Bahamas: Missing Female Diver

[dumpsterDiver]

Just to make sure we are all talking about the same thing, I figure 3 kt is about a football field (100 yd) per minute.

Don't know about your conversion factors but we commonly drift well over a mile in 30 minutes in that area. Additionally, the boat GPS gives good readings of the speed when drifting. Also the diver pulling a float in those currnts can have a hard time if the surface is moving a lot faster than the bottom water. Sometimes the top and bottom are moving at the same rate, sometimes not.

 

[redacted]

Don't know about your conversion factors but we commonly drift well over a mile in 30 minutes in that area. Additionally, the boat GPS gives good readings of the speed when drifting. Also the diver pulling a float in those currnts can have a hard time if the surface is moving a lot faster than the bottom water. Sometimes the top and bottom are moving at the same rate, sometimes not.

That puts it in the 3 kt neighborhood.

 

[alohagal]

...and had the presence of mind to anticipate the need for the rescue by filiming his computer and the rescuees periodically throughout the dive.

The last time I saw a discussion of this video, the consensus was that it was a fake.

By the way, roughly the last 60 posts have just about nothing to do with the topic of this thread.

I did think it odd that he was conveniently filming his guage at the beginning of the dive. I chalked it up to someone who may have realized a potential for an incident occuring with someone so young on the dive. But...guess not. I also heard the video of the eel biting the man's thumb off was fake as well.

I guess you can count this post as another one off topic! Wish ONEHALCYON would show up here. If he is the real deal.

 

[cappyjon431]

Don't know about your conversion factors but we commonly drift well over a mile in 30 minutes in that area. Additionally, the boat GPS gives good readings of the speed when drifting. Also the diver pulling a float in those currnts can have a hard time if the surface is moving a lot faster than the bottom water. Sometimes the top and bottom are moving at the same rate, sometimes not.

And sometimes the surface current is moving in the opposite direction as the bottom current. Only had this happen a couple of times to me, always on very deep walls (Elbow Cay in the Cay Sal Bank comes to mind). Talk about difficulties handling the float!

Have we finished off the original topic?

 

[mrlipis]

I did think it odd that he was conveniently filming his guage at the beginning of the dive. I chalked it up to someone who may have realized a potential for an incident occuring with someone so young on the dive. But...guess not. I also heard the video of the eel biting the man's thumb off was fake as well.

I guess you can count this post as another one off topic! Wish ONEHALCYON would show up here. If he is the real deal.

I think your gut instincts are correct in both cases here.

 

[Splitlip]

No S#@t sherlock. We were talking about new divers or recently OW certified divers being dropped into a 3 kt current. I did not say its unsafe for an experienced diver to dive in 3kt current depending upon the type of dive. With new divers there are just too many issues and too much task loading and skills that are critical that they will not have mastered and hence too much a chance for problems. For example...entry and exit from the boat is much more challenging, at 3 kts mask flooding is much more an issue (how many stories do we need to read about new divers that panic when their mask is flooded). Even though you are moving with the current buddy contact requires more attention. Depending upon local dive customs someone in the buddy team might have to manage and carry a surface float so that boat can follow them, the divers might need to know how to deploy a smb (thats not on the OW course at least with PADI). If this is the first time they will be using air much quicker due to the adrenaline rush that comes with conditions like high current. And these do not even address if its a strong current on a wreck dive or reef dive which bring a whole new set of issues such as free ascent without reference.

Far too many potential problem for me to take a new diver into such conditions. They can build up to it over time starting with lower level currents and developing confidence there first. Just because some says they do it in places like Florida does not mean it right. Beside, I would still question doing it in a 3 kt current even in Florida. I have not seen any many boat captains off Ft Lauderdale or Key Largo that do not proceed cautiously when dropping even experienced divers into a 3 kt current.

John: My name is Tim, not "Sherlock".

