Diver missing today? 03/28/12

[VooDooGasMan]

Cozumel has been loosing divers for years and always will, Either put a tether on the divers or after two hours of ascent in water have a device that auto fills BC so diver is on surface, after 5 hours weights turn hot and burn attachment do diver comes to surface.

In other words lets come up of a solution instead of blame on diver or dive operator (captain's and DM's)

 

[markmantei]

As I believe another poster mentioned, SMB's were required equipment for diving on the great barrier reef in australia (if you didn't own one, it was provided). It is just as, if not more, important when drift diving. You don't need a $100+ SMB for each diver, there are several available for < $30 retail like this one: Akona Safety Sausage (SMB) AKT109 with reviews at scuba.com

Once again it comes down to should ops supply SMB's? Maybe. Should every diver own one, certainly. If you can afford to spend $$$ on masks, fins, and snorkels (useless IMO for drift dives off a boat, but that's another discussion altogether), not to mention bigger $ on regs, bc's, etc. an extra few dollars on some basic safety gear should not be an issue. In the end it all comes down to personal responsibilty. The problem is that what you don't know can kill you, and a newbie may not even be aware what safety gear they should have if it wasn't covered (or stressed) in their training.

---------- Post added at 10:18 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:13 AM ----------

Does anyone carry sea dye? A SMB can help a nearby boat to locate you, but after drifting for hours, something more easily spotted from the air would be a big help.

 

[pidgiepoo]

No, the Nautilus lets you talk to nearby boats and give them your GPS, I think. The PLB activates an international system that could take longer - or do more, depending on views. You can read up more on both, but my preferences for the PLB would be based on the choice of renting for a week, or buying to use on the backroad and trail hikes I do as well as the ocean. For diving, the dive canister would also be required I think.

Don't forget to rent the gold cannister,too. Apparently, the PLB is only waterproof to 20' without the cannister.

 

[cicopo]

"Does anyone carry sea dye?"

I've been thinking that might be another good thing to carry but I don't ever remember seeing it in stores. I don't imagine that it's that expensive when compared to how much better you'd be seen from the air or the upper area of a ship.

 

[scubafanatic]

Okay... this new information from kschoovoner is very confusing for me, a regular diver in Cozumel.
If the husband started up right after her, why didn't he see her on his way up?
If current was the issue, then was it pushing out or across or down?
Why is it he didn't notice she wasn't around only when he reached the surface?
Even in the worst vis I have ever seen in Cozumel, I could always see other divers going up, and boats at the surface.

I don't mean to sound callous, as I am sure none of the other posters here want to appear, we are just trying to understand since this is the 3rd story of what happened we have now heard in 24 hours.

robin

robin, during my 02/06 Coz trip (a few months after hurricane Wilma) my group ended up doing some dives under 'white out' conditions, I LITERALLY held my dive buddy's arm to avoid losing her amid the insane sandstorms we encountered, sand was smothering the reefs and blowing about like snow drifts, we aborted some dives because the vis was 2 - 3 ft !

 

[Ron Lee]

I just thought of a new scenario. The group I am in passes or is passed by another group. During that co-mingling encounter, one of the other group's divers ascends alone. This becomes more complicated since I have no idea whether they are just starting a dive or ending it.

My current thought is that if a diver is seen alone going up, part of my group or not, the assumption will be that they are a novice and I will assist them getting safely on a boat.

It is not my job to do that but with this being the third case of a diver going up alone in the recent past, and ending up missing/dead, it is the right thing to do if the situation ever arises.

It is clear that you cannot assume that a person going to the surface alone (or with another newbie buddy) is competent to survive what is usually a benign environment.

 

[Dirty-Dog]

I just thought of a new scenario. The group I am in passes or is passed by another group. During that co-mingling encounter, one of the other group's divers ascends alone. This becomes more complicated since I have no idea whether they are just starting a dive or ending it.

My current thought is that if a diver is seen alone going up, part of my group or not, the assumption will be that they are a novice and I will assist them getting safely on a boat.

It is not my job to do that but with this being the third case of a diver going up alone in the recent past, and ending up missing/dead, it is the right thing to do if the situation ever arises.

It is clear that you cannot assume that a person going to the surface alone (or with another newbie buddy) is competent to survive what is usually a benign environment.

This is not at all far fetched. When we were on Coz in December, our group was passed by another. Why they were in such a hurry I do not know...
In any case, one of our divers started to follow them. Had this gone unnoticed, it could have led to all kinds of confusion.

 

[kwinter]

Very typical of these threads. Blame first and then apologize later for your callous remarks.
She was at fault.
No, the husband was at fault.
Its the DM's fault.
It's the boat captain's fault.
The dive operator is terrible.
That cruise line really sucks.

Sheesh...... Don't people realize how hurtful these comments can be on an open internet forum? Once you post it, the damage is done and no amount of backtracking can undo the pain you caused. Why is human nature so interested in assigning blame?

There is no blame to be assigned until the FACTS are known. There are prayers and good wishes that can be offered. Hope that can be conveyed. And lessons that can be learned. I think it took at least 8 pages of posts before anyone mentioned the need to ALWAYS carry a SMB and audio alert device. A mirror (an old CD works well) is a nice addition. And then finally someone mentioned electronic devices like the Nautilus Lifeline or a PLB.

If you come here to learn, post something useful or don't post at all. If you come here to bash others to make yourself feel important, then just go away.

 

[Jax]

Very typical of these threads. Blame first and then apologize later for your callous remarks.
She was at fault.
No, the husband was at fault.
Its the DM's fault.
It's the boat captain's fault.
The dive operator is terrible.
That cruise line really sucks.

Sheesh...... Don't people realize how hurtful these comments can be on an open internet forum? Once you post it, the damage is done and no amount of backtracking can undo the pain you caused. Why is human nature so interested in assigning blame?

There is no blame to be assigned until the FACTS are known. There are prayers and good wishes that can be offered. Hope that can be conveyed. And lessons that can be learned. I think it took at least 8 pages of posts before anyone mentioned the need to ALWAYS carry a SMB and audio alert device. A mirror (an old CD works well) is a nice addition. And then finally someone mentioned electronic devices like the Nautilus Lifeline or a PLB.

If you come here to learn, post something useful or don't post at all. If you come here to bash others to make yourself feel important, then just go away.

WHOA!!! Can we back up a little here? CDs are NOT as good as a signal mirror.

For those of you who really want to know about signal devices, PLEASE visit this thread:

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/ge...ignalling-equipment-searchers-point-view.html ​

Please take note of this line in that link: effectiveness is more than doubled if the searchers know you have the equipment. I brief every DM on what I have. They seem to think I'm funny, but if I'm lost, they know to look for the 7'SMB, signal mirror, and listen for an air horn.

 

[cvchief]

I think it took at least 8 pages of posts before anyone mentioned the need to ALWAYS carry a SMB and audio alert device. A mirror (an old CD works well) is a nice addition. And then finally someone mentioned electronic devices like the Nautilus Lifeline or a PLB. .

Perhaps because the facts as presented done lend themselves to a signalling issue? Was it ever confirmed that this incident would have had anything to do with signalling devices? My understanding is we don't know what happened after she started for the surface. Hence, I thought the discussion on what a DM's responsibilities are and private DMs and all that was spot on. With more facts, perhaps the signalling information will become more relevant than the DM and diver responsibility discussions?