Diver lost 15 Jan 2013 Cozumel

[vincent54]

Maybe you missed the line...?[/QUOTE
I think you read too much into that line. A buddy usually has a first hand account, that's all. It wasn't meant to cast any doubt on them.

Even though an internet forum isn't the best place to discuss an accident, information can help prevent future problems. In fact, I have sent the forum details to my daughter who is traveling to St. Bart's. She is going with a diver I don't know, to a resort I don't know and want her to take a couple refresher dives with the company to get accustomed to the new sites. I would have never even thought about this without the current thread. So it is helpful, Thanks.

 

[halocline]

I know. but I doubt that will either. The body count is not high enough yet. And the money keeps rolling in.

Characterizing Cozumel dive practices, including the swimthroughs, with the words "body count" is completely off base, unless you feel that way about basically every dive destination in the world outside of your own classes.

Cozumel is a very safe location for divers with a strong track record to prove it. Every day there are hundreds, many hundreds I suspect, of safe dives, every day of the year, year in and year out. Of course someone's going to occasionally die. It also happens crossing the street, choking on food, and getting struck by lightning. And I dare you to find any statistical evidence that Cozumel is any less safe as a dive destination than any other ocean dive site.

As I said about a hundred pages ago, this accident alone does not indicate any need to change anything in the Cozumel dive op practices IMO. If something like this was a regular occurrence, that would be different. The absolute bottom line in diver safety is that each diver is responsible for his/her own safety and dive behavior. That includes getting trained well, diving with self discipline, know your OWN limitations and psychological/physical state, and ultimately taking responsibility for yourself. Of course the buddy system carries with it some implied responsibility for another diver, and in dangerous locations one had better be VERY picky about who one dives with. But aside from that, when all is said and done, certified divers are responsible for themselves.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

Characterizing Cozumel dive practices, including the swimthroughs, with the words "body count" is completely off base, unless you feel that way about basically every dive destination in the world outside of your own classes.

Cozumel is a very safe location for divers with a strong track record to prove it. Every day there are hundreds, many hundreds I suspect, of safe dives, every day of the year, year in and year out. Of course someone's going to occasionally die. It also happens crossing the street, choking on food, and getting struck by lightning. And I dare you to find any statistical evidence that Cozumel is any less safe as a dive destination than any other ocean dive site.

As I said about a hundred pages ago, this accident alone does not indicate any need to change anything in the Cozumel dive op practices IMO. If something like this was a regular occurrence, that would be different. The absolute bottom line in diver safety is that each diver is responsible for his/her own safety and dive behavior. That includes getting trained well, diving with self discipline, know your OWN limitations and psychological/physical state, and ultimately taking responsibility for yourself. Of course the buddy system carries with it some implied responsibility for another diver, and in dangerous locations one had better be VERY picky about who one dives with. But aside from that, when all is said and done, certified divers are responsible for themselves.

If, as has been reported in this thread, the diver was directed to NOT dive without a personal DM and refused, would that change your opinion on the appropriateness of doing swim throughs?

 

[DandyDon]

Maybe you missed the line...?

I think you read too much into that line. A buddy usually has a first hand account, that's all. It wasn't meant to cast any doubt on them.

Even though an internet forum isn't the best place to discuss an accident, information can help prevent future problems. In fact, I have sent the forum details to my daughter who is traveling to St. Bart's. She is going with a diver I don't know, to a resort I don't know and want her to take a couple refresher dives with the company to get accustomed to the new sites. I would have never even thought about this without the current thread. So it is helpful, Thanks.

No, I was showing Ron the three point line of discussion where he had addressed the third out of context, and now I am explaining again.

 

[OldDiver74]

I was diving in Cozumel on Jan 14^th when the diver went missing. Our boat was in the same area as about 25 – 30 others on that reef (probably about 200 - 300 divers that morning). When we surfaced and boarded our boat, the boat captain told us of the missing diver report and to keep watch to see if we could spot her.

The reef area we were in consisted of corral rising as much as 10 – 20 feet above the sand, with some arches forming overhead in some spots. The current was fast, and most divers just rode the current through the reef.

