Avalon, Catalina, freediver death (UPDATE)

[Ken Kurtis]

I spoke with the LA County Coroner yesterday (6/30) about this fatality. The autopsy's been completed and showed nothing unusual. Toxicology results are still pending. (They usually take 6-8 weeks.) Even so, the M.E. who performed the autopsy has closed out the case and ruled it a drowning.

Although there was discussion about the possibility of shallow-water blackout &/or panic factoring in, these are things that cannot be detected clinically at autopsy and -absent an eyewitness who could testify to what they saw - therefore cannot be included in any Coroner's finding. (This isn't to say it couldn't have happened, only that it can't be stated with any degree of medical certainty.)

This accident also prompted me to write a article for our Reef Seekers July newsletter about what can be learned from this, and I've taken the liberty of copying it below in this post.

- Ken
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THE DANGERS OF OVER-WEIGHTING

There was a free-diving fatality in the UW Park last month and over-weighting seems to have played a role in the death of the diver. He was trying to retrieve a weighted float line from about 20-25' of depth, fairly close to the shoreline, and never came back up. When his friends finally realized he was missing, they went and found him, on the bottom, weightbelt still on. The official cause of death ash been ruled drowning, and there's some suspicion that shallow-water blackout and/or panic may have also factored in, though those can't be clinically proven.

In any tragedy like this, we hope there are things we as a diving community can learn. And there a couple of take-home messages with this accident.

One big one deals with over-weighting. The diver weighed a little over 140 pounds. When the diver's weightbelt was recovered, it was found to weigh 34 pounds. This would seem to be double the weight you'd expect the diver to need. On top of that, the diver was only wearing his wetsuit and mask/fins and you again wonder why the need for so much weight, if any at all? Couldn't he have just kicked to the bottom without any weight at that relatively shallow depth?

One thing to note is that he was found with his weightbelt still on and buckled. Had he ditched his belt (and assuming no entanglement - of which none was reported), even an unconscious diver will float to the surface. And there's a much better chance of a successful outcome in that situation than when you're still on the bottom for an extended period of time.

You also have to ask a dual question of why he didn't have a buddy with him watching and why it took his friends so long (about 15 minutes) to realize he hadn't come back. Someone on the surface watching him go down could have responded immediately to this, and even someone watching from shore would have realized after 60 seconds or so that something was amiss. This might have changed things dramatically.

Part of the problem here may also be complacency. This could certainly have been perceived as an "easy" task. But complacency can lead to carelessness which can lead to trouble.

Given that we are entering a life-threatening environment any time we go underwater (with or without scuba), no dive should ever be considered "easy". Every dive has risk and, as responsible divers, it's up to us to identify, evaluate, understand, and be prepared to deal with those risks.

When I was taught to be a NAUI instructor, one of the big things they drilled into us at my ITC was the idea of "ready to respond". And what that essentially means is ALWAYS being on your toes, trying to anticipate the things that the might go wrong, and being ready to respond to whatever challenge that might be presented to you on your dive.

“Ready-to-respond” is something all divers should work in to their mindset. Too often, divers enter the water assuming everything will be all right. That may mean you're setting yourself up for problems when trouble arises. Switch over to a ready-to-respond mindset, and perhaps tragedies like the one outlined here can become more rare.

[InTheDrink]

It's not a concept I've come across before, but the 'ready to respond' mindset sounds like something I'd like to take on board. I do it when cycling, always looking for what is going to be happening in the next 30 seconds or few minutes but when diving have thusfar been focussing on the here and now and not the various possibilities that might present themselves in the near future.

Interesting thought, I for one will have a good think on this.

Cheers,
J

[RMDiver]

It's not a concept I've come across before, but the 'ready to respond' mindset sounds like something I'd like to take on board. I do it when cycling, always looking for what is going to be happening in the next 30 seconds or few minutes but when diving have thusfar been focussing on the here and now and not the various possibilities that might present themselves in the near future.

Interesting thought, I for one will have a good think on this.

Cheers,
J

That is an interesting observation that I, as a relatively new diver, can use. I do it when driving. I am the training officer for my local Volunteer Fire Department and teach my guys to think about how the burn will progress. To date, I have been too entranced with the cool stuff that I see while diving to be anticipating what could go wrong.

Thanks!

[BonaireDan]

The 'ready to respond' mindset is critical in diving. Some good rescue scenarios are used by many instructors for just this kind of thing, above and below water. Little 'tricks' played (safely) on the students at unsuspecting times.

When driving a car one needs to assess potential problems and reasonable prevention and avoidance actions. Particularly as I ride my motorcycyle I am always scanning the road aheda, behind and to the side for potential concerns and planning how to avoid them. Sort of a game but a life-saving game at that.

While diving and/or dive teaching I am playing "what-if" scenarios in my head wtih my buddy, the other divers and students.

Like a good Eagle Scout (too many years ago to relate) - tne motto: "Be Prepared" is always on my mind.

[drbill]

Wow... 34 pounds on a 140 pound individual? I dive with 36 and I'm 250 lb (I dive slightly overweighted to ensure greater stability when filming on the bottom). Interesting because I saw the individual enter the water with his SCUBA gear on and didn't notice that he was over weighted.

Agree entirely with the "ready to respond" mindset. I employ it every time I drive the Lost Angeles freeways and when I dive.

[Chris Tauzin]

For something that shallow it does sound like a lot of weight. I have never freedove so I wouldn't have a clue.

[ItsBruce]

Let me suggest supplementing the "ready to respond" mindset with having pre-planned responses to certain kinds of situations.