Polish diver dies in world record attempt to 333m

[Kay Dee]

I concur his configuration was 3+1 at the back plus 6+1 stages at the front plus unknown (at least 4) tanks deposited on the descent line.

Thanks again for the update and photos Hiszpan. Actually, thanks for all your input!

I think however you mean 2 +1 (or 3 total), not 3 + 1 on his back, as 2+1 is what you originally say in point #4. And with 7 stages, that would make 10 (otherwise if it's 3+1 then it's 11 total)

So if it is 2+1 then you might want to edit / correct that final sentence of yours, and also where you say it in point #5, just for clarification purposes.

 

[Hiszpan]

I think however you mean 2 +1 (or 3 total), not 3 + 1 on his back, as 2+1 is what you originally say in point #4. And with 7 stages, that would make 10 (otherwise if it's 3+1 then it's 11 total)

So if it is 2+1 then you might want to edit / correct that final sentence of yours, and also where you say it in point #5, just for clarification purposes.

Corrected, thanks for pointing this out, I was writing quite late and then realized I must have made a booboo with those numbers. Then I saw your post...

 

[Hiszpan]

Polak zginął podczas próby ustanowienia rekordu świata - Nurkowanie Jolly Diver

Handful of new information gathered in this article from various sources:

1) The checking divers depths and times of meetings with Sebastian were: 100m at 100 minute of the dive (this was done by Ivano Predari), then 60m after 180 minutes of a dive , then 30m.

2) 179m where Sebastian's body was found, was the first deep deco stop planned. There was supposed to be a cylinder there deposited for him to use.
Interesting fact is that there were 2 lines during the dive: descent line and deposit line next to it, where all the deposited tanks were attached to. After the event they have found a 20L tank on the bottom at 333m, but they are not sure if this was part of the plan or was that a bottle that was discarded during entanglement at 179m.

From what you guys wrote before about Nuno, his first stop was at 180m as well. I wonder if Sebastian's team plan was mimicking Nuno's for gases and stops....

3) Weather: day before the attempt (5th of July) italian meteo got warning about incoming weather worsening, with strong winds (vide my post above about the weather info from the night before, northerly winds with gusts to 17 km/h).
The visibility was good but there were strong currents on the surface up to few meteres deep and deep down between 150m and 200m. Currents were so strong that the ROV they planned to use to accompany Sebastian couldn't reach the descent line from the platform,on the surface, and hasn't been used at all. Also, Sebastian himself couldn't get to descent line himself and had to be towed to it.

Now, imagine those currents, himself with all the tanks and two parallel lines, one with stages deposited along the way...

4) Frederic Swierczynski couldn't take part in diving on that day (as not decided not to but had informed that that day he can't help, had other things planned). Makes sense as the attempt was not planned for a specific date, people have other commitments as well.

 

[Jack Hammer]

Goal oriented diving gets dangerous real quickly.

 

[Storker]

Goal oriented diving gets dangerous real quickly.

Not necessarily. I always have a goal with my diving.

Usually my goal is having a good time, staying out of trouble and surfacing in good shape no later than my plan was for.

 

[PfcAJ]

Goal oriented diving gets dangerous real quickly.

* if you don't have the discipline to stop the dive when things arent right.

Having a goal is fine. But it requires good judgement to do dives that have goals. If you don't have the knowledge, skills, discipline, and self-assuredness to know when to stop, goal oriented diving can certainly eat your lunch.

 

[rjack321]

* if you don't have the discipline to stop the dive when things arent right.

Having a goal is fine. But it requires good judgement to do dives that have goals. If you don't have the knowledge, skills, discipline, and self-assuredness and humility to know when to stop, goal oriented diving can certainly eat your lunch.

Tweaked that for you

 

[Dan]

Both Nuno Gomes & Ahmed Gabr were successful in reaching their goals partly due to having good sense of their limitations and knew when to stop.

Had Sebastian postponed the world record attempt until the weather to be in his favor and / or Frederic available to support him at 200m depth, he would still be alive. What’s the rush to get it done on that day for anyway when things were not ready?

 

[rjack321]

What’s the rush to get it done on that day for anyway when things were not ready?

Overconfidence, "not needing" the deep support diver in the past, pressure from sponsors to deliver, adrenaline, there can be a ton of psychological pressures to "go" when in retrospect you should've said stop.

 

[RainPilot]

It's a very tough call to abort once a certain level of "sunk cost" is reached. It is one of the reasons I teach my students to do their site assessment BEFORE they have unpacked the gear from the car etc. It is easy to talk yourself into a dive if you have already geared up and are standing on the beach.

In this case, a barge full of tanks and all the rest going on, it is easy to go "Nah, it'll be fine". It does take a lot of discipline to abort at that stage.