2 more upper keys dive fatalities, 8/6/2011

[reefman]

Two die diving off the Upper Keys



the captain operates fanta-sea charters in islamorada(i couldn't locate a website althought listed on numerous others). details are not available as to wheter these divers were on a "for hire" charter trip or not,,,,,,,

reefman
key largo

 

[Johnnycat]

So I take it the two missing were the ones sharing air?

One diver surfaced to say that there was trouble below and two divers got on board (the messenger and his/her buddy?).
Two missing, sharing air when last scene.
The fifth presumably diving alone and picked up a little ways away?

 

[reefman]

alot of questions to be answered. i was out yesterday about 6 miles north of the accident site and althought the seas were <1ft, why were they drift diving without a reel and a ball or dive flag attached. following the divers(5) bubbles, are you kidding me! it was a super busy day on the water as well, as yesterday was the opening day of the regular spiny lobster season. boats(commercial and recreational) were everywhere!!!!!!!!


reefman
key largo

 

[deeper thoughts]

Today on CH16 the following was heard!!
Diver missing off Bahia Honda Bridge(found and all is well)
Sportsfisher boat grounded on Grecian rocks
Coast Guard helicopters searching for missing divers(details unknown)

 

[Wookie]

I'm sitting in the Stock Island channel, where three boats are all chasing the same 6 lobster, illegally, as it turns out. At least the fools are not out at sea dying.

 

[reefman]

a few more details,,,,

Bodies Of Missing Divers Found Off Plantation Key « CBS Miami



reefman
key largo

 

[KeysCuda]

Palm Beach Post:

PLANTATION KEY - The bodies of a Wellington woman and a Boca Raton man were found Sunday morning in the Florida Keys after they had gone missing while diving Sunday.
Judy Boone, 53, of Wellington and Kevin Moss, 43, of Boca Raton on a dive trip to celebrate the birthday of a friend, Mariann Radwan, 54, Highland Beach when they ran into trouble Saturday afternoon...It was starting its second dive of the day at Crocker's Reef...The group was diving in about 30 feet of water, but gradually went deeper until they were on a ledge about 60 feet down...
Moss had gone down about 45 feet when he reportedly rain out of air, the sheriff's department said...Radwan told police Moss was sinking deeper while he was running out of air. He was wearing diving weights that were integrated into his diving gear and he couldn't figure out how to drop them, according to the sheriff's report...


Divers from Wellington, Boca Raton found dead in Florida Keys

Wow.
So much going wrong for no apparent reason.

 

[fisheater]

. . . Moss was sinking deeper while he was running out of air. He was wearing diving weights that were integrated into his diving gear and he couldn't figure out how to drop them . . .

So sad. So unnecessary.

Training issue?

 

[DennisS]

[h=1]Sun Sentinel
Bodies of 2 divers from Palm Beach County found in Keys[/h]
By Ariel Barkhurst and Philippe Buteau, Sun Sentinel 6:15 p.m. EDT, August 7, 2011


PLANTATION KEY&#8212;
A Palm Beach County woman's scuba diving birthday celebration turned tragic on Saturday, when two members of her party disappeared underwater while struggling for air, according to the Monroe County Sheriff's Department.
The bodies of divers Kevin Moss, 43, of [URL="http://www.sun-sentinel.com/community/news/bocaraton?track=tax-bocaraton"]Boca Raton[/URL], and Judy Boone, 53, of [URL="http://www.sun-sentinel.com/community/news/wellington?track=tax-wellington"]Wellington[/URL], were found on Sunday morning off Plantation Key, near the spot they were last seen, the sheriff's office said in a release.
Their friend Mariann Radwan, of Highland Beach, who turned 54 on Sunday, was the last person to see them alive, Becky Herrin, spokeswoman for the sheriff's office, wrote in the release.
The divers were on the second dive of the day about two miles off the oceanside of Plantation Key at Crocker's Reef.
Moss and Boone were struggling with Moss's weights and running out of air when Radwan surfaced because of her own dwindling air supply, the release said.
Two other friends were on the dive boat, a 25-foot Bayliner called "Bob." They were Sherri Makis, 55, of Boca Raton,, and Alan Boyd, 52, of [URL="http://www.sun-sentinel.com/community/news/boyntonbeach?track=tax-boyntonbeach"]Boynton Beach[/URL].
According to Herrin:
Radwan and Moss realized he was out of air when the three divers were 45 feet beneath the surface. She shared her air with him while they tried to inflate her buoyancy device. But they began to sink because neither could figure out how to drop Moss's weights.
Moss pushed her away, Radwan said, so that she could surface.
As she swam away, Radwan saw Boone trying to help Moss.
Radwan returned to the dive boat. Captain Dennis Leith, of Tavernier, searched for the lost divers for 15 minutes, then called the Coast Guard.
The Coast Guard and the Fish, Wildlife Conservation Commission and the Monroe County Sheriff's Office marine unit searched until 8:30 p.m. Saturday, when they called off the search due to an approaching thunderstorm and low light, according to Herrin.
The divers' bodies were found at around 9:30 a.m. on Sunday. The cause of death will be determined following autopsies.

 

[RedCash02]

why were they drift diving without a reel and a ball or dive flag attached.
key largo

Where did you hear that they were drift diving? I didn't see it in the article. I'm assuming "following the bubbles" meant just watching them while tied up to one of the balls.

*Speculation* I'm curious about the one survivor having trouble inflating her BC and the inability of her and the male victim to drop his weights. This may be a sign that they were using rental equipment. I know for someone like me that has only used a traditional weight belt or a Zeagle ripcord, trying to figure out how to do a two-handed clip release on something like a Scubapro BC might be challenging while sharing air and possibly panicking. I'm wondering if he was actually too heavy for the BC to lift, the BC malfunctioned, or if they never tried to orally inflate it after he ran out of air.

I've been to Crocker a handful of times and it's a very nice site. A lot of the reef is in the 20ft range, but there is a wall there that you can drop down deeper than 60 pretty easily. It's a real tragedy and the fact that two divers perished leaves even more questions.