Diver missing today? 03/28/12

[pjhansman]

Not sure what time you did the Santa Rosa Wall, but that was our first dive yesterday (around 9:30 -10:00) and we all experienced a very bad down currant, It took 2 divers to 165ft and my husband and son were taken to 150ft. There were so many divers coming up and floating in the ocean looking for their boats, It was a very scary situation, one I never want to experience again!

I was in from 8:20 until 9:15am. Gives a good indication how fast the currents can change.

 

[gypsyjim]

My comments in reply to the postings where the suggestion that the DM is immediately at fault. Without knowing more it's not helpful to say it's the DMs fault. Can we agree on that?

Your point is well taken. How many people were on the dive? How many DMs were there? Why was he hired? I'm not at all saying that if the DM was hired as a guide he should ignore any emergent situation that arises and continue on being a guide. Let's not get too deep into the hypothetical of emergent situations in this particular situation.

I'll say it again, we cannot simply lay blame on the DM as was mentioned previously.





---------- Post added at 11:13 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:11 PM ----------

Jim, speculation is helpful. It helps all of sort out what is possible and what is probable for going wrong wrong on a dive.

If we follow your advice, there is nothing more to be said and you may as well close the thread.

Rather than close the thread, why not keep the speculation to a minimum until we have more facts to go with? We can show both concern for the diver, and support for the family involved without spreading unfounded rumors, based on 4th, 5th hand reports, by those who have no actual knowledge of the event to offer, and then running with those wild speculations, as if they WERE relevant facts.

 

[pidgiepoo]

Next trip, I am supplying several tank analyzers as before, but I think it's time my home bud supply something extra - like renting a PLB & Dive Canister. PLB Rental | ACR ResQlink and Aqualink

I'm getting one..should I get this one or the Nautilus ? I'm not familiar with either..but this brand seems to do the same thing and is cheaper. HELP !

 

[gypsyjim]

I have to admit that my earlier comments were purely speculative, and based on those same 4th hand "reports". Bad me.

 

[Randy43068]

Point taken, and agreed.

I could do with a lot less of the arguing and pissing contests and more about what is being done to find this lady. Save the stupid ass arguing for the A&I thread. Lets show some support for the divers family and leave the rest of the crap for later.

 

[Dan G]

Here is a link to the A & I thread that has been started on the same incident.

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/accidents-incidents/415495-diver-lost-cozumel-today.html

 

[DandyDon]

I'm getting one..should I get this one or the Nautilus ? I'm not familiar with either..but this brand seems to do the same thing and is cheaper. HELP !

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.

 

[Ron Lee]

To me this is all starting to sound a lot like the speculation and conjecture that surrounded the early thraeds after the the Scuba Mau incident.... A lot of theories, finger pointing, and lots and lots of wild speculation! And we all saw how totally wrong most of that was! I would think the prudent thing to do would be to wait till the facts are sorted out and brought to light. It may take a while, but it will eventually happen.

The initial Scuba Mau posts were partly erroneous due to an attempt (my opinion) of one of the participants to hide the facts. This led to the "fear" of down currents. What eventually came out as factual was that the initial reports did not indicate how screwed up that dive plan was.

I make periodic counts of other divers in my group. It is not every 30 seconds so someone could disappear between counts. But it is one more layer to keep track of people.

My take away from this event is that if I observe a diver going up alone, I am following. First priority is to maintain visual contact/close physical proximity at all times.

Second/third/fourth as appropriate priority is to notify the DM. (Notifying the DM is secondary to any other efforts needed to attend to the surfacing diver). Based upon that, I need to always take my tank banger. Trying to catch up to the DM to notify him risks violating priority one (keep the ascending diver in sight and close).

This concept also applies to newish buddy teams. If the divers involved had ten or less dives, they were newbies and needed assistance. At the least they could benefit by having someone with far more dives (especially in Cozumel) monitor the situation until they were on a boat.

Once they are on a boat and safe, I may or may not continue the dive.

 

[boulderjohn]

With the ammount of dive shops in areas like cozumel, its easy to require more from your guests... if you want to go bust.
People in general are lazy and cheap and go for the easiest, cheapest option rather than the best, more expensive one..

Also, if you supply the equipment, the guests still need to know how to use it. Its not like having your guests tangled in line is a good thing either.

Let's see, at the discount an operator gets, it might cost $100 to outfit a 6-pack boat with enough spare SMBs to outfit every diver who might not come equipped with one. Kept on board and rarely needed, they would last for years. Maybe it's because I am not a retailer, but I just find it hard to believe that an investment like that would force an operator into bankruptcy. If they were to charge a $1 rental fee, I think they would pay for the whole lot in no time without driving customers away with such an exorbitant increase in costs. If they require them and offer them for sale as an option, the profits from just a couple such sales would take care of the overhead for the rentals.

The operator I use in Cozumel requires a computer, and they have expensive parkas on board to keep guests warm. The last time I checked, they were still in business.

As for knowing how to deploy one, if you are on the surface, it is pretty darn simple. It only becomes problematic if you feel a need to deploy it at depth with a spool or reel.

 

[rkfatheree]

Calculating business lost when a customer gets lost, it seems like a sound investment. I understand newbies thinking "It couldn't happen to me", but I don't understand boat captains and DMs with that attitude.