Scuba diver goes missing off Catalina Island

[Viron]

Not to be crass, insensitive, or tasteless, but to share a more positive point of view to the thread.

A diver died doing something they loved and were passionate about.

No matter how painful the final moments were I suspect that many on this forum would prefer quick death diving than years bed ridden in a senior care facility on a ventilator or with a leg amputated.

I would not go so far to say that a scuba accident is a good death, but there are many worse deaths in my opinion.

"I live life to the fullest today that way my only regret is that if I die today chances are I won't have opportunity to die tomorrow."

 

[Wookie]

If the crew provided you detailed information about exactly when she went in, but they won't tell you what gear she was diving with, won't confirm that her name was on the roster etc. etc.

There are 2 interesting asides that have nothing to do with this story, more the story of my missing diver from 2000. First, the diver was wearing brand new gear. His wife had bought it for him 2 weeks prior to the trip from a shop that my wife worked at during the off season. No one on the boat, not me, not the DM, not his wife, or his dive buddy could tell us what he was wearing. We knew it was a poodle jacket, but none of us could tell you the color, size, or brand (It was a medium Aqualung in lime green). None of us could tell you the color or brand of his mast and snorkel, and none of us could tell you what fins he had on. Mind you, his wife had bought this equipment 2 weeks prior. And we'd watched him dive 5 times the day before.

Second, I rarely dive on a trip. Conditions have to be damn near perfect. The mate never has dived from the Spree until we were in Cuba last year. If I dive, it's always on the SI between customers unless I'm doing a solo class.. My name is on every dive roster regardless of whether I dive or not. The crew know that if they dive, they check in and out with a designated crew member, so this doesn't happen. Even crew gets knocked off of the dive site in current or squalls, and someone has to go chase them down. To have someone from your boat get in the water with no one knowing is a recipe for.... well, it's a recipe for what happened here.

To the poster who stated that it was better to die diving than in some county run nursing home riddled with cancer alone and scared, sing it, brother. I would, however, try my best not to do it on a boat load of tourists.

 

[Jax]

His wife had bought it for him 2 weeks prior to the trip from a shop that my wife worked at during the off season. No one on the boat, not me, not the DM, not his wife, or his dive buddy could tell us what he was wearing. We knew it was a poodle jacket, but none of us could tell you the color, size, or brand (It was a medium Aqualung in lime green). None of us could tell you the color or brand of his mast and snorkel, and none of us could tell you what fins he had on. Mind you, his wife had bought this equipment 2 weeks prior. And we'd watched him dive 5 times the day before.

The Wookie speaks truth!

I always point out to the boat crew that I have an 8' XS scuba yellow SMB, a horn, a signal mirror, and a Lifeline. I point out my colorful fins, if I am in them. God Willing, they will never need to know that information, but they will have it if they need it.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

The color of a BC is immaterial, but somebody going in the water with no BC would catch the eye of even the most disinterested of observers.

 

[Wookie]

The color of a BC is immaterial, but somebody going in the water with no BC would catch the eye of even the most disinterested of observers.

That's the truth, especially on multiple dives. I might even come out of the wheelhouse for that.

 

[boulderjohn]

I think some of you don't understand what an expert witness does (or at least how I operate - Glenn Egstrom does it this way too). Sometimes what we're saying to whomever we work for is, "You don't have a case and you should settle." Sometimes we say, "We've got problems over here but we're on solid ground over here." And I just finished a case where I told the attorneys that I'd do my best to provide some cover but don't ask me this, this, or this because there's no defense or rationale I can provide and I'll side with the plaintiffs.

Not too long ago I had a very long talk with someone who frequently serves as an expert witness for diving accidents, and he made a point of telling me that he is extremely well paid for his work. I was interviewing him about a statement he had made on behalf of the plaintiff during a legal process that ended up with a quick settlement. Normally that would be the end of the case, but some people who did not like the settlement (very paltry amount for the plaintiff) circulated his statement as if it were the conclusion of a jury trial, and that was causing trouble. In our conversation, he talked about other cases in which he worked. I thought two points about his explanations are interesting for this case:

1. In the case in question, the attorney asked him to make a written statement to rebut a motion for dismissal. The attorney provided him with all the information he used in his statement. He did no investigation of his own. When I talked with him, years after the case was settled, because of that quick settlement, he had still done no investigation other than reading what the attorney had given him prior to his making his expert witness statement. He was surprised to learn that some of what he had written in his statement was flat wrong.

2. In a second very high profile case with major implications that went to trial, he did not testify at all. Why not? The attorney had not paid him when he was supposed to. The attorney promised to pay him before the trial, but he did not. Consequently, he did not attend the trial, and the evidence he was planning to present, evidence that he feels would have changed the outcome of the trial, was thus never presented.

As what I believe is indicated by those two cases, he made it very clear to me that he works for the people paying his fee, he does his best to be worth the money, and he feels he does a very good job--provided he is paid.

 

[Wookie]

....he made it very clear to me that he works for the people paying his fee, he does his best to be worth the money, and he feels he does a very good job--provided he is paid.

Sounds like the whores on Duval street (Bourbon Street, Bugis Street, etc.). And yes, I know who you are speaking of, and yes, the comparison stands.

 

[Hatul]

So do you find that relevant?

Was she more likely to repeat the accident or to avoid it after paying a significant penalty?

It's a point that after one prior accident it should make her a safer diver and pay close attention to air supply, or it could mean she did not learn the lesson and got herself into the same situation, we don't know. With one prior accident we don't know, if she had two then a reckless pattern would emerge.

Still, running out of air is high on the list of possibilities as we know she was very involved in trophy lobster hunting and could have been distracted. Another possibility high on the list is runaway negative buoyancy with subsequent narcosis.

 

[LACounty4806]

As what I believe is indicated by those two cases, he made it very clear to me that he works for the people paying his fee, he does his best to be worth the money, and he feels he does a very good job--provided he is paid.

This is troubling indeed. It's like when you hear about police officers falsifying statements just to get convictions. Shakes your faith in people knowing that they don't know right from wrong and will use or not use information to shape their reality. Very troubling indeed.

 

[scubadada]

It's a point that after one prior accident it should make her a safer diver and pay close attention to air supply, or it could mean she did not learn the lesson and got herself into the same situation, we don't know. With one prior accident we don't know, if she had two then a reckless pattern would emerge.

Still, running out of air is high on the list of possibilities as we know she was very involved in trophy lobster hunting and could have been distracted. Another possibility high on the list is runaway negative buoyancy with subsequent narcosis.

Is there really any excuse for going OOA?