On my way to Rockport this morning I heard about it at the dive shop. Some quick searching found this article from the Boston Herald:
Gloucester scuba diver drowns off Rockport
by Doug Hanchett
Saturday, July 27, 2002
A 41-year-old Gloucester man scuba diving with his wife and another couple drowned in Rockport's Whale Cove yesterday after venturing back into the choppy seas alone and running out of air, authorities said yesterday.
Divers, boats and a Coast Guard helicopter searched for four hours before rescue crews located the body of James Willing, who struggled unsuccessfully to surface from about 20 feet of water during a tragic midday dive.
``I believe he was out of air when we found him . . . you could almost say his equipment was in disarray,'' said Rockport Harbormaster Scott Story, who pulled Willing from the ocean floor. ``He might have been in a rush to come out. Something apparently made him uncomfortable.''
Willing was spotted by a snorkeler friend who joined the rescue effort. He was loaded onto Story's boat and rushed by ambulance to Addison Gilbert Hospital in Gloucester, where he was pronounced dead on arrival at 4:20 p.m.
The waters were rough yesterday and Story said ``there was a good running current on the bottom . . . a good swell while they were out there.''
Rockport police Chief Tom McCarthy said both couples had gotten out of the water after the other man in the dive party encountered some buoyancy problems. But in what proved to be a fatal mistake, Willing chose to finish the dive.
``It gets a little complicated at this point, but it appears the victim came out of the water too, but then went back in,'' said McCarthy. ``He decided that he had a certain amount of air left in his tank and wanted to continue his dive.''
McCarthy said Willing was a ``very experienced'' diver with about 15 years experience. But he violated one of the precepts of scuba diving - the buddy system - when he opted to return to the water alone.
``That's the rule of thumb and there's a reason for that,'' said McCarthy.
Rocky ledges surround Whale Cove and public access is difficult, making it one of Rockport's least attractive scuba spots. It is also littered with lobster traps and even an old gill net, but Story shot down initial reports that Willing got ensnared in the lines.
``He was not tangled,'' said Story.
Story said Willing's father, whom he knows, owns some waterfront property on the rocky cove and he was known to dive there regularly.
But relatives told Story that Willing's body wasn't near the usual entry point, indicating he ran into some trouble.
Story said the victim may have been diving with his wife for the first time.
``His wife just got certified so she could go with them,'' he said.
