Cozumel Incident 9/4/11

[WSOPFAN]

Does anyone have any of the most info on Opal and Gabi?
I dove with Scuba Mau about sixty times in the last two years. Gabi Loco and the other D.M.'s were cautious to the nth degree. Opal always erred on the side of safety. I do not know Heath but this just has to be a very unfortunate accident. You could not find a more professional and capable group of people. They personalities blended so well that it was a pleasure to show up at the shop ahead of time for daily banter.

It looks like Nauticab does and FWIW it was NOT 2nd hand:

Scuabamau diving accident - Cozumel My Cozumel Discussion Forums

 

[sealkie]

Sorry Don I didn`t mean to come across as questioning you - I was just wondering if original posts had offered the reason that they would attempt in water recompression. It seems an odd course of action to me for experienced divers who were relatively close to chamber.

 

[WSOPFAN]

Maybe. Until someone on the dive - or with full knowledge of the dive - posts more, we'll be left to ponder the "maybe" and "shoulda/coulda/woulda" elements of this sad situation.

BTW just remembered this post:

I HAVE GOTTEN MANY SECOND HAND STORIES ABOUT THEIR ACCIDENT AND WILL NOT SHARE UNTIL I KNOW THE REAL TRUTH. Accidents happen, and obvivously, this was a bad one, but no real reliable reports as of yet why this happened. I have heard different stories from the shop and friends. I can tell you that I dove 2 dives the same day in a different area and that the currents were nothing that I have ever experienced on the south side.......so who knows?
They were North....then South, then west then down and that was at 80- 120 feet. So, for now, lets not judge, just pray!

That was from the link I just posted but yea, anyone who has dove there enough or lives there knows some sites at certain times of the year have currents that change direction. If you are going one direction with the current and meet the opposite current that is strong enough or you are at the wrong depth then the result would be a bad downcurrent.

 

[Ron Lee]

There were 3 people claiming to know ALL the details of that dive but none will post the results.

If one person released the dive computer data (depth versus time) it would probably clear up any issues. I doubt that we will learn anything from this event. Like flying, events like this are usually due to human error. However, it would be eye opening to divers who may not see the real consequences of pushing the envelope taught even in basic diving courses.

Environmental conditions perhaps made a marginal or safe dive profile dangerous.

Personally I am skeptical of the 300' depth as a plan. If they hit 300' (unknown if true), then where were they (depth) if they encountered a down current (downwelling?)?

I also agree with the position that this dive should not cause people to cancel a trip to Cozumel. Cozumel is a great dive destination. However, I went to Cozumel at the height of the swine flu debacle (thanks US CDC) on a whim because I felt that the hype was blown out of proportion. This event, like the swine flu period, is just not a negative reflection on Cozumel. Make decisions based upon rationale thought...not emotion.

 

[DandyDon]

Sorry Don I didn`t mean to come across as questioning you - I was just wondering if original posts had offered the reason that they would attempt in water recompression. It seems an odd course of action to me for experienced divers who were relatively close to chamber.

No problem. I just gave you a brief answer. Like many of their friends, I am stressed by all of this.

I have a hunch (guess, lose speculation, etc) that they were all pretty !@#$% excited by the time they got back onto the boat, who wouldn't be - and maybe one of them said something like "Gimme a tank. I'm going down to deco!" so the other two followed. Whatever happened, it was one of those seemed like a good idea at the time moments of urgency. Keep in mind that one never knows if the chamber is available, staffed, and ready at the moment of need.

 

[cruiser]

Is this information that came out in another post somewhere ? I did not read anything about them going back into the water

It was there early in the posting, as I remember reading it.

 

[MMM]

Keep in mind that one never knows if the chamber is available, staffed, and ready at the moment of need.

There are 2 chambers in Coz and it's pretty much like an ER. The captain would have called in the urgency and by the time they got there, it would have been in full operation if not already before the call. Not a factor.

 

[scubawife]

If one person released the dive computer data (depth versus time) it would probably clear up any issues. I doubt that we will learn anything from this event. Like flying, events like this are usually due to human error. However, it would be eye opening to divers who may not see the real consequences of pushing the envelope taught even in basic diving courses.

Environmental conditions perhaps made a marginal or safe dive profile dangerous.

Personally I am skeptical of the 300' depth as a plan. If they hit 300' (unknown if true), then where were they (depth) if they encountered a down current (downwelling?)?

I also agree with the position that this dive should not cause people to cancel a trip to Cozumel. Cozumel is a great dive destination. However, I went to Cozumel at the height of the swine flu debacle (thanks US CDC) on a whim because I felt that the hype was blown out of proportion. This event, like the swine flu period, is just not a negative reflection on Cozumel. Make decisions based upon rationale thought...not emotion.

Minor mishaps can be just human error. Major accidents with multiple victims tend to come about because of multiple factors. Whatever actually happened here, I doubt it's just human error, and I wouldn't be at all surprised if all 3 were able to relay their take on the events, all 3 would have a slightly different version. There's always more to the story then what anyone directly involved or affected remembers or chooses to tell, but regardless of what background details you get or how reliable that info is, it doesn't change the end result.

If they planned to dive beyond what they should have gone with single AL80s, if there was a down current, then regardless of how it's hashed and rehashed, the only lessons I see coming out of it are 1) whatever your planned depth and time, allow enough air for the possibility that you may exceed that depth and/or time, and 2) if you're drift diving on a wall, have some idea of how to deal with rogue currents. Even then, things can happen.

A big downfall of the sport is that it's relatively easy to get a c-card, and in just a few days later you can even become and "advanced" diver. There are no continuing education requirements, no expiration dates on certification. These were 3 very experienced divers and still, through whatever combination of circumstances, they got in a bad situation. It's amazing all 3 made it out. There are plenty of divers who dive 5-7 days every year or two, do some really dumb stuff, brag about it and lead even less knowledgeable divers into considering doing the same dumb stuff.

 

[boulderjohn]

There are 2 different situations in which one might re-enter the water after a dive where something goes wrong like this. They are not the same thing, and are often confused.

Omitted Decompression: If you miss a deco stop for some reason and can get back in the water quickly, many people will drop down and do the missed deco stops, usually adding extra time. This is an old practice that is still taught by some agencies. The key to this is that it is done to be safe--you should not do it if you are feeling symptoms.

In-water Decompression: This is a very controversial procedure in which you do descend when feeling symptoms. Some people argue that it should never be done. Others advocate it under certain circumstances, especially when a chamber is not readily available. When it is done properly, one of several established protocols should be followed. With the chamber as close as it is in Cozumel, I don't think anyone would advocate it.

If I were to guess, there was an initial thought to follow an omitted decompression process, but that changed when symptoms began to appear.

 

[Rescue Diver68]

They were on Santa Rosa Wall. That's one of the southern sites but if the captain put the pedal to the metal, they'd have been back in town at the recompression chamber in about 20 minutes max. Hopefully they would have had O2 on the boat but probably not for all 3 divers.

Really- you know the dive site was Santa Rosa for sure? How do you know that?