Father and son run over by dive charter

[trtldvr]

This is turning into a trgic summer in the Keys.

Father, son hit by boat | KeysNews.com


Safe dives
Trtldvr

 

[koozemani]

Sad, Hope they pull through. Hopefully the details that led to the accident come out.

 

[Ozwald]

11 years old drift diving? While I'm not familiar with that reef at all it just sounds a little young regardless of the fact that Dad was with him.

Nevertheless I wish them both all the best and a speedy recovery.

 

[deepstops]

Father, son hit by boat

BY ROBERT SILK Free Press Staff
rsilk@keysnews.com
An 11-year-old boy was in emergency surgery and his father hospitalized after being run over by their charter vessel's propellers while diving Tuesday morning, according to a state wildlife agency spokesman.

Calvin Adkins, 39, of Harrington, Del., and his 11-year-old son were airlifted to Miami in serious condition.

The child was in emergency surgery at Miami Children's Hospital as of 6 p.m., Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission spokesman Bobby Dube said. The father was at Baptist Hospital.

The son's injuries were more severe than his father's, he added.

"They were both alive when they left here, but we heard that the son is not doing too well," Dube said Tuesday afternoon.

The two apparently were run over by the 46-foot Big Dipper, of the Florida Keys Dive Center in Tavernier, about 9 a.m. just after getting in the water near Conch Reef, nine miles south of Key Largo.

Investigators don't know why the boat hit Adkins and his son, Dube said. It was unclear whether they jumped in before the boat's captain and crew had given them clearance.

Florida Keys Dive Center owner Tom Timmerman did not respond to The Citizen's phone call seeking comment Tuesday afternoon.

The Adkins family was among charter customers beginning a "drift" dive, in which divers move with the current rather than staying in one area.

The Coast Guard, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and the Monroe County Sheriff's Office are investigating the incident, according to a press release from the Coast Guard.

 

[TCDiver1]

Scary stuff.

I always worry about being in the wrong place at the wrong time, near a hung over captain or one who just plain doesn't pay enough attention. It's a huge responsiblity captaining a charter full of divers in busy waters. A responsibilty that i know some captains don't take serious enough. Too many boaters in general don't respect the damage their boat can do to a person in the water.

Sad, sad incident!

 

[deeper thoughts]

Prayers to the family

 

[danvolker]

11 years old drift diving? While I'm not familiar with that reef at all it just sounds a little young regardless of the fact that Dad was with him.

Nevertheless I wish them both all the best and a speedy recovery.

Very incorrect concept, propagated by those that do anchor dives...

In an anchor dive, if there is even the slightest current, you have to begin your dive upcurrent, fighting it, then know the right time to turn the dive, and then "navigate" back to the boat--hoping that you are going to get tot he boat without too much work. If you don't, typically the boat will not be helping yuou..

Drift diving, Palm Beach style ( where it is done properly) , when a new diver jumps in, there is a dive guide or dive master with them, and that person tows a float/flag, which the boat follows.....After descending, the new diver does not even need to swim on a Palm beach reef, they can just drift, like being on a slow escalator. Or they can swim, if they want to move faster, or explore areas to their left or right. when they hit 1000 psi, they are asked to begin to swim slowly upwards, along with their buddy and the dive guide with the float.
After the 3 minute safety stop, just drifting along with zero exertion, and watching the surface oriented marine life, the new divers surfaces, and presto---the boat is there , and pulls up right to them. They are helped onto the boat....If they ever then go do an anchor dive with someone else, you'd have to wonder why they would ?

I consider anchor diving, the lazyness of the boat, at least for florida based diving.

 

[newfldiver]

Our thought and prayers are with the Adkins family.

 

[Reef_Haven]

West Palm Beach style drifting may be the easiest for a new diver, but it is not the safest. I've seen my charter boat pass over me on several occasions (on it's way to pickup other divers) when I'm on my safety stop. As you say, the newer divers surface near the ball being towed by the DM; and Presto... there's the boat to pick them up.
But, what if I'm a new diver that hasn't yet learned to listen for an approaching boat, hasn't learned to deploy a safety sausage from a safety stop, and just don't have that much situational awareness yet. I can easily see someone being run over by their own boat in that situation.

 

[Splitlip]

It can be challenging if you "do it wrong" by fighting Mother Nature. There a few things I learned drift diving, navigation not being one of them. Things like the current is weaker at the bottom and ledges make for good protection. Both important if you find yourself down stream from your buddy or the float. Learning to shoot a DSMB when leaving the bottom is good rather than fighting the current to stay near the float line. It lets the surface know where you are during the 6 or 7 acsent to the surface.

That's about it. Don't over work yourself fighting the current. The terrain and a DSMB are your friends. Enjoy the ride. (couch potato dive)

Very distressing story. I hope they recover.