Australian woman dead - South Africa

[ajduplessis]

Because you are going to have a technical diver in distress using oral inflation to resolve an issue. Very unlikely to work out well in real life.

Same to be said of distressed diver making mistakes with both inflators, as seems to be the case here. Distressed divers will make mistakes, fullstop.

 

[cerich]

absolutely. Like I said earlier, I see and understand why the proponents of dual bladders feel the way they do. I tried it and disagree. Regardless of the dual bladder causing or not causing the accident in question, there is no question this poor lady was in WAY over her head, whatever certifications she held be damned.

Same to be said of distressed diver making mistakes with both inflators, as seems to be the case here. Distressed divers will make mistakes, fullstop.

 

[TSandM]

I think the real point is that nowhere in the account of this accident is there any mention of something having happened that ought to kill a diver who is appropriately trained and experienced to do a sub 300-foot dive. Such a diver should have a VERY broad range of capacities, including staying calm, focused and rational in the face of almost any "normal" problem. Certainly, such a diver should not irretrievably lose buoyancy control during a gas switch -- even at 20 feet, where buoyancy is much harder.

Lack of experience almost certainly played a role. A diver attempting a dive with which she did not feel comfortable also almost certainly played a role. We don't know anything, really, about her training -- I have, for example, seen tech instructors here in Puget Sound allow their students to do their ascents while hanging onto a fixed line, which certainly doesn't measure their ability to perform if, for any reason, they are deprived of that crutch. I have no idea how much "scenario-based" training she had (coping with staged problems in shallow water) or how well she did with it.

I'm a fairly weak OW technical diver, and I know it, so I keep my dives relatively shallow and if I'm not comfortable once I get there, I say so. This is important for ALL divers, from the person with a shiny new OW card, to the person with full trimix or full cave. It's one thing to be a little apprehensive about doing a "bigger" dive, before it happens; but if once you get there, you can't settle and enjoy the dive, get out. I can't remember who said it, but there is nothing down there worth dying for.

 

[Jan Kruger]

I totally agree that this diver did not have enough dives and experience to attempt such a deep dive. Amazing that the more experienced divers going down to this depth with her didn't know or realise this...
Besides this fact, nobody has mentioned a possibility of her suffering narcosis and not realising she was ascending until it was too late. Would they have been diving on a down line to the wreck ? Like was mentioned before ..to ascend from 50 + meters one should have more than enough time to deflate or correct in time- even if you are a bit out of your depth. Durban is also know to have some serious currents sometimes.
Can't help to remember that I read about the first diver who died at Boesmansgat in South Africa, was also a' fresh' advanced diver who was taken down to a depth of 70 m by his mates. He had to hang there and wait for them - they went down to 100 m. Coming back up he 'disappeared' !
Having had the great opportunity to dive with buddies who are serious about each other's well being, and who will not allow the other to' pop up' or disappear, I am amazed that inexperienced divers are allowed to dive sites they are not qualified or experienced for.
Truly sad to hear of this death.

 

[Mr. Black]

Besides this fact, nobody has mentioned a possibility of her suffering narcosis and not realising she was ascending until it was too late.

It was a Trimix dive, presumably narcosis issues had been mitigated by that ?!?

 

[Dive Bug Bit Me]

We are all going on that she should not have been on the dive with only 200 dives experience. The sequence of events would appear to bear that out.

But then why do the standards for Advanced / hypoxic Trimix require a minimum of 100 dives?
who the heck does the course with only 100 dives anyway? Who would teach it?

If this was her first dive below 70m then how did she get an adv / hypoxia cert? I know my instructor's standards required me to go deeper as part of the course.



addendum:
there are some comments in this thread about diving rebreather with her experience level. I have confirmed within the tech community here that she as definitely on Open Circuit.

 

[ams511]

We are all going on that she should not have been on the dive with only 200 dives experience. The sequence of events would appear to bear that out.

But then why do the standards for Advanced / hypoxic Trimix require a minimum of 100 dives?
who the heck does the course with only 100 dives anyway? Who would teach it?

If this was her first dive below 70m then how did she get an adv / hypoxia cert? I know my instructor's standards required me to go deeper as part of the course.



addendum:
there are some comments in this thread about diving rebreather with her experience level. I have confirmed within the tech community here that she as definitely on Open Circuit.

One thing to think about in life is hidden assumptions. With a 100 dive or 200 dive standard the agencies are making the assumption that all dives are the same which we all know is not the case. I can see where 200 dives could be adequate experience for such a dive and when its not. I have many more than 200 dives but truth be told most were in shallow warm FL waters. I would be no condition to make such a dive nor probably even start the training, yet the agencies would say I am qualified.

---------- Post added October 3rd, 2013 at 12:35 PM ----------

It's one thing to be a little apprehensive about doing a "bigger" dive, before it happens; but if once you get there, you can't settle and enjoy the dive, get out.

I don't understand why some people feel driven to make "bigger and bigger" dives, when the penalties for rushing such dives are so big.

 

[exposure]

No agency will tell you that after your cert you can do everything you want, they give you tools and knowledge to progress on your own. First you have to build your own experience and progress step by step not in a hurry. 200 dives is very limited to experience issues like with a double bladder or a lot of others. Then from a 70m uncomfortable dive to 100m one month after her cert, I would say that peer pressure play the key point here.

 

[mruseless]

I don't understand why some people feel driven to make "bigger and bigger" dives, when the penalties for rushing such dives are so big.

It's human nature. Bless you if you have avoided that particular side of human nature, but I observe that people rush to bigger and bigger things in all aspects of life, not just diving. I don't think people really appreciate the penalty for failure.

 

[cerich]

By the way, managing a double bladder issue is normally part of a standard tec course.

not all agencies recommend them so they aren't taught. I wouldn't say standard at all.