Galapagos Scuba Diving Fatality - February 12, 2010 - Eloise Gale

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I have been carried away in currents and it is scary. I agree it sounds like a panic situation. She got caught in strong currents, low vis, cold, wearing unfamilar gear, and panic may have happened. I feel there is a definite difference in someone having 200+ dives say in cozumel or cayman or someplace very vanilla, as compared to someone who has the same dives in "real open ocean currents". I don't think Aggressor or any of the liveaboards could find enough clients if they truly advertised what the diving would be like. Sounds like the Aggressor staff rushed everyone and did not open the dive week in a very gentle area so everyone could get comfortable etc. Having lots of money is no substitute for good judgement. Only you can take care of you when diving. May she rest in peace and we all learn from her tragic misfortune that diving is inherently very dangerous and we should never be afraid or feel pressure to say "no thanks, i"ll sit this dive out, I don't feel right about this". Good Diving!!
 
FWIW, I had an e-mail exchange Feb 23 with the blog's author John Bisnar. The following is one paragraph from his response to my question:

"Some great points have been raised in the comments to this article both
on my site and on others. It has apparently been copied on to a number
of websites, which was our intention."
 
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Assumptions about the meaning of fitness misinterpreted my post.

Who said anything about brawn or overweight? Fitness refers to aerobic stamina. You've got a lot better chance of making it through any current or getting down to get behind the reef if you aren't blowing your heart up or totally overexerting to do it. And yes, experienced divers are good but your choices in dealing are finite and tend toward the obvious:
- get out of the current if possible,
- use the reef or whatever structure to shield you from the current, moving to any area which allows you to go through the least amount of current as possible. INstead of swimming up and over the rock, swim along it until you just have to swim across the little gap to the next rock.
- What appears to be no current turns into a current flow when it comes to an obstacle.
- RIght next to the object can have a serious current flow, while 5 feet off it, there is might be little.
- WATCH THE FISH. Their heads are pointed into the current because they don't swim backwards. If they are swimming like mad, there is current out there.
 
Wow this is sooo sad to hear of her death. My heart goes out to her family and loved ones. This seems like a unfortunate death.

Having been on the Galapagos Aggressor twice in 2003 and 2006, I have first hand knowledge of the operation and conditions there. Of course crews change often so my DM's and crews have moved on I'm sure to other jobs. From my personal experience, all of our dive briefings were thorough and complete. They always told always to follow the yellow tank, ie DM. Of course once you are all in the water, people tend to do their own thing. And the DM cannot babysit each and every diver unless they had been instructed to do so prior to the dive. I remember our DM (Cris Merz) telling us a story of a 80 year old woman who did the charter. She was too weak to hang on to the rocks in the strong current. So she had her own personal DM who literally drift dived with her making pass after pass at Wolf and Darwin. The panga would pick them up and take them back up current and drop them in again. Bless her heart! Can any of us imagine our mother at 80 doing such a trip?

I am a Delaware and New Jersey cold water NAUI trained diver, age 42. I have been diving for 20+ years, 19 of which have been in a Viking dry suit. I have completed NAUI Advanced diver and rescue diver, thats all. But what do have is loads of experience in all kinds of underwater conditions. Since 90% of my dives have been local off the coasts of Jersey and Delaware, I have experienced all kinds of conditions from brail diving, 10 ft seas, strong currents and very cold temps to name a few. We always brag, that if you dive regularly in New Jersey, you can dive anywhere in the world.

But even with this experience, me and my travel mates were truly concerned and even scared about the currents in Galapagos prior to our first trip in 2003. Not to mention all of the large pelagic activity there. From all of our readings, they were legendary. Then toss in the strength it takes to get into the panga in rolling seas and one has many reasons to be concerned about this trip. For the record, everything we had read and heard was true....we had currents at Wolf and Darwin that had us outstretched like flags and a 20 mph wind. Trying to descend in this type of current through schooling hammerheads to reach the rocks to hold on is not for the squeemish. When we would hold onto the lava rock, many times the rocks would break loose and we would be struggling to find a new hand hold while being pushed down current. I also experienced strong upwelling and downwellings while floating in the blue. Nothing gets my heart racing more then when I was at 25 feet with about 800 lbs in my tank and then I suddenly found myself at 60 feet from a down-welling. I have also nearly had my mask ripped off my face from currents there. You had to make sure you kept your mask facing directly into the current ALL the time.

