Dive Accident on Belize Aggressor

[RonFrank]

I see the OP has not replied. Likely he may not. He may have spoke to a lawyer!

Some things learned:

• Don't fight the current.
• Surface and signal for help rather than swimming against the current.
• A prolonged SS was not necessary. It is not mandatory and should have been skipped.
• Don't wear ankle weights.
• Remove any weights prior to removing the BC. This may have been a big factor.
• Don't blame your heart attack on anything but your actions.
• Be thankful for the crew of the Aggressor.

"At that moment, I gave up. I thought there was no way possible to get into the raft. The dive instructor did not give up on me. He kept saying “you will get up here” and “and we are going to do this”. I am so thankful for his calm, but forceful confidence that encouraged me to give it all I could to get into that raft. I know he was bailing water and trying to maneuver the raft as he helped my husband up into the raft."

Your wanting to blame ANY body for your problems is uncalled for. Be thankful that the Aggressor was able to get you to safety and that the crew was confident and capable. This could have gone a different way. The crew of the Aggressor saved your life, you should be thankful.

 

[Darnold9999]

Not going to add anything here but agreement with everyone else.

You were in over your head. Take responsibility for that and most importantly learn from it. All the way up til you started to blame the Aggressor thought that was what you were doing, and sharing the experience and lessons with the board. Blaming Aggressor is putting the responsibility on the wrong party. If you and divers like you are successful at doing this it will destroy diving for the rest of us as operators insist on allowing diving in only the most benign conditions. You are responsible for determining if the conditions are within your skill level - the operators responsibility is to provide you with all the information that they have so you can make that judgement call. Not to make it for you.

Someone rescued you because you forgot one of the most essential skills (remove your weights BEFORE - you remove your BC) and you want to blame them??? Yes you were tired and probably not thinking clearly, so a mistake was made (has happened to all of us) but it was your mistake - not the operators. Learn from it - don't blame others.

Something to take away from this - wearing ankle weights that are more than you can swim up comfortably - even tired - is probably not a good idea.

From what you wrote I don't see anything that Aggressor did that would give you cause to do anything but thank them for keeping you alive.

 

[Mark Derail]

I would suggest that the OP refrain from live aboards - based on her account.

There's lots of all-inclusive resorts catering specifically for divers, if you don't like the surf for a shore dive, at least you are on land, near a beach. Relax.

For a Jan 3-9th incident posted at the end of March, I'm surprised at how emotionally driven the OP post is, just two big paragraphs. Obviously her near-death experience rattled her, but she presents too few facts.

Why ankle weights?
What wetsuit & type?
Fins with boots? Might explain the ankle weights.
Diving level & experience. What this her first live aboard?

 

[Bratface]

Jan's profile shows that she has logged 100-199 dives in ten or more years since certification. I am thinking she is a recreational diver who takes a yearly trip and has buoyancy issues with her legs since she was wearing ankle weights. She indicates that she and her husband swam against a strong current and then she had difficulty getting back on what she calls the raft which I am thinking is an inflatable. She was exhausted, had probably never done that before and was near drowning. She had an awful chain of events and was able to beat the odds with help from many others. You have to admit that she was pretty helpless, scared, and very close to not writing this post.

I don't know why she thought there should be some accountability on the crew's part but she must have thought there might have been which is why she posted her concerns. This was also her first post on scuba board. She was simply trying to find an answer. We shouldn't bash her for her inexperience due to infrequent diving. So could we all be a little kind to her? I sincerely wish her a full recovery and hope she continues to read and learn.

 

[dmoore19]

This was posted in the A and I forum. Fortunately she lived to tell about it. That doesn't always happen. If I learned only 1 thing it is to learn to look for ankle weights if someone has removed their gear and are still having problems being buoyant. I don't wear ankle weights but because of what I just read, it may help save somebody else.

 

[AfterDark]

I have yet to meet the diver who actually needs ankle weights. Much less when diving tropically and wet.

