Diver Accident at Anacapa Island, CA

[garyw90]

There was an incident at Anacapa Island yesterday with a student of a group that had chartered half of the Peace dive boat. I would like to commend the captain and crew on their handling of the situation, who did a very professional job and ultimately brought a guy back that I had been told had drowned. Since I was not a witness to the accident itself, nor to the immediate actions of the crew, I will not comment on that aspect.

I was coming out of the water when the crew was working on the diver. Not only did they do a great job of managing the diver, but they also managed the divers that were coming out of the water, those that were still in the water, while at the same time preparing the deck for a helicopter evacuation. After the diver was taken off the boat, they then did a great job of restoring order. These guys are the kind that you want to have on charter boats.

We were told by the captain as we approached the dock that the diver was in stable condition at the hospital.

 

[drbill]

Talked to a friend who was on that boat and he had nothing but praise for the way the crew of the Peace handled the situation. Of course that came as no surprise since the Peace is one of my favorite SoCal dive boats when I can scrape together some coin to dive one!

 

[TSandM]

I've been lucky enough never to see the crew of the Peace respond to an emergency. But from what I have seen of their professionalism and intelligence when handling ordinary diving, it does not surprise me to hear that they performed superbly under stress. They are simply very good at their jobs.