. (I lost a friend who survived a small plane crash in Rosario Strait, but died of hypothermia before SJC EMS could get to him. Coast Guard likely would have saved his life because they would have been on-site substantially faster. Like 20-30 minutes, not an hour and a half.)
Personally, if boats were needed for a rescue situation, I'd try to call both 9-1-1 and Coast Guard. In my DM training, my emergency plan was for a remote location like this and I talked to USCG about what number to call. (They were happy to hear I was being proactive.)
Calling 9-1-1 from that beach would have activated either Island or Skagit County EMS. I suspect their response time would be pretty good. On the other hand, if you're diving San Juan County and not near Friday Harbor (e.g., in Rosario Strait), might be better to call Coast Guard dispatch. San Juan County response won't be as fast as Coast Guard. (I lost a friend who survived a small plane crash in Rosario Strait, but died of hypothermia before SJC EMS could get to him. Coast Guard likely would have saved his life because they would have been on-site substantially faster. Like 20-30 minutes, not an hour and a half.)
Personally, if boats were needed for a rescue situation, I'd try to call both 9-1-1 and Coast Guard. In my DM training, my emergency plan was for a remote location like this and I talked to USCG about what number to call. (They were happy to hear I was being proactive.)
At this particular site, even 15minutes overdue is a really serious situation and warrants calling 911 and the CG if you have it. If you don't have the Puget Sound 24 hour emergency number here it is. 206-217-6001
In theory 911 (which routes to County level dispatch here) and the CG coordinate but its not instantaneous.
They prefer you to call earlier so at 10mins late its time to be headed to the car to find your cell and hope they surface in the time it takes to walk there and back. For Deception Pass, calling at 15mins is legit.
ps you can also see the water moving and fast! If the water is starting to rip and they arent up yet or bubbles are not very shallow and close to the beach its time to call. Waiting an extra 20-30 minutes for them to be obviously gas supply limited means they have been swept that much further into Rosario Strait and the search area is increasing exponentially.
Even if you forget it, it's prominently displayed on CG group Puget Sound's webpage and a quick phone google brings you right there. Port Angeles merged with Seattle, we are all one sector now.
Sector Puget Sound (uscg.mil)
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