Let me introduce you to Pinnacle Rock Boots the positive bouyed boots. It takes just under 1lb to sink them. So I use ankle weights to trim them out.
The lead sinkers I stuck in the boots the 1st time were uncomfortable. However as asked by another poster how do ankle weights sink someone? I'm fairly sure I could stay a float with mine on. By the way I use the rock boots year round in all waters so I'm always diving with the ankle weights.

 

[DandyDon]

Glad you survived a bad one. The consensus seems to be take responsibility and be grateful - and I agree. I hope you are good with that, will dump the old attitude, and come back with an Oh-OK attitude so maybe we can help you for future diving.

A rescue diver is also trained to visibly review the victims gear to make sure that they deal with it correctly. This appears to have not happened here, or the ankle weights would have been seen and dealt with.

Having said that, despite rescue training, I don't know if I would think to look for ankle weights either . . . . .

And I do question the wisdom of any weight configuration that when the ditchable part is gone, leaves you negatively buoyant . . .

- Tim

Nope, with the rescue raft at the scene, divers upright holding on, trying to board - no one is going to ask about ankle weights. Diver responsibility, and she admitted it was dumb to not ditch them.

 

[Bubbletrubble]

I have yet to meet the diver who actually needs ankle weights. Much less when diving tropically and wet.

Many divers here in San Diego use ankle weights + positively/neutrally buoyant fins OR no ankle weights + negatively buoyant fins (e.g., Jetfins, Turtle fins, etc.).
I have dived locally with people who, for various reasons, need to shift weight toward their feet in order to have a weight distribution that promotes good horizontal trim. Using ankle weights is one method of doing that.

FWIW, I don't think that the OP should be fixating on the ankle weight issue.

It sounds like the diver wasn't fit enough to swim against the current present at the time. If that was the case, the proper course of action was to stop fighting the current, remain with her buddy, and signal the boat for a pick-up. Eventually, that's what she and her buddy did. A better response would have been to arrive at that decision sooner.

If a buddy team anticipates that a dive team member diver will have difficulty reboarding the boat, the team should make sure the weak diver is helped onto the boat first. This may entail a stronger buddy pushing up the weaker diver as she is pulled into the boat by others already on-board.

@Jan Neufeld Adair:
I'm a little confused. You describe having a heart attack and then you say that you have a "healthy heart." A diagnosis of a heart attack implies that some heart muscle died. Are you saying that, even after the incident, your heart function is at/near 100%?
Did the medical team elaborate on how saltwater aspiration could cause a heart attack? There is a condition called saltwater aspiration syndrome that manifests as flu-like symptoms in the post-dive interval +/- coughing. It can progress to something called acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).
Did your condition ever progress to ARDS?

All of this occurred a few months ago. I hope you are doing better now...

 

[mathauck0814]

Many divers here in San Diego use ankle weights + positively/neutrally buoyant fins OR no ankle weights + negatively buoyant fins (e.g., Jetfins, Turtle fins, etc.).

Let me introduce you to Pinnacle Rock Boots the positive bouyed boots. It takes just under 1lb to sink them. So I use ankle weights to trim them out.

The cited examples all surround gear selection. I posit that correct gear selection would solve the problem rather than selecting inefficient gear and correcting for it with more inefficient gear.

Buy new fins, or get new boots. Less is more.

Takes all kinds I guess.

 

[yodelhawk]

First off... I'm glad you are still with us and still kicking!
Second... Please give a big thanks to all the folks that were involved in your rescue / recovery
Third... I'm not going to beat on you any more about assigning blame
Fourth... I'm with BubbleTrouble on the question on the MI situation. I would expect a lot of lung/respitory problems after inhaling a lot of salt water. Did you have any of these? What is your physical conditioning/fitness?
Fifth... Please use this as a learning oportunity! I wish you all the best and a speedy recovery