I have seen several quotes about currents and down welling, I can attest that I experienced both.
We received an extensive briefing that made much more sense AFTER the dive.
I was in Group 1 off the Sand Dollar green dive boat. We descended together, achieved neutral buoyancy at about 60', cruised the reef briefly and crossed it to descend the Santa Rosa wall. I found myself quickly descending and having to adjust my BCD to maintain 90' in depth. Our DM was constantly rattling his noise maker to direct group members to stick together and closer to the wall. At 97', I saw several divers 30 - 40' below me. I am not aware if they were from our excursion at all.
As our group began to get scattered, our DM ordered us to surface without a decompression stop. This concerned me, but it had been part of our briefing, so I followed suit. Our group was picked up with out incident. It was not until much later that we realized that someone from Group 3 was missing.
These are my PERSONAL observations:
There was no FORMAL assignment of dive buddies as I am accustomed to on US dive trips. (I identified with an apparent rookie who was seated next to me and stuck close to him throughout.
There was no FORMAL recognition of diving experience. This was left to individuals, and could have been emphasized to ensure diver safety.
Our dive lasted 16 minutes.
Other Group 3 divers reported that they could not locate the DM while descending and surfaced and returned to the boat without any significant dive time.
Another diver lost track of his wife momentarily because he was returning his camera to the boat and the DM took her down without him.
The pre-dive briefing was stern, so the DMs obviously knew that the conditions could become difficult. All groups had difficulty staying together once they entered the water and there appeared to be a rush to descend ASAP in order to avoid the effects of the strong current.
What I do not know is the physical condition of the diver lost, nor her experience level. I do not know if she had her own equipment or the miniature fins and rental gear that they issue at the dive shop. (I have GIANT fins and I am a strong swimmer and I am in good aerobic shape.)
I do not know anything of that actually transpired with divers in Group 3.
I did not get to speak directly to the spouse of the missing woman. I wish to extend my supreme sorrow and regret. It is an unimaginable loss.
RP
Just initial reports that came up in discussion on the local forum. Not much is known here now. Perhaps someone can add info? From a thread on crazy currents happening this week, and I will
bold the part about the missing diver...
The latest from that discussion is that she was not found before dark.