Lost Diver in Cozumel, Mexico, February 2016

[CuzzA]

Yes, but post 90 suggests it was just her skull. Perhaps it's a bad translation, but it doesn't sound like her body was found.

If they found her body, why wouldn't they say body. The term skull has been repeated throughout reports.

 

[gopbroek]

Punta Tunich is maybe a mile north of Santa Rosa and the prevailing current is to the North. That evening was the Fat Tuesday parade and around sunset the wind picked up pretty good. It was a N to NW wind, which I would expect the westerly component to push anything floating on the surface towards shore.

 

[CuzzA]

Ok. I didn't realize it was that close. I've never been to Cozumel. Only looked at a map. A mile is nothing.

 

[Richard Phillips]

gopbroek, thanks for reporting you experienced good conditions. At what time was that? These divers would have been in water around 2pm. I was told currents were likely a few knots out to sea at that time (northwest?), and also that currents can be quite localized around a wall, and change quickly. Do you think that is possible? How quickly can visibility change?

 

[gopbroek]

gopbroek, thanks for reporting you experienced good conditions. At what time was that? These divers would have been in water around 2pm. I was told currents were likely a few knots out to sea at that time (northwest?), and also that currents can be quite localized around a wall, and change quickly. Do you think that is possible? How quickly can visibility change?

I did my second dive at approx 3:40 beginning in Cedral and on through Santa Rosa. The conditions I saw were pretty consistent over several days. While not great visibility was good. I often dive Cedral as a second dive and pass over to Santa Rosa the current seemed typical. I would estimate the current as less than 2 knots total with a drift slightly off the wall to the NW

 

[mmmbelows]

On that afternoon I personally did not experience any 'Crappy viz, exceptional (out and down) currents' in the Cedral / Santa Rosa areas. The visibility I experienced was easily 100'+ and the currents seemed normal. I think we are mixing the condition reports of this tragic accident up with the side issue of buddy separation and the tragic accident with Lynne Flaherty.

Thank you for that you summed it up quite nicely.

Adding to this tragedy seems to be a lack of recoverable remains to allow for forensics which means that we will most likely never know the true cause of this accident.

What I've found most alarming and learned the most from all this was the possibility of how fast a body can be consumed and lost forever and so quickly. I always assumed in the past that anyone lost if their body wasn't found it either slowly made it's way out to see or ended up somewhere so deep it would slowly deteriorate over years.

This information is really disturbing at how quickly a body can be consumed and gone in such a short time, really changes the window of time I thought there was for finding a body and some answers, instead it appears there is a much smaller window of opportunity than I ever guessed.

 

[Lorenzoid]

What I've found most alarming and learned the most from all this was the possibility of how fast a body can be consumed and lost forever and so quickly. I always assumed in the past that anyone lost if their body wasn't found it either slowly made it's way out to see or ended up somewhere so deep it would slowly deteriorate over years.

This information is really disturbing at how quickly a body can be consumed and gone in such a short time, really changes the window of time I thought there was for finding a body and some answers, instead it appears there is a much smaller window of opportunity than I ever guessed.

Decomposition time probably depends on the water temperature and what kind of marine life is around. I haven't read every update in this thread, but did they really find only the diver's "skull"? Yikes.

 

[KenGordon]

Would it controversial to suggest that the DMs are more harmful than no DMs would be? They allow divers to abdicate responsibility for themselves, enable divers and buddy pairs who are insufficiently experienced to dive and cause this 'group' style of diving without either a proper 'team' or clear and effective buddies.

I know it is possible to have a guide and remain in proper buddy pairs, but reading many accounts on here and my experience as a single diver joining guided groups in the past I suspect that is not how it is usually.

 

[Bob DBF]

I am not criticizing Connie's daughter in anyway. She made a mistake. We all make mistakes every time. My son and I did the very same thing. However, if she had stayed with her mother and she had a heart attach, stroke or panic attack, she may have been able to assist her back to the surface. Whatever happened, they would have been together on the surface and they would have been found. Connie may have died from a medical issue anyway, but she would not have been lost. The only thing to be gained is for us to learn from this and make us more aware of our PLAN for events that can and do happen every time we dive.

Actually you are criticizing, but not showing the other side of the coin. If she could have stayed with her mother, as a novice diver it would be more likely, at the end of the day, you would be searching for two divers rather than one. Even if you have good skills and can keep your head, a rescue is a dangerous evolution to be involved with. A novice diver should avoid being involved in a rescue IMHO.


Bob

 

[MMM]

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A ScubaBoard Staff Message...

Please limit this discussion to the original accident reported. Discussing a second incident is off-topic and subject to removal or a thread split. Marg, SB Senior Moderator

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A ScubaBoard Staff Message...

It is unrealistic to expect a diver making his 5th dive (first ocean dive) to roll back and go head down to get to the bottom quickly. Give the guy time to come back to the surface after the back roll, gather his wits, make sure that he is ready to go down then descend as a buddy team.

Expect that he may need additional time. Maybe it is a buoyancy issue. Not enough weight. Still learning to clear his ears. Whatever.

I applaud Evelyn for going back to the surface once she became separated from the group. Let's use her dive as a learning experience and we will use Monday morning quarterbacking or hindsight...whichever you prefer...to see what actions might have worked better.

First we have to know that her son was on his fifth dive and first ocean dive. Evelyn had some concerns. I am not sure exactly what. She has a lot of dives but maybe it has been several years since she last dove. First time in Cozumel? Unknown.

Both of these suggest that having a dedicated divemaster (DM)/instructor for the mother/son buddies would have been a good option. Letting the divemaster/instructor know the novice level of the son and any concerns of the mom allows the DM to address things to be covered while on the boat heading to the dive site.

The DM can cover things that they will do during the first dive to get everyone up to dealing with Cozumel currents. They can talk about the descent and how they will go slow as required to make sure that both are weighted properly, ears are clearing OK and address anything else that may come up.

If the private DM is not used, then both should probably be entering the water on the same side of the boat (backroll assumed) so that they can find each other and descend together. Both need to be alert that the other is doing fine and not force the other to descend faster than is acceptable for that person.

Another point to think about. In this case Evelyn came up on her own. What if the dive boat had moved north and was not looking for her? Does she have any signalling devices...mirror, whistle, surface marker buoy (SMB)? How long would she wait for her dive boat or another to come along? At what point do you consider a surface swim to shore or do you just wait? That may be influenced by having a SMB or not.

Hopefully the remaining dives went well and her son is at the start of a lifetime of great diving.

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