"WHY DIVERS DIE " PANEL - SAT @ 4PM (room Seaside #1)

[Ken Kurtis]

If you'll be at the Scuba Show in Long Beach on Saturday, get a seminar pass and join L.A. County Coroner Capt. John Kades, Catalina Chamber Director Karl Huggins, and me, for our annual "Why Divers Die" panel discussion, examining the four fatalities that happened within the jurisdiction of L.A. County in 2021 and trying to offer some insight and perspective as to what happened.

 

[ofg-1]

Is it because they get old and their snorkel goes limp?

 

[drrich2]

at the Scuba Show in Long Beach

How was the show overall?

our annual "Why Divers Die" panel discussion, examining the four fatalities that happened within the jurisdiction of L.A. County in 2021 and trying to offer some insight and perspective as to what happened.

Care you give us a summary of useful 'take home' lessons? Maybe not just from these 4, but what you've learned from case reviews over time?

 

[Ken Kurtis]

How was the show overall?

What I wrote in TWARS:
"It was nice to see the Long Beach Convention Center jammed with in-person divers once again, as well as to see the scuba industry out in force under one roof. The 2022 version of the Scuba Show has now concluded after two days packed with all kinds of stuff. My personal experience at the show is somewhat unique in that Reef Seekers doesn't have a booth, but I can usually be found wandering the floor and giving a couple of seminar talks, the most popular of which is always the one teaming up with Coroner Captain John Kades and Chamber Director Karl Huggins for the annual "Why Divers Die" panel, where we review the actual fatalities of the previous calendar year. It's usually the #1-attended seminar and this year appears to have been no exception with about 120 of you showing up to hear what we had to say and share. Saturday certainly seemed noticeably busier than Sunday, but that's not to imply that Sunday wasn't well-attended as well. But for me, the show involves a lot of networking, some of it post-Chamber Day with stores and mfgs, some of it trip-related (we checked in with Buddy Dive since we're leaving Friday), and some of it just seeing some of you roaming the aisles and meeting some new people as well. So definitely a busy and packed weekend, nothing earth-shaking or new that I saw to report, but good to get back somewhat to a sense of normalcy again. Scuba Show 2023 is set for June 3-4, again at the Long Beach Convention Center."

Care you give us a summary of useful 'take home' lessons? Maybe not just from these 4, but what you've learned from case reviews over time?

At the risk of sounding cruel, don't do dumb things. "Diver error" accounts for - in my estimation - about 2/3 of the triggers in a fatality. Things like running out of air or doing a cave dive when not trained are two examples. Medical issues, maybe not the primary cause but often an underlying/contributing factor, also make up a large % of the cases. So getting regular dive-oriented physicals will help too.

 

[Esprise Me]

I look forward to this seminar every year, and this year's did not disappoint. If you three ever decided to write a book, I'd pre-order a dozen copies.