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Accidents and IncidentsThis forum is for the discussion of diving Accidents and Incidents. Please read the message at the top of the forum before posting threads or responses. Memorial threads can be posted in the Passings forum.
Please note: The last reply in this thread was more than 4 month(s) ago.
In college, back before it was glamorous or even terribly scientific, I worked prepping bodies at the County Medical Examiner's lab. Trust me, if a body bled out you will not miss it.
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There are many who lust for the simple answers of doctrine or decree. They are on the left and right. They are not confined to a single part of the society. They are terrorists of the mind. - A. Bartlett Giamatti Instant Expert: Evolution
I don't follow your comment. It seems a moderate and well written plausible account to me. If you mean it's factually incorrect, then please correct it and give YOUR sources. I can't see anything in that article that doesn't make perfect sense.
He is the one making the claims about what happened underwater. Do you want a source for my claim that he doesn't list his source? I can also write an article that sounds very plausible about the accident but that doesn't make it true. I don't have a narrative about what went on other that than what I laid out earlier (with sources).
And no, his story isn't very plausible. I'll let the medical people explain to you why a simple puncture wound to the calf shouldn't kill a person.
Aside from that, he claims to know what was going on in the shark's head and its motivation for the bite. That is complete conjecture on his part and can't be taken seriously.
One problem with some medical examiners reports...if they do not have experience in dive medicine, there can be many things overlooked. Not saying it happened, but there have been dive accidents where the cause of death was questionable or incorrect. There were many factors that contributed to his death and I am sorry it happened and am sorry for the family. Needless to say, accidents happen and when we dive with sharks, that is the risk we take voluntarily, end of story. It's no different from someone who jumps out of a perfectly good airplane when you look at the overall risk.
Happy diving with sharks!
Carolyn
Sure are lots of opinions from such an inexperienced diver!!!
I must have missed something in the TOS, how many dives do I need to have before I'm allowed to form an opinion?
You? 1,324. Carolyn? 12. Not fair? Too bad.
__________________
There are many who lust for the simple answers of doctrine or decree. They are on the left and right. They are not confined to a single part of the society. They are terrorists of the mind. - A. Bartlett Giamatti Instant Expert: Evolution
"Undercurrent" speaks out on shark feeding - as a subscription gimmick!
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March 10, 2008
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Diver Dies From Shark Bite in the Bahamas : By now, you have surely read about 49-year-old Austrian Markus Groh who died from a shark bite during a Bahamas shark-diving liveaboard trip with Jim Abernathy's Scuba Adventures. For years, Abernathy has been offering cage-free dives with hammerheads, tiger and bull sharks that Abernathy attract with chum. Undercurrent will write more about this in the April issue, but the question of liability will be a big one.
Apparently, Groh signed a standard waiver releasing Abernathy from liability - the kind we divers hate to sign. While waivers have held up well in court, with the high profile of this death, expect an all-out attack on the waiver's validity. In a letter last year from the Bahamas Dive Association, all companies operating in Bahamas waters were told to cease and desist openwater, non-cage shark diving with potentially dangerous sharks. Neal Watson, the association' president, confirmed the letter was targeted at Abernathy's company, which was viewed as an "accident waiting to happen". Abernathy has refused to comply.
In the March issue of Undercurrent < http://www.undercurrent.org> , we write about this topic in "Please Don't Feed the Fish" -- subscribe to Undercurrent < https://undercurrent.org/secure/UCnow/UserNewSub.php> and you can read about the hazards of fish-feeding and shark-baiting.
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My own self, I'm pretty much disinterested in the fuss - which does not mean 'uninterested', just that I have no stake or strong feelings either way, except that if you go on a feeding dive, accept the possibility of being bitten or gobbled up.
Now, as to the Undercurrent account, I would note that the description of the Bahamas Dive Association issuing a mandate that "all companies operating in Bahamas waters were told to cease and desist..." shark diving is laughable.
It's an association, for god's sake, with no more authority than the chamber of commerce. If it has any authority, its within its own membership. Abernathy did not belong, correct?
It will be interesting to see if the actual Bahamian legislature, whatever it is, does anything. Even then, a no-feeding rule would be impossible for a cash-poor country to enforce, except in an after-the-fact situation.
Even Florida regulators, when passing the state's no-feeding rule, basically acknowledged that chances of enforcement were slim to none.
Sure are lots of opinions from such an inexperienced diver!!!
What constitutes a lot of opinions? Also, the number of dives does NOT determine how good a diver is in the water. What counts is their ability to perform the skills correctly. Skills that are performed incorrectly over time make one a habitually bad diver. Please refrain from judging someone's experience based solely on the number of dives they have until you dive with that person and can make an accurate assessment of their skills.
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The price of freedom is paid only by those willing to fight for it.
My train of thought derailed before leaving the station!
What constitutes a lot of opinions? Also, the number of dives does NOT determine how good a diver is in the water. What counts is their ability to perform the skills correctly. Skills that are performed incorrectly over time make one a habitually bad diver. Please refrain from judging someone's experience based solely on the number of dives they have until you dive with that person and can make an accurate assessment of their skills.
What case? I understand you have a lot more dives than most people. I also understand I do not have very many dives but that doesn't take away from the fact that my instructor has said several times that I was her best open water student and the 3rd best student she has ever had (the other two were getting their Dive Master certifications from her). I've grown up on and around the water all of my life and happen to be a pretty good diver despite having a low dive count. Please educate me on what constitutes an experienced diver?!?
P.S. Resting your case in legal terminology means you have no more arguments to make and therefore have nothing left to say on the subject at hand.
__________________
The price of freedom is paid only by those willing to fight for it.
My train of thought derailed before leaving the station!