6/20/09 - Avalon, Catalina - Freediver drowned...

[DandyDon]

Very experienced diver, thinks "I'm just going to get the buoy, don't need help" - too easy to imagine.

 

[stevejaz]

While this is certainly no cancellation and I am very sorry to hear about this I will say that the sharing of this incident is certainly educational.

I too never would have even thought twice about free diving to 20' to retrieve something and had never heard of shallow water blackouts.

"Snorkeling" with observers on shore, I don't think most people would consider that a high risk situation.

Thank you for sharing!

All my best,
Steve

 

[DandyDon]

I know, Steve. A very informed & experienced diver told me recently on another Accident thread here that anyone should be able to free dive alone to 40 ft alone, no problem. Can't believe everything you read, even from the best. Tony was much younger, fitter and more experienced than I it seems. Damn!

 

[Hawkeye5447]

I was there when this happened. I was on the steps trying to tech my girlfriend how to freedive. We didnt have wetsuits so it took a little while to get used to the water. Tony and his sister came out just as we were going in. I remember seeing Tony go out with just his snorkel and his weight belt on and i was trying to figure out why you would do that. While getting used to the water i noticed that i hadnt seen him come back to the steps and i didnt see him around. i didnt even know the guy, but i thought it was weird. We i went in only a few feet from the steps and a large school of fish spooked me and i went back to my girl on the steps. She said that the water was just too cold to get in so went in and sat on the jetty. After we sat down i heard a guy say "Call 911". Then he said a guy was on the bottom and again said call 911. I left my gear and ran back to the steps and down the stairs as they were bringing him in. I helped carry him up to the platform and placed him down while his sister and another woman performed CPR until the paramedics arrived. I have been certified to perform CPR for 10 years now and i just felt helpless waiting for someone to say that they needed rest so i could help. I remember that i was worried about him and though that if i had just swam out 10 more feet that i could have spotted him and it could have made a difference. My heart does go out to his family and i wish that there was more that i could and could have done.

 

[DandyDon]

Hi Hawkeye,

If you were not also taught about Critical Incident Stress, or if you don't remember (I think it was in my Padi rescue training, not in the CPR portion?), it is real - don't buy into it. You and the others did all you could, you were hope for someone who otherwsie had none, and not your fault at all that one was lost. Anyone who was there should consider counseling on this before it can take a toll.

I taught my daughter's family how to snorkel & free dive once before we went out to swim with manatees. We trained in a swimming pool, all wore snorkel vests at all times, and I stressed one minute maximums and buddy diving! That was years ago and I am still nagging them about wearing those, correctly mounted, etc. My 15 yo grandson thinks it's fine just ride a raft, and I used to too; I survived and I hope he does.

 

[stevejaz]

Hawkeye,

I feel very bad for you having gone through this and hope you're able to view it more constructively later. I've gone through something kind of similar and it made a huge impression on me but I also learned from it, my hope is you'll do the same.

My question is for anyone who may be able to answer it.

Is this something that is brought on by oxygen deprevation after exercise? Say somebody swimming fairly quickly to retrieve a bouy and not wanting to hold their party up, then making a dive thus holding their breath for a period of time?

I keep thinking of that trick that kids would do by hyperventilating and then standing up and having someone place them in a bear hug and passing out. Same thing?

 

[Thalassamania]

I know, Steve. A very informed & experienced diver told me recently on another Accident thread here that anyone should be able to free dive alone to 40 ft alone, no problem. Can't believe everything you read, even from the best. Tony was much younger, fitter and more experienced than I it seems. Damn!

And I stand by my original statement, we have no idea of what happened to this diver, shallow water blackout on a 20 or even 40 foot dive (slightly more than a doubling of ambient pressure) is rather unlikely for any number of reasons (not the least being the laws of physics).

 

[fdog]

After re-reading Maxbottomtimes' report, the first thing that leaps to mind is a simple float retrieval doesn't even need a freedive - just swim out and pull up the weight. Unless it was augered into the bottom.

Also, without knowing the gentleman's typical configuration - steel tanks vs aluminum - it's hard to say, but a typical weight belt for scuba and aluminum tanks exceeds the buoyancy of the suit alone.


All the best, James

 

[Teamcasa]

First, My condolences to his family and friends.

Having dived the park many times I can only think that since his float was only a few feet from the steps (where most instructors place them) he may have felt comfortable dropping in to unclip it from one of a few anchor points. (around 25' -28' deep) Who knows what happened after he descended.

The point is, what can we learn from this tragic situation?
How can we prevent this in the future?
Is free diving to retrieve a float at that depth safe after SCUBA diving?

 

[DandyDon]

I keep thinking of that trick that kids would do by hyperventilating and then standing up and having someone place them in a bear hug and passing out. Same thing?

When I was a kid, I'd just hyperventilate then hold my breath to pass out. All it took, and I did it sitting down. Only a well trained free diver should consider taking more than 2 or 3 deep, quick breaths before descending on breath hold. I'm not qualified to explain the osmosis of shallow water blackout, but it's easy to find and read on.

Otherwise, what happened to Tony should not have. I dunno...?