Two fatalities in Monterey

[Jorbar1551]

I find this hard to credit, and frankly it makes your instructor (for one) appear to be a rumor monger. A first-person account posted in the comments section of a news source recounts:

Hard to deny first-person accounts, but from what I saw a few beaches away (i couldnt see the incident, only the boats responding to the incident), it looked like the monterey express took off once the rescuers began their search, and before the kids were found.

Dont take that as a hard fact but does anyone know if the express stayed on scene during the search once the CG and FD showed up? As hard as it might have been to 'abandon' the teens underwater, I can see how they wouldnt want to get in the way of the search operation, and not have the other divers view their friends being brought up from the bottom.

 

[K_girl]

I find this hard to credit, and frankly it makes your instructor (for one) appear to be a rumor monger. A first-person account posted in the comments section of a news source recounts:

When they were found, their tanks were first checked to see if indeed they did have air in them.
When both tanks were found to be empty, the straps holding them were cut to allow their bodies to be brought to the surface faster.
My child and I were on this trip, and my son is a fellow diver.

Thank you Quero - this seems the most likely possibility and what I thought might have happened before you found this post.

 

[Jorbar1551]

Does anyone know if the accident happend on the first or second dive?

 

[Scott]

Does anyone know if the accident happend on the first or second dive?

It was the second dive of the day

 

[TSandM]

It is NOT known that they had two or three dives post OW course! It is known that this was the third dive of THIS TRIP. Information from one of the PARENTS, for God's sake, indicates that they had dived at Tahoe a fair bit before this weekend. Thal, you know we're on the same page about training in general . . . but would you read the available information on this one, please, before baying up the "inadequate training and experience" tree?

 

[Ken Kurtis]

. . . from what I saw a few beaches away . . . it looked like the monterey express took off once the rescuers began their search, and before the kids were found. Dont take that as a hard fact but does anyone know if the express stayed on scene during the search once the CG and FD showed up? . . .

This is a general comment and may or may not have applied to this specific sitiation. That being said . . .

SOP is usually to have the dive boat stay right where they are, because (assuming they're anchored) it's a known fixed location. With GPS nowadays, you could certainly have the captain radio the fix and then back off. Or you could drop a marker where their anchor was and then have them back off.

But usually (again with the disclaimer above) the boat stays put as it serves as a valuable marker and, as long as it's not moving, it's not going to endanger any rescuers in the water trying to find the victims.

- Ken

 

[MauiScubaSteve]

Well, I for one still find Thal's previously posted "outlook" as a still possible outlook, even given the "dived at Tahoe a fair bit" comment. Do Intro Dives happen at Lake Tahoe? Do non divers make "dives" with their certified diver friends at Lake Tahoe? If the OW checkout dives were "two" Saturdays, a non diving parent might say things in a way that is not as clear as Lake Tahoe.

From what is posted in this thread, I still think it possible this was the deceased diver's 2nd or 3rd dive after certification.

 

[mdb]

The lawyers, IMO, have been calling, or tried to contact the families of the two young men lost. The "Expert" witnesses have their resumes updated. The Insurance companies are preparing for what is to come.

We may never know what really happened on that weekend in Monterey. What we can be reasonably assured of is that the bereaved families will be besieged by those seeking to profit from this very unfortunate event.

 

[SlowEars]

Yesterday I was on the Silver Prince. We intended to dive near Hopkins Deep, but we missed it and ended up diving over flat sand. Within moments, we found two BCDs and tanks tied together with yellow polypropylene rope at the bottom, around 80'. After our dive, we told the dive master and captain of the boat. They called the Coast Guard, and three other divers went down to raise up the gear. The coast guard arrived immediately, and took possession of the gear. We did not look closely at it or handle it in any way, and left it tied to the rope we found it with.

I know this post doesn't have much information, but I thought I'd let you know that the gear was found, so hopefully this will help the investigation.

 

[tddfleming]

Yesterday I was on the Silver Prince. We intended to dive near Hopkins Deep, but we missed it and ended up diving over flat sand. Within moments, we found two BCDs and tanks tied together with yellow polypropylene rope at the bottom, around 80'. After our dive, we told the dive master and captain of the boat. They called the Coast Guard, and three other divers went down to raise up the gear. The coast guard arrived immediately, and took possession of the gear. We did not look closely at it or handle it in any way, and left it tied to the rope we found it with.

I know this post doesn't have much information, but I thought I'd let you know that the gear was found, so hopefully this will help the investigation.

Were the tanks with the gear?