After the dive, our DM talked of the missing diver and the potential for down currents at various points along the wall. He stressed that this is why he said to not stray from the group. But, those currents made it very easy to become separated from the group just by looking in the wrong direction for too long. Drifting to the left or right of the group by 20 – 30 feet could carry you down a different path through that corral. At one point I swam up and over a 20 foot high section of corral to reconnect with our group because I couldn’t swim fast enough to align with their path in the current around it.

Our group didn’t go through any swim through, because our DM recognized that there were several inexperienced divers in the group. But, it would have been relatively easy for any of us to shift left or right and find ourselves in a higher risk area.

The three DMs I followed in Cozumel last week were all very concerned about our safety. But, it is an inherently dangerous sport. They could only start the first dive assuming that we each reported our experience level accurately. Each of those DMs focused his attention on the least experienced diver in the group. And in that current, I understand where some decisions to swim a little to the left or right of the group could result in a much different dive experience for anyone who was not familiar with that reef. The second day, our dive shop assigned a second DM to our boat (without our requesting him) because they recognized that we had some inexperienced divers and also wanted to cater to the more experienced ones as well.

I would not lay blame on the DM in the case of this missing diver, unless she reported herself as an inexperienced diver. But, in spite of this missing diver, my experience in that reef that day only further encouraged us to continue diving there for two more days. And we’ll return again someday.

 

[halocline]

If, as has been reported in this thread, the diver was directed to NOT dive without a personal DM and refused, would that change your opinion on the appropriateness of doing swim throughs?

I did not voice an opinion on "the appropriateness of doing swim throughs"

I think the decision to do or not do swim throughs is the diver's responsibility. On every Cozumel dive (hundreds) that I've done, the swim throughs were optional.

 

[Dan G]

I see the conversation about buddy protocol to be the most pertinent. It is possible - this is pure speculation- that Tamara and her two brothers decided to be a buddy trio. This can be done safely, but the trio must follow specific protocols for it to be safe and it is a good idea to discuss those pre-dive. One problem that can arise is two divers thinking that the other has been doing frequent buddy checks on the third diver, when in reality no one has.

I wonder if this is partially what happened. If it is accurate that the two brothers decided to enter a separate swim through, perhaps they figured diver #3 was with them when she was actually lost and did not notice until it was too late.

 

[mdb]

This thread now has over 40,000 views. Hopefully the discussion underway will help prevent similar accidents in the future.

 

[redacted]

I see the conversation about buddy protocol to be the most pertinent. It is possible - this is pure speculation- that Tamara and her two brothers decided to be a buddy trio. This can be done safely, but the trio must follow specific protocols for it to be safe and it is a good idea to discuss those pre-dive. One problem that can arise is two divers thinking that the other has been doing frequent buddy checks on the third diver, when in reality no one has.

I wonder if this is partially what happened. If it is accurate that the two brothers decided to enter a separate swim through, perhaps they figured diver #3 was with them when she was actually lost and did not notice until it was too late.

Deeper dives in Cozumel tend to be linear; that is, one buddy more or less following the other. A three person buddy team tends to stretch this line out a bit more. And a swim through makes it very linear and makes it difficult to keep in contact with the diver(s) behind you. When there is a problem, it may be slow being recognized and responded to.

 

[Darol]

WOW ........

OldDiver74 said:

After the dive, our DM talked of the missing diver and the potential for down currents at various points along the wall. He stressed that this is why he said to not stray from the group. But, those currents made it very easy to become separated from the group just by looking in the wrong direction for too long. Drifting to the left or right of the group by 20 – 30 feet could carry you down a different path through that corral. At one point I swam up and over a 20 foot high section of corral to reconnect with our group because I couldn’t swim fast enough to align with their path in the current around it.

After the Dive, After the DIVE...!!!! he spoke of this.... the potential for down currents....
I can't help but notice you have less than 50 dives. Really ?

Hindsight is always 20 20 ......
It happens like this, all of a sudden things go south, then you realize that you are in way, way, over your head. Then it's over. Done.
What you don't know, is what is really scary....:shocked2:

Glad your story has a happy ending, think of the other possibilities......

Let's hope some learn from this needless tragedy....