Diver Killed by Lightning in Deerfield Beach

[Wayward Son]

I figure if I buy it from a lightning hit while diving, oh well. Someone take a Sharpie to my urn and write "Your Time Was Up"

Something has to do me in eventually. Lightning doesn't sound like much fun, but then I've never warmed up much to the other alternatives either.

 

[JRScuba]

If they've been in FL for more than a week during the summer they should have figured this out already or be prepared to be Darwinized!

It would hurt the golf course business if they let the secret out.

 

[Stu S.]

My buddy and I surfaced during a violent storm two years ago. We could see the flashes and hear something 50 feet down on Horseshoe Reef, Palm Beach County, FL.

We researched the subject and could find no record of a diver getting struck while on the surface or in the sea. Everything we could read led us to conclude that getting hit by lightning was far more likely for those remaining on the boat.

Seems like we lost a good one.

 

[nereas]

Yes, I think one of the articles on this in the major press said it was the first of its kind.

I used to think that a boat mast was the most dangerous thing on the water in a storm. I thought a diver in the water was safe. But apparently not.

I feel bad for the victim, and for us, now, who must cope with this new awareness of risk. I love diving in Florida, where there are storms somewhere almost every day, especially during summer.

I am still processing this tragic event, and I am not sure what to think of it all.

 

[nereas]

A golfer caught in a thunder storm "should " not seek shelter under a tree and lie flat on the ground to avoid being hit by lightning. I'm not to sure how many of them know or even do this.

Why we fail to obey the rules of safety about anything is anyone's guess.

Condolences to the family.

J

Most people who are struck by lightning are either hikers or golfers.

This has never happened before to a diver in the water, as far as I can tell.

 

[MsParamedic]

What a tragedy. A friend of mine is close to the diver and his family. He has a wife and children, and unfortunately no life insurance.

My heart felt sympathies to the family

Pat