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

[Capt.JimDavis]

Not much of info as of now but it was a young man who came to island for this weekend with a group of his friends for a wedding party.
Today during daytime we heard the sirens going to the Casino point which whenever I see flashing lights heading towards that point makes me sick to my stomach.
Later I heard from a few other divers that this young man were freediving and he didn't look good when they took him out to the ambulance.

Whoever he may be, please keep this young man in your prayers.

 

[fdog]

Freediving looks simple...it's just a mask, snorkel and fins. So most folks treat it as an equally simple, trivial subset of skills in the sport of diving.

Freediving is even more buddy-centric than scuba diving. There's a lot to look out for, and many procedures designed to prevent this tragedy. This hidden complexity makes a freediving class is an excellent investment for those that are considering more than a simple snorkel in a couple of feet of water.

Without more information it's tough to say what happened here; "shallow water blackout" is a standard, canned answer, just like "running out of oxygen" is for initial reports of a scuba fatality. Neither really addresses what may have been the root causes.

He could have also had a white out, or, deep water blackout; until something more definitive emerges, it's speculation.


All the best, James

 

[SVThuh]

Im pretty sure that was my friend Tony. Was he a smaller, skinny, mid-20's Asian guy? If so, he unfortunately did not make it. Apparently he had finished his dive and was out retrieving his forgotten dive buoy when he had his accident.

I myself am still searching for details on this incident. He was a long time friend and dive buddy of mine. We went to high-school and I am still in disbelief over what happened.

 

[H2Andy]

i am very sorry to hear this

 

[DandyDon]

Im pretty sure that was my friend Tony. Was he a smaller, skinny, mid-20's Asian guy? If so, he unfortunately did not make it. Apparently he had finished his dive and was out retrieving his forgotten dive buoy when he had his accident.

I myself am still searching for details on this incident. He was a long time friend and dive buddy of mine. We went to high-school and I am still in disbelief over what happened.

Very unfortunate. The purpose of this particular forum is look at accidents objectively, while with respect, so we can try to prevent similar ones. You are welcome to post more here on SB of course, and while condolences are discouraged here to prevent confusion, perhaps you'd like to start a new, condolences thread on our Passings forum at this link...?

Of course, if you can add any info, we would appreciate that - and it may help others.

I used to free dive some before Scuba, holding my breath as long as I could, having never heard of Shallow Water Blackout or other risks. My only concern was being able to swim back in and at least I always wore a snorkel vest. Still do at times, maybe just on a moving boat or snorkeling, bought a few more for my daughter's family.

 

[MaxBottomtime]

From the victim's family;
On Saturday, June 20, 2009, a 28 Year old, experienced SCUBA diver from Torrance CA died while attempting to retrieve an anchored dive float in about 20 feet of water. He was healthy and physically fit.

He had been SCUBA Diving with friends and family, and returned to the water to retrieve their float without his SCUBA gear, but wearing a weight belt due to his wetsuit.

When he was not seen for a few minutes, a fellow diver went to look for him, and found him under water. He was brought to shore where efforts to revive him for over an hour were ultimately unsuccessful.

 

[DandyDon]

Damn! Time and time again we read about the body found with weight belt on. Damn!

 

[SVThuh]

Tony was very experienced. Had well over 2k dives under his belt without incident. The only reason why I can imagine that he still had the belt on was due to a blackout. No way to tell they are coming and when they hit it is too late.

Thank you guys for the info. I will be placing a post sometime soon in the condolences section for him.

 

[DocIndyDiver]

No fins?

 

[Rick Inman]

Damn! Time and time again we read about the body found with weight belt on. Damn!

Well, more than that, he was by himself.

I know he wasn't on scuba at the time, but still it is interesting to note, from the July/August Alert Diver Magazine published by Divers Alert Network (DAN). There is an interesting article on page 68 called Identifying Problems – Common Causes of Open-Circuit Diving Fatalities. In the article, it says, “…57% of divers who died began their dive with an assigned buddy but were separated prior to death.”