Thanks for the great responses. I know that cold plays a factor in determining your SI and time below. I don't use a dry suit and have found the water to be a little nippy out at Anacapa/Santa Cruz. How do you all factor this into the equation? Also, not to be morbid or disrespectful to these victims but I have copied an article concerning diver fatalities in Monterey Bay for discussion purposes.
I was going to copy an article concerning the Spectre accident but it lists the victim's name. Is it appropriate to post such an article which lists the victims name on this board?
October 20, 2003
MONTEREY - For scuba divers, one of the world's great cold-water
destinations is the kelp forest of Monterey Bay, with its rich sea life,
which includes everything from starfish to sea otters. As many as 1,000
divers walk in or drop off boats into the bay on busy weekends.
Lately, though, the bay has been unusually treacherous. Since the summer of
2002, five divers have died in the bay's chilly waters in a string of
accidents that worries local officials and the businesses that cater to the
swarms of divers who descend on the bay each weekend. This year, two divers
died in August and another in May. Two died in 2002.
"We are all asking ourselves the same question: Why?" said Keith McNutt,
manager of Bamboo Reef Enterprises dive shop in Monterey. "I've been diving
here 15 years, and this is the most I have ever seen."
Drowning was the apparent cause in four of the deaths, according to
coroner's officials. The fifth victim suffered a pulmonary embolism,
apparently the result of decompression sickness. The circumstances and
locations have varied, leaving diving enthusiasts and public safety
officials puzzling over what, if anything, should be done in response.
Jeff Field, a training officer with the Pacific Grove Ocean Rescue Team,
said part of the problem might be the age of the generation of divers who
came to the sport in the 1980s, a period of rapid expansion.
Skills can get rusty, physical conditioning often fades and health issues
arise with advancing years. They combine to increase the chances for
underwater trouble. Though divers must take classes and pass a certification
test, subsequent training or follow-up classes are not required.
"Everything changes over the course of 15 or 20 years," Field said. "Your
physical fitness, your body chemistry, your comfort in the water."
Two of the five fatalities involved divers who were 51. A third was 42.
William Sidarweck of Norwalk, Conn., is still trying to figure out why his
wife, Corinne, 51, an accomplished diver, drowned in less than 15 feet of
water while diving in the bay during an August visit. She had come to
California to attend a wedding and decided to make a diving side trip.
She joined a diving boat trip out of Monterey that ferried participants to a
spot off Pebble Beach. Divers were to follow a line down to a depth of about
30 feet.
From what he has been able to piece together, Sidarweck said, it appears
that no one noticed that his wife had not made it to the bottom with the
rest of her group. By the time other divers noticed her motionless at about
15 feet and came to her aid, she had drowned.
"For her to die in 15 feet of water was unbelievable," Sidarweck said. He
noted that he and his wife had been diving for more than 15 years, including
numerous cold-water dives in New England.
Why she drowned may never be known. Some medical problem might trigger a
spasm, seizure or heart attack that leads to drowning, but often no
underlying cause is found. A final coroner's report is pending.
Later in August, Tammy Nguyen, 42, of San Jose was diving off Point Lobos
when she became tangled in kelp and apparently drowned. In May, Marie
Murray, 51, of Salinas drowned off Lovers Point in Pacific Grove after a
walk-in dive with her brother.
Ryan Masters, an avid diver who lives in Pacific Grove, was walking past
Lovers Point that morning when he heard Murray's brother frantically calling
for help from shore. Masters dove in, found her in the kelp and pulled her
ashore.
Masters says the spate of diving fatalities probably is just a run of bad
luck for Monterey Bay. But he adds that he often notices divers so out of
shape that they struggle just to carry their tanks to the water. Once
underwater, they face temperatures in the 50s, constraining wetsuits,
limited visibility and a kelp forest. "For an amateur diver, the conditions
are a lot more challenging," Masters said.
The Pacific Grove Ocean Rescue Team, which operates out of the city's Fire
Department, responds to about 70 calls for help a year. Of that total,
usually 20 to 25 involve divers, including an average of about one fatality
a year.
"It's a very dangerous sport," said Pacific Grove Fire Chief Andrew Miller.
"People really need to be physically fit to participate."
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