Missing Urchin Diver off Freeport, Nova Scotia

[bleeb]

Missing diver reported off Freeport, NS

Current NOAA buoy report for the Gulf of Maine/mouth of the Bay of Fundy:
Air temp: 43F
Water temp: 42F
Winds: SW 14 kt
Wave height: 5 ft

 

[Peter_C]

Wasn't he on hookah? That is what most of our local guys use at least. With those water temps pumping hot water down would seem necessary too, unless they use 1/2" thick suits.

 

[Ayisha]

It doesn't appear from the article that he would have that setup.

 

[DandyDon]

Says he was on Scuba, and his friends saw he swept away by current. Metro - Crews search for scuba diver off N.S.

 

[Dr Dog]

I would like to know more, but curious why he did not just surface when he was being swept away.
As a newer diver, I may be ignorant about this, but if I see i am out of control and cannot stay with my buddies, I am probably going to hit my bc with a couple of shots of air and float to the surface

 

[mattcassell]

Search has resumed today. I have never been in the water in that area but it is known to have some pretty nasty conditions.

Search resumes for Ottawa diver at Digby Neck - Nova Scotia - CBC News

 

[DandyDon]

I would like to know more, but curious why he did not just surface when he was being swept away.
As a newer diver, I may be ignorant about this, but if I see i am out of control and cannot stay with my buddies, I am probably going to hit my bc with a couple of shots of air and float to the surface

I'd agree that surfacing would be preferable in a swept away situation. Maybe he thought he could swim back easier under water, but hard to say. One report said he was new to scuba. Swimming under water could put him in the wrong direction, maybe even into a different current, then out of the search area?

I think it is imperative to ensure that your BD or Wing inflates easily before leaving the boat and that you can ditch weights if needed to stay on the surface - or even reach it, but all too many diver bodies are found with weights attached still. My bud and I do that and practice ditching the first dive of every outing.

Yeah, you're a lot easier to find on the surface, and you can use your various signal devices there. One Instructor even convinced me that I should remove at least one weight pocket and hold it if I ever screw up again and have to do another CESA as you're a lot easier to find and revive on the surface if you pass out and drop the weights.

 

[mattcassell]

Unfortunately the search has been called off.

Search ends for missing Ottawa diver in Digby Neck - Nova Scotia - CBC News

http://www.digbycourier.ca/News/201.../RCMP-call-off-the-search-for-missing-diver/1

 

[Bob DBF]

CBC News Nova Scotia "RCMP said the man had held a diving licence since the early 1990s, but had only been in the water about 10 times in the last ten years. Most of that was in lakes and rivers."

“The Natural World, Greatest Tides: The greatest tides in the world occur in the Bay of Fundy.... Burntcoat Head in the Minas Basin, Nova Scotia, has the greatest mean spring range with 14.5 metres (47.5 feet) and an extreme range of 16.3 metres (53.5 feet).”

That would produce currents with a capital C, rip your mask off, freeflow your regs and bounce you off the rocks Current. If the urchin divers there are similar to our coast, they will be diving the toughest spots possible because, the urchins in the easy diving are gone. Another thing to consider is that he probably has a bag of Urchins attached to him since he was on SCUBA.

I've always wanted to see the tide change in the Bay of Fundy, from the land not in the water



Bob
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I may be old, but I’m not dead yet.

 

[bleeb]

CBC: Search end for missing Ottawa diver