Humboldt diver rescued unconscious - California

[DandyDon]

Unconscious wreck diver rescued

A wreck diver ran out of air and was pulled unconscious out of the ocean off Mission Beach Saturday, officials said.

The 35-year-old man regained consciousness by the time lifeguards brought him to shore. Medics took him to a trauma center, spokesman Lee Swanson said.

The diver had been out in Wreck Alley, about two miles off Mission Beach and Pacific Beach, with a Waterhorse Charters commercial dive boat, the Humboldt, officials said.

The company’s website shows that a dive on the Yukon, a Canadian Mackenzie-Class destroyer, was scheduled from 3-7 p.m. Swanson said the diver may have been at the nearby Ruby E, a sunken Coast Guard cutter.

Lifeguards received a distress call from the Humboldt and went to assist around 6 p.m. They were told the diver ran out of air at the bottom of the dive and his partner helped him buddy-breathe to the surface.

No update on the man’s condition was available.

 

[EricTheDood]

I was on the morning dives that same day, on the same boat at the same sites.

Conditions down there change constantly. The two wrecks reach depths of roughly 105 ft and 90 ft respectively. Water temperature was low 60s F at the surface with a thermocline around 30-40ft, dropping down to 54F. Visibility was 20ft+.

With a high SAC rate due to cold temperatures and current, a diver can empty a bottle pretty quickly at these depths. Glad to hear the diver's okay.