Yukon tangent thread

[raybosd]

Looks like a diver died today on the Yukon off Mission Beach in San Diego.....RIP.

 

[raybosd]

Thanks for the tip Rick. I actually did try to post the link, but as I have not posted 5 posts as of yet the system did not allow me to post the link. Anti-spamming feature it seems.

 

[Peter McGuinness]

This report says Humboldt had left the site, then discovered the diver was missing.

Actually, that is not what the report says. it says the boat was moving; it does not say it had left the site.

You are depending on the opinion of this 'father and son' filtered through the fevered imaginings of a reporter who was not there, to imply that the boat was hightailing it back to dock having left a diver in the water but I seriously doubt that was the case.
All captains begin to recover the anchor on the assumption everything is OK, while the crew perform the standard checks; they don't leave until the checks are complete. It sounds like this intrepid reporter latched onto a couple of first timers who don't understand what is going on.

California diving is no picnic, and other reports are telling me that our dead friend was a seasoned diver. I don't think we will find the explanation for this death in trivial finger pointing.

 

[Tricia]

Actually, Peter, the article says this:

Witnesses say divers explored the wreck, surfaced and left the site. While the boat was moving, a father and son realized the man - who they had just met while heading to the Yukon - was not on the boat. The crew conducted a headcount and realized one person was missing.

Since it says the divers "left the site" and then says the man was discovered missing "while the boat was moving", I read it that way, too.

It reads as if the headcount wasn't made until the boat was underway and the dad and son couldn't find that man they had met on the way out. I also thought this part was curious:

The father and son say the crew did count air tanks before leaving the Yukon site. It's not clear why the boat's staff didn't realize one tank was missing.

So it sounds like they counted the tanks, saw they were all there and then left.

I don't think anyone is speculating here, just trying to find out what happened.

Trish

 

[DennisW]

How long, O Lord? How long? How long must we endure the fallacies of tank counts and head counts before we realize that the only reliable way to assure everyone's on board is to do a roll call, name by name, with no one answering for anyone else???
Rick

Rick, so very true. IMHO if an operation does not perform a roll call, they are not a "Top Notch Operation".

 

[JTinSD]

Actually, Peter, the article says this:

Witnesses say divers explored the wreck, surfaced and left the site. While the boat was moving, a father and son realized the man - who they had just met while heading to the Yukon - was not on the boat. The crew conducted a headcount and realized one person was missing.

Since it says the divers "left the site" and then says the man was discovered missing "while the boat was moving", I read it that way, too.

It reads as if the headcount wasn't made until the boat was underway and the dad and son couldn't find that man they had met on the way out. I also thought this part was curious:

The father and son say the crew did count air tanks before leaving the Yukon site. It's not clear why the boat's staff didn't realize one tank was missing.

So it sounds like they counted the tanks, saw they were all there and then left.

I don't think anyone is speculating here, just trying to find out what happened.

Trish

Thanks, Tricia. As you say, I was not speculating or engaging in "trivial finger pointing." My post was, "This report says . . ."

Period.

I have dived on the Yukon from Humboldt, more than once, and will dive them again. To be absolutely clear, that means I have confidence in their operation.

 

[Oside Jimc]

All captains begin to recover the anchor on the assumption everything is OK.

On the Yukon they are moored, not anchored.

Rick, so very true. IMHO if an operation does not perform a roll call, they are not a "Top Notch Operation".

So begins the finger pointing based on a second hand report from a notoriously inaccurate source (the general press). I have dove on the Humboldt more times than I can count, the crew has NEVER failed to conduct a proper roll call on any trip I was on, ever. They and the Lois Ann are the two most professionally run operations in San Diego and I would not hesitate to use them, in fact I will be doing just that next weekend, to dive the Yukon.

The fact is this person chose to dive a deceptively challenging site solo, conditions on the Yukon include depth, surge that can suck you into the cutouts made in the hull for diver access, currents, cold water (especially this so called summer), and visibility that ranges from good to Braille diving. It's a great site for proper TEAM diving.

 

[fisheater]

Diver Dies Off Mission Beach | NBC San Diego

 

[Bubbletrubble]

I have dove on the Humboldt more times than I can count, the crew has NEVER failed to conduct a proper roll call on any trip I was on, ever. They and the Lois Ann are the two most professionally run operations in San Diego and I would not hesitate to use them, in fact I will be doing just that next weekend, to dive the Yukon.

@Oside Jimc: It sounds like you have a lot of experience diving off of the Humboldt. It's a nice, clean, fast boat. The crew is helpful and friendly. The last time I patronized the Humboldt was 1.5 years ago. From our several experiences diving off of the Humboldt in the past, our most important concern was the lack of a formal role call at the end of each dive (before leaving the dive site). In fact, I'm reviewing my dive log right now for a 2009 Coronados Island trip, and I actually wrote down that "safety procedures were kind of lax. They didn't have a dedicated person to write down each diver as he entered/exited the water." I offer this only as another anecdotal report of the safety procedures conducted on the boat in the past.

I have no idea if this practice had been corrected since I was last on the boat. Since a formal role call appears to be a standard safety practice on dive boats all over the world, we thought that, on the few occasions that we had been on the boat, the DM had just forgotten to perform this basic task. I realize that some personnel changes have occurred since I was last on the Humboldt. Ryan was the only captain we ever encountered. We have dived with Anita (another captain) when she was affiliated with the Marissa. We know that Anita is very safety-conscious person. I say all of this without knowing who was captaining the boat yesterday during the incident.

It will be interesting to learn details of the kind of equipment he was carrying (redundant gas supply?), the state of his gas supplies (any gas left?), and the victim's dive profile (dive computer?). We don't know whether he ever made it to the surface during/after the incident. News reports state that the diver was found face-down on the sandy bottom outside of the wreck. I agree that dive safety on the Yukon can be enhanced by proper team diving. I share this only to make the point that it's possible the diver was not doing a wreck penetration. Many divers dive the Yukon and never go inside.

Yesterday dive conditions were quite good in the San Diego area. From La Jolla Shores to Wreck Alley to the Point Loma kelpbeds, vis was reported to be in the 25-35 ft. range. That's excellent vis for this area.

Last but not least, I want to emphasize that even with the best safety procedures in place, it is certainly possible that nothing more could be done to prevent the death of this solo diver. It's very sad to hear of another tragedy in our underwater backyard.

 

[jridg]

Still waiting for the name on this one - hope it isn't someone I know.

I find it disconcerting the boat did not do roll-call. I have only dove from Humboldt a couple of times and do not recall their process.

Would certainly like to know more about the cause of this one.