Diving accident at Tobermory this past weekend???

[Busdiver]

As for the cutting the line and leaving there are a few issues with that. Yes, they could cut and put a ball to go and retreive the diver. But they could not then leave after they retreived the diver. They would have to still return to that anchor line and wait. The captain CANNOT abondon divers in the water. What if one of those other divers had an emergency. One already has so it is likely that another could as well. That captain would be criminally liable if he left divers in the water and expected somebody else to come, if a diver was injured and had to wait for another boat or if the other boat was incapable of dealing with another emergency in a proper manner (ie. extra O2). The only way he could leave is if there was already a boat on station there that had complete details of the divers in the water and had the same or greater capability to handle an emergency. Some charter operators are hired over others because of there ability to handle situations that are unique to tech diving.[/QUOTE]



Point taken.

Tobermory is one of the most amazing places to dive. I do not consider it a "vacation" diver hangout like the Keys or Hawaii. You go there to dive and you know you are going to dive cold. Your typical vacation diver will get to 20 feet, get cold, and call it a day. It does not get easier on the boat if the weather has changed and the winds pick up. I have been on charters where 10 people huddled inside for warmth. There is some beautiful hiking/camping/biking, and a few bars. There are not a lot of pretty fish to look at, there are no reefs, just some real cool wrecks. Most divers who go there are pretty skilled folks and take our sport seriously. I have sat in one of the bars up there talking to five different groups of people who are there to dive. The bar became one giant dive meeting.

Craig, who I have never met, will be talked about for a long time and celebrated by many of us who have never met him. We talked about him while we dove at Portage Quarry yesterday. I am sure a pint is tipped in his honor at one of the few bars in the town. Since so few divers are lost is a testament to the skill of the divers and the two charters that operate out of the town.

I look forward to my dive clubs charter scheduled for Sept. 19th. The town will be empty and the water will be tolerable.

Bus

 

[Ayisha]

I suspect that the people who are criticizing the procedures may never have been diving in Tobermory and don't understand the reasons for the procedures in Toby or any of the particularly violent Great Lakes. As a Toby diver, I can't imagine the proposed "solutions" working.

In addition, the proposed solutions would have done absolutely nothing for the victim but would have put other divers at risk.

My condolences to all of Craig's family and friends.

 

[lowridersvt]

Since i knew Craig very well and had about 50 dives with him as a buddy he was a good friend And a very solid diver he had a sense of cool that would make everybody relaxed around him. It is a great loss to dive community .


Since i was not there for the accident i can only go from second hand info on why the captain did what he did the dive was done on a site called duffrins wall bottoms out about 330 feet . Craig popped up about 1000ft- 1/4 mile off the boat from a depth of about 260ft. The captain had 20 divers in the water including 15 advanced students 3 trimix divers doing a deep dive with 60 min. of deco starting about the time the body serfaced and since they were less that 15 min from the cost guard station for there zodiac the captain called it in it would of taking longer to get unhooked and get there than calling them in

so as sad as i am that craig is gone i agree with what the captain did and would of done the same thing

 

[Stoo]

On the morning in question, the wind was very strong, blowing from the south. This would make for very calm conditions up against the shore, but very rough within a few yards offshore. The water close to shore is very shallow with a number of large rocks just below the surface. (Not to mention divers in 10 - 20 feet of water).

The dive vessel (Deep Obsession) is a good boat and the skipper is very experienced. IMHO, it would have been very difficult to keep on station that day without either being a hundred yards away from where divers are surfacing. As was pointed out above, the Coasties were on site in their Hurricane within about 15 to 17 minutes I would say (I heard the radio traffic.) which was probably not much longer than it would have taken to move the Deep O. At this point, I think we all understand that it wouldn't have made any difference anyway.

With due respect, unless you are familiar with the waters around Tobermory and the Great Lakes generally, it isn't reasonable to dictate how someone else should operate their dive boat. Conditions here are very different than most places. There's a reason why there's 5,000 wrecks in the Lakes.

I should add as an aside, that most of the dive sites in the Tobermory area fall into Fathom Five National Marine Park. Most of the wrecks are bouyed and boats are require by law to use these moorings. They can't anchor into the wrecks or even in the immediate area. The regulations state that vessels should only be in these "resticted areas" if they are engaged in diving activities. If you combine these regulations, a boat pretty much is required to use the mooring by law. The Dufferin site is not within the Park, nor is it moored. But boats here customarily moor or anchor at the dive sites. (This is the case in the entire Province for the most part.. as well as out neighboring States). Our wrecks are considered "heritage" sites and damaging them or removing artifacts is a serious offence.)

 

[Friggincold]

What kind of rebreather was he diving?

 

[Stoo]

What kind of rebreather was he diving?

If you are asking me FC, I don't know. I heard what it was, but it was about third-hand info so I wouldn't want to post here... There are many "rumours" around regarding Craig's depth and possible equipment issues, but I don't know how that could be known as everyone agrees he was diving alone.

There also seems to be disagreement about how far he was away from the boat.

The wall there bottoms out at about 170' - 180' and that is still fairly close to shore, but the bottom continues to slope away after that for some distance down to the lower part of the wreck. There are fixed lines in place.

 

[mikey b]

What kind of rebreather was he diving?

Prism

 

[Stoo]

Prism

Mikey, do you know that for a fact? That's different than what I heard..

 

[mikey b]

He has been diving his Prism for years and to my knowledge that is the only rebreather he has ever had. It may not look like a Prism to others though because he has made mods to it over time.

 

[Stoo]

He has been diving his Prism for years and to my knowledge that is the only rebreather he has ever had. It may not look like a Prism to others though because he has made mods to it over time.

Thanks Mike. My information had been filtered through a few people.