My impressions are that Eloise may have had 150 dives and been DM certified, but as others have said, PADI certs people in pools and quarrys. This hardly prepares people for real ocean conditions, strong currents, wind, cold, on a swaying boat. Maybe many of her 150 dives were in calm, warm tropical waters. Even if she had a few dives in strong currents that is not enough overall experience at such a yound age. Physical fitness plays a strong part in it too. One should be strong and fit, non-smoker. I don't know what her physical abilities were.

Someone should have advised her on her actual level of experience verses Galapagos conditions. They should have been truthful with her instead of taking her money and booking her spot. Sounds like she was traveling alone too...and at 23. Kudos to her for being so brave and willing to take risks and explore, but man, I wasn't ready nor did I have the experience at 23 for this trip.

I can remember my certifying dive shop graduating divers who couldn't swim to the bottom of a ten foot pool to retrieve a weight or swim the length of the pool underwater in one breath. These were NAUI requirements to be certified. But the shop owner knew if he failed them, they wouldn't be in to buy their $3000.00 worth of dive gear to go traveling, so they were passed and sent out into the world to go diving.

I don't blame the DM or Aggressor for this death. It could have just been bad luck, being amped up and nervous, turning her head and mask sideways to the current at the wrong time causing her to lose her mask, or fin...no one really knows. I've been there in my early years of diving with those nerves, my heart pounding, all the while breathing heavy trying to keep up, watching my air get lower and lower, and worrying about whats "the group" is going to think.

I have always tried to partner myself with strong, confident, in-shape, knowledgable divers. It is one of the first things I start assessing when I am walking onto a dive boat by myself...who am I going to dive with? That decision can sometimes save your life and certainly makes for a more comfortable dive when you know you have a partner looking out for you and ready to help underwater.

Eloise, I wish I could have been there for you.
 
My impressions are that Eloise may have had 150 dives and been DM certified, but as others have said, PADI certs people in pools and quarrys.
First you say this, which is not at all accurate.
I can remember my certifying dive shop graduating divers who couldn't swim to the bottom of a ten foot pool to retrieve a weight or swim the length of the pool underwater in one breath. These were NAUI requirements to be certified. But the shop owner knew if he failed them, they wouldn't be in to buy their $3000.00 worth of dive gear to go traveling, so they were passed and sent out into the world to go diving.
Then you say this, which would need to be addressed, if it weren't so long ago.

The Galapagos isn't for wimp divers and when diving there, people need to be self reliant. The more varied experiences you have, the better your trip will be. With that being said, lots of people go there with very little experience and have a great time.
 
My quote was partly accurate....PADI does not certifiy students in a pool (my bad), but they DO certify in a quarry....which is completly wrong in my opinion. Divers leave the quarry thinking they can dive anywhere and end up putting themselves in dangerous situations that they are not ready for. When I was certified in 1990, NAUI only certified Open Water in Open water...ie..the ocean from a boat.

Salud!
 
I think sweatfrog's point was that whilst the Galapagos might be challenging diving, on occasion, it's not some big bogey man and your portrait of it seemed to make it so.

Site description (making this up but see if I'm wrong):
There can be strong currents there.
It's remote.
There are large fish.
Visibility is generally good to excellent.

So what? It's a reasonably challenging location, no more, no less. I wouldn't start building it up into something it isn't.

J
 
When I was certified in 1990, NAUI only certified Open Water in Open water...ie..the ocean from a boat.

Salud!

And you had to swim up hill both ways to get to the dive site, right?

:shocked2:

Are you saying that in 1990 and prior NAUI didn't certify anyone who did a shore entry or a giant stride off a dock for their checkout dives? That NAUI somehow ensured there'd be a ripping current on all/most of your OW checkout dives? I don't have any old NAUI manuals handy, but I'm gonna guess that the claim that a "boat" and an "ocean" was required for certification is absolute nonsense. .

There's precious little difference between getting certified in a quarry in PA with 10' of viz and 50F water compared to going to some resort destination which while arguable has more "open" in its "open water" also is 85F, with +100ft of viz, and little to no meaningful current.

Neither prepares you to dive the Galapagos Islands the next day - and neither is intended to.
 
NAUI's definition of "open water" was (and is) met by many (if not most) quarries.
 

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