Diver collapses off Cape Hatteras

[DandyDon]

Wow, JW?! Thanks for letting us know; wishing the very best for both Chris and his niece.

 

[sporket]

I'm with DandyDon, were all looking for a positive outcome. He will be kept in our prayers.

 

[Rebecca.Galloway]

I have been reading your blog, I am actually not a diver but wanted to give everyone an update on my close friend Chris who was in the accident on July 8 in Cape Hatteras. He is still at Sentara Leigh Hospital in Norfolk, but he is awake and he understands everything people are saying to him. He can not really speak at this point, can squeeze someone's hand when speaking to acknowledge understanding. He tries to speak and if you listen closely and know him well you can understand what he is saying, but it is such a strain for him to talk. His four nieces and sister just returned to Northern VA yesterday, where he lives and are looking at rehab facilities for him this week. He should be transferred back up here in a week or a little more, once he is stable enough to be transported. At this time, he still cannot move anything other than his hand but with extensive rehab, he is expected to make a full recovery. My friend Chris is a fighter, known him for years and he will make it through this. Thanks for everyone's thoughts and prayers.

 

[DandyDon]

Thanks Rebecca, good to hear that he is alive and with hope.

 

[oamfg]

I Went down with a group this week and went out three days with the Flying Fish. I felt comfortable with the crew and Captain at all times. Although our dive leader was conducting an over watch of the operation, evaluating all divers and making sure all members of our group were safe, there were always at least two members of the crew on board at all times and they were watching closely and keeping track of everything. There were strict and clear instructions from the crew as to safety and procedures and they were enforced. During one dive my buddy and myself were unable to locate the anchor line at one point due to limited visibility 10 (feet or less). We agreed that we could not locate the anchor line so we began a controlled ascent, conducted a 50ft one minute stop, a 25 foot one minute stop, a 15 foot five minute stop while maintaining an up current position and continuing to look for other divers bubbles etc. My buddy then surfaced saw the boat about 50 meters off, came back to 15 feet and we returned to the boat underwater. The Captain was watching our bubbles and us the whole time and knew our location to make sure we returned safely. So besides learning a few things about deep, limited vis, wreck dives, I thoroughly enjoyed the trip and will be going back with the Flying Fish many times in the future.

 

[Grish]

I've also dived this operation a bunch of times and am very familiar with the crew and captain. They are all extremely capable, and very thorough. The implication that salvaging (which is entirely legal and in some ways necessary for their livelihood with the economy these days) had anything to do with it is not just ridiculous, but offensive.

That said, I am very happy to hear he is expected to make a full recovery...many prayers to his recovery and health.

 

[ScubaSteve]

I've also dived this operation a bunch of times and am very familiar with the crew and captain. They are all extremely capable, and very thorough. The implication that salvaging (which is entirely legal and in some ways necessary for their livelihood with the economy these days) had anything to do with it is not just ridiculous, but offensive.

That said, I am very happy to hear he is expected to make a full recovery...many prayers to his recovery and health.

I too am very pleased that Chris is going to recover.

As for your comments Grish, even if it is legal, it should never be tolerated when done off a dive charter boat. That is a commercial operation which then takes focus away from the people that are paying them for a safe trip. It is good to hear that they are being so diligent today but I somehow doubt that will be maintained if the source of extra income is scrap metal (I am in metals so I know how much this can fetch and depending on what they are bringing up, it could be substantial in value). With split focus, it is not possible to pay the attention you need to where it is needed. Buy a second boat (to be the commercial boat only) if you want to recover metal and leave the charter boat as a charter boat only.

 

[Grish]

I too am very pleased that Chris is going to recover.

As for your comments Grish, even if it is legal, it should never be tolerated when done off a dive charter boat. That is a commercial operation which then takes focus away from the people that are paying them for a safe trip. It is good to hear that they are being so diligent today but I somehow doubt that will be maintained if the source of extra income is scrap metal (I am in metals so I know how much this can fetch and depending on what they are bringing up, it could be substantial in value). With split focus, it is not possible to pay the attention you need to where it is needed. Buy a second boat (to be the commercial boat only) if you want to recover metal and leave the charter boat as a charter boat only.

The comments got my back up a little, I guess, but let me add that while I am understanding of the reasons, it DID make me cringe a little when I saw it. My point is that it never once was a matter of interfering with the safety of the operation or it's passengers. There were always people on the boat who's only focus was the divers. Buying a second boat - and having extra maintenance, docking, and fuel costs, would sort of counterbalance what extra they'd get from what they salvaged.

I have a closer understanding of the way the economy of barrier islands is like because I have a ton of family in the area who are year round residents. Business from may-september is great, and during the other seven months it's HURTING. And that's when the economy is doing really well. The year round population on some of these islands is less than 500. That's barely enough to maintain a grocery store, let alone a dive shop that CAN'T do charters when it gets cold and certainly aren't selling much gear. Locals tend to be fairly humble folks of humble means. The yuppies with money are the ones who keep vacation homes there but never show during the colder months.

Again...I'm not saying that there aren't some...less than ideal aspects of it, but this guy had a heart attack and by what one poster said, everyone on the boat did everything they could for him. I see no implications that there was any negligence involved in this instance.

 

[survivethedive]

A few answered questions will help everyone see if conducting a scrap salvage operation while also conducting a charter service at the same time is a safe thing to do.

Does the business advise the divers that this will be going on at the time of booking, departure, and on site?
How many other operations are doing this there?
How many anywhere?
How many accidents has the charter service had this year?
How many for the same area for the other operations?
Is it possible that one of the lift bags could fail and the large pipes sink down on a diver below?
How is this metal stored and transported on the vessel?
Is it possible that the metal could shift during transportation (on the ocean)and injure someone?
Does this really seem right?

 

[Hetland]

I hope Chris and his niece have a rapid recovery. Kudos to the crew/responders for working quickly, and saving a life.

(thread hijack)
While it sounds like this has nothing to do with the incident, I'll say this: Mixing commercial/salvage diving with recreational diving is just plain stupid. I doubt very seriously than any insurance provider would knowingly cover such a scheme.
(/thread hijack)