My post was in response to this post you made in reply to AMAZZ:
Have you ever dumped anyone in a 3 knot current? Ever been in one yourself? I would think not....if someone took new divers into a 3 knot current they would need to be held criminally responsible and I do not think their training agency and insurance provider would be backing them up on that one.
Prior to your edit.

And as I have stated earlier in this thread, dropping a "subtrained" student in drift is not right. We agree on that. As I also said, there is a learning curve, but these currents are a reality. And my point was that AMAZZ dives them.

We are in Jupiter. Not Lauderdale or the keys. 3 knot currents are NOT that unusual. We had 3.5 at the surface the past weekend. It was maybe 2 and change at the bottom. People dive them, including visitors. People who are comfortable and experienced in the water do fine. We agree there too.

Now, I will say my friend Mark whom I met here in the forums came from MO., never having dived anything but a Lake or Quarry. Very experienced however. He decended several seconds AFTER the rest of us and had to wait several minutes hanging on to rocks down stream for us to catch up. 5 or 6 minutes into the vid. He was fine and learned. LOL
Scuba Diving Videos West Palm Beach Drift Dive Scuba Videos
The particular op (some find too nurturing), checks new folks out in their pool and puts several DM's /guides in the water to monitor them.

Here is a pic of Dave pulling our surface float. Not much current.

 

[Cave Diver]

I did think it odd that he was conveniently filming his guage at the beginning of the dive. I chalked it up to someone who may have realized a potential for an incident occuring with someone so young on the dive. But...guess not. I also heard the video of the eel biting the man's thumb off was fake as well.

I guess you can count this post as another one off topic! Wish ONEHALCYON would show up here. If he is the real deal.

I think your gut instincts are correct in both cases here.

To answer that question, look at this: 8 seconds into the video the computer shows a depth of 71' and 24 minutes no stop time. The rest of the dive goes like this:

Time...Depth...No Stop Time
0:08.......71........24........2370 psi
1:19.......111.......5........ 2045 psi
1:41.......113.......5.........2145 psi
1:52.......128.......0
2:34.......141.......4........16?? psi
2:54.......144.......5........1640 psi

Interesting that there is more no stop time at 144' than there was at 128'. I think this was either multiple dives spliced together, or a bounce dive was done and the shots were put together out of sequence. PSI at 111' seems to support this.

Also, one minute into the video it shows another diver video taping their console...

 

[MMM]

To answer that question, look at this: 8 seconds into the video the computer shows a depth of 71' and 24 minutes no stop time. The rest of the dive goes like this:

Time...Depth...No Stop Time
0:08.......71........24........2370 psi
1:19.......111.......5........ 2045 psi
1:41.......113.......5.........2145 psi
1:52.......128.......0
2:34.......141.......4........16?? psi
2:54.......144.......5........1640 psi

Interesting that there is more no stop time at 144' than there was at 128'. I think this was either multiple dives spliced together, or a bounce dive was done and the shots were put together out of sequence. PSI at 111' seems to support this.

Also, one minute into the video it shows another diver video taping their console...

I'm not familiar with that computer andhaven't checked tables but is there any possibility that the last 2 times were showing deco obligation (perhaps with 3 min safety stop built in)? Seems like a big obligation in such a short timeframe but just wondering...

 

[Cave Diver]

I'm not familiar with that computer andhaven't checked tables but is there any possibility that the last 2 times were showing deco obligation (perhaps with 3 min safety stop built in)? Seems like a big obligation in such a short timeframe but just wondering...

I considered that, but I didn't see any indication that it was a deco obligation.

 

[alohagal]

I considered that, but I didn't see any indication that it was a deco obligation.

Interesting. I was not able to make out as much on the video computer guage (and didn't try) only noticed the depth.

Fake or not...it was pretty spooky on first run through. The music helped set the ambiance of trepidation.

Shout out to MEG DIVER: Can you tell us anymore about the incident, the DM, or anything at all on the investigation for the subject of this thread?

Thanks in advance,
Mary