Search and Rescue - Scubaboard Staff Member - Northernone - Missing in Cozumel

[deepsea21]

This makes me think... While Cameron was shore diving and this wouldn't apply to his situation, I wonder how many (if any) of the dive ops on the island have EPIRB's on board their boats. I assume virtually none do as they all stay within site of shore, have radios, and there are always other boats close by. I certainly wouldn't have an EPIRB on my boat if I used it under those circumstances but when it comes to dive ops, I wonder if having EPIRB's on their boats that can transmit for 48-72 hours wouldn't be a good idea. If a diver from a boat were to be lost and a search of the area for a few hours by all dive ops revealed nothing, the dive op could then deploy an EPIRB and just let it float. Wherever that EPIRB is carried in the current if there were a diver that surfaced out in the channel or something and couldn't be found at least that EPIRB would be following the same current and 48-72 hours later wherever it is any lost diver should be in somewhat close proximity to it... That certainly would be better than authorities trying to formulate various drift paths that after 2-3 days spread throughout the Gulf of Mexico. EPIRB's are cheap compared to a life that is priceless.

Heck, all dive ops talk about the safety they incorporate. Why not add EPIRBs to the mix that sets them apart from others and can provide another level of safety. No need to state what they would really be used for and spook people but being able to state "All of our boats have EPIRB emergency satellite beacons on board for the utmost safety of all of our dive customers" certainly has a nice ring to it.

 

[DandyDon]

It is my belief that a PLB would not have proven beneficial to Cameron in this case. These small PLB's aren't like full size EPIRB's on a boat that can transmit for 48-72 hours. PLB's transmit for about 24 hours and deploying one in the 3rd world is only as useful as the region's assets (if they have any) are able to mobilize in that 24 hour time frame, reach the area, and then track the separate 401 homing signal.

Excuse me, but baloney! If he had fired a PLB as soon as he surfaced and saw he was in trouble, the Gps would have been known and boats could have been sent two days go.

We have a thread on PLBs if you want to discuss it further: PLBs Can Save Your Life

I think you are wrong on this- a PLB activation would, at the very least, confirm a diver is alive on the surface and provide location info that would be extremely useful even if the actual SAR is delayed a few hours.

Indeed.

 

[letterboy]

View attachment 510699

I think this is the area.

 

[DiverGirl1972]

First of all, long-time SB reader and heartbroken this situation has come to pass. To see many different groups, individuals, countries and communities coming together to help bring this man home is a testament to the type of person he is and the number of people he has clearly touched in his life.

I have never used a scooter, so I truly don't understand how they work, potential dangers, etc... but it seems as though it was suggested that Cameron carried his scooter in an unconventional manner. It also seems as though this could have had a significant impact on his ability to deal with a failure of some sort along with strong down currents. Is there a "standard" way a scooter is suggested/trained to be attached a diver? If so, is it pretty common for divers to deviate from this suggested method to accommodate their needs or personal preferences? What procedure would one follow if a scooter flooded in no current with no hard bottom?

 

[drrich2]

No need to state what they would really be used for and spook people but being able to state "All of our boats have EPIRB emergency satellite beacons on board for the utmost safety of all of our dive customers" certainly has a nice ring to it.

I doubt it'll become standard fare for the more mainstream diving, but it would be a really nice option, at added cost I expect, especially for those times when a customer is taken to a not-so-mainstream area - farther from land/shore, where currents are substantial, etc...

Richard.

 

[johndiver999]

The possibility of a scooter flooding, getting heavy and experiencing an internal short causing the scooter to "stay on" without the switch being intentionally activated are all contingencies that should obviously be considered and planned for. I am curious as to why a diver would deliberately choose to configure his scooter so that he could not instantly ditch it? Why would an extremely good and experienced diver, who dives deep along a wall, choose to rig his gear like that? What advantage would it provide?

Also, If someone is trapped in a strong current, I don't understand why that would make it more difficult to drop the scooter. Once you are moving with a current, the actual speed of it is inconsequential.

Of all the potential problems a solo diver could experience at 150 feet or deeper, on a wall in extremely strong currents, while incurring a 30-min plus deco ceiling, without the benefit of any surface support vessel; the idea of an instantaneous flooding of a scooter would not make my short list of probable causes for a failure to make a safe return to the intended exit point (or at least to the surface).

Without any more specific information, I am inclined to be skeptical about the diver using "unditchable" rigging as well as the inevitability of a fatality in the event of a scooter failure.

 

[letterboy]

That nub is in about 50 feet of water and 100 feet from shore.

The bottom 300ft left is over 300 feet deep.
...

..

 

[Seaweed Doc]

Is the area Cameron was diving more prone to downwellings than other areas of the wall to the south? Some people love wall dives but they now spook me as I've aged and learned more about them. I've read if I ever caught in one to fully inflate the BC (which really does little good while one is trapped in one) and fin AWAY from the wall and be prepared to dump all weight as a last resort... keep fining until you are out and away from the wall and the downward current. I have also read to get very close to the wall as the current will be less there and try to climb/fin up that area. Spooky situation no matter which way you go. So what is the best way to get out of one of those things?

I can't tell you the right thing to do, but I can tell you what I did once. Basically, I mis-timed slack current (my bad, lesson learned) on a site that was generally regarded as "don't ever dive here, too dangerous" for rec divers. I tried it with a very experienced buddy, though.

We hit a strong downwelling at about 80', and clamped on to the wall. Keep in mind this is the Pacific Northwest, so no coral to damage and at this site the strong currents keep the rock face cleared of anything but crustose coralline algae ("pink rock"). When we got to 60', the downwelling became an even stronger current running horizontally, so we made like rock climbers, but at 90 degrees to the ordinary direction. Our approach failed at 30', when the current became a strong upwelling. Couldn't dump air from our BCD's faster than it was expanding as we ascended. The uncontrolled ascent was by far the scariest part. Serious exhaling and dumping air. Lastly, if all else failed we had a boat and tender on the surface that could have recovered us from where ever we surfaced.

 

[ReefHound]

Another night falls. Dehydration must be extreme and the limits of human tolerance is numbered in days. Does anyone know if there has been any rainfall in the region that might have allowed him to catch a few ounces in his mask?

 

[MMM]

Another night falls. Dehydration must be extreme and the limits of human tolerance is numbered in days. Does anyone know if there has been any rainfall in the region that might have allowed him to catch a few ounces in his mask?

A pretty good downpour yesterday and some again today. More forecast for tomorrow and the following day. But I guess that may depend on exactly where he is.