Diver missing off Marblehead Ma

[mmerriman]

massive search effort underway

Search underway for missing scuba diver | Local News - WCVB Home

 

[nolatom]

A search was underway for an overdue diver out behind Childrens' Island, near Satan's Ledge.


It didn't end well, body recovered:

http://www.boston.com/news/local/mas...cDK/story.html

Sounds as though he was near Satan's Ledge to be in 60 feet, could be lobster-hunting, alone.


I used to attend day camp as a kid on nearby Children's Island

Chart 13275


Condolences to the family.

 

[Malpaso]

Condolences to the family

 

[wspalding]

A search was underway for an overdue diver out behind Childrens' Island, near Satan's Ledge.


It didn't end well, body recovered:

http://www.boston.com/news/local/mas...cDK/story.html

Sounds as though he was near Satan's Ledge to be in 60 feet, could be lobster-hunting, alone.


I used to attend day camp as a kid on nearby Children's Island

Chart 13275


Condolences to the family.

Local news says he was diving with 2 others and that they were after scallops.

 

[bowlofpetunias]

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[DandyDon]

Sounds as though he was near Satan's Ledge to be in 60 feet, could be lobster-hunting, alone.

I used to attend day camp as a kid on nearby Children's Island

Scallop diving, with a same-ocean buddy and a pilot left onboard. Kids were at the Y day camp on Children’s Island at the time. Some of the terms of this story are typically wrong.

Scallop diver is found dead off Marblehead coast

MARBLEHEAD — Following a dramatic search Tuesday, authorities recovered the body of a 58-year-old Westfield man who apparently drowned while diving for scallops.

The man’s identity was not immediately released, and the circumstances of his death remained unclear.
Carrie Kimball Monahan, spokeswoman for the Essex district attorney, said the victim had been diving in 50 to 60 feet of water with another man near Satan’s Rock, off Children’s Island, while a third person remained in the boat.
When the victim failed to surface, the boat’s driver made a “diver down” call to the Marblehead harbormaster at about 10:15 a.m. Rescuers arrived in wetsuits and carrying oxygen tanks, as State Police provided sonar devices and other equipment to find help find the man.
A boat returned to the harbor carrying a black bag, which appeared to be the body, around 3:30 p.m.
The multihour rescue effort, involving several local and state agencies and the US Coast Guard, transfixed Marblehead.
A row of onlookers lined State Street Landing for hours, staring at the spectacle. A helicopter buzzed overhead, as a group of children gathered on the island for a YMCA day camp.
Diners at The Landing Restaurant, which offers a panoramic view of the harbor, asked, “What’s going on?” as teams of divers in wetsuits sped toward Children’s Island.
“It’s a shame,” Michael Havens, an experienced diver who has lived in Marblehead for almost a half century, said after the body was recovered.
Havens, 49, said his oxygen tanks usually last about 45 minutes at the depth in which the victim was swimming. He said scallops and lobster are abundant in the harbor, but it’s possible to become snagged in the webs of fishing line.
“He could have gotten tangled in something,” he said. “But it isn’t necessarily rough with the light winds today.”
Harbor authorities Tuesday evening were preparing to transfer the body to the office of the chief medical examiner to determine the cause and manner of his death.
A diver last died off the coast of Massachusetts on May 12 when a 38-year-old suffered an apparent medical emergency during a diving lesson and drysuit demonstration in Gloucester.
Tuesday’s apparent drowning came as a shock in the town where summer visitors come from across Massachusetts and elsewhere to soak up the seaside charm.
Pat Ayer had been taking her dogs for a walk when she noticed at least six emergency vehicles crowding the The Landing Restaurant parking lot.
“This is quite a turnout for a search,” Ayer said. “Divers do take a big risk.”
Children at a Y day camp on Children’s Island were taken by boat to the Corinthian Yacht Club, rather than their usual pickup location at State Street Landing, which served as a command center for the investigation.
Carol Harrie, manager of The Landing, said her customers couldn’t take their eyes off the water.
By Tuesday evening, activity had died down on the landing, and local residents and anglers were returning to the docks. But Harrie said it will be hard not stare into the harbor and remember the day’s sad drama.
“It’s scary because it can happen anywhere,” she said. “The ocean has no conscience.”

 

[Jan Kruger]

Always sad to read such tragic news. Condolences to the family and loved ones.

 

[mmerriman]

diver identified
Gregory Cole of Westfield

 

[Cruisin Home]

Second hand info from a friend of a rescuer. May not be totally accurate but I put it out there:

"Seems that he got caught up in the lines to his two scallop bags which were loaded with >50lbs each."


If this is true I wonder why no knife? I also wonder how much air he tried surfacing with?

I have been shellfish diving in New England for almost 40years and I have had several occasions of getting wrapped in my lines. You try swimming to surface but they keep pulling you down. You have to stop and not panic. Cut lines if necessary. Always carry multiple knives. Also you must try and avoid "shellfish fever" and start your ascent with plenty of air in case of such an emergency. These waters in New England are dark and cold. Also the scallops love the current so you have that to deal with as well. Add hundreds of lobster pots with line, plus snagged fishing line everywhere, plus boats steaming through the channel and you have the recipe for an emergency. I have also seen, on more than one occasion, divers almost drown trying to surface with their loaded catch bag. As such it has become standard to leave your bag on bottom and tie a marker buoy. Stay on the up current side of marker buoy before launch, then Launching the marker buoy, and then swimming up-current away from buoy line for some ways before you beginning your ascent. Turning 360deg during your ascent constantly trying to visualize lines/hazards.

I have to be honest and say I learned these lessons as a teenager the hard way, barely escaping disaster on more than one occasion. You don't have a lot of training resources/media that teaches the ins/outs of New England Shellfishing (lobster/scallops/quahaugs). If your lucky you run into an old salt that can warn you of these hazards. I now pass it on in hopes of another tragedy like this being averted.

I am sorry for this man and his family and friends. Hopefully in his honor at least one person will read this and benefit.

RIP