Deaths at Stoney Cove

[citysparks]

I see another diver has died at the ill fated Stoney cove in Lestershire England(thats 25 now), Why are so many divers being found at the bottom of open water conditions with there weight belts still in place. Its about time that the trainning organisations took this on board, Teach people to remove and hold on to there weight belts if they black out or become unconcious then they drop the belt and will be positivley bouyent an will surface. All you instructors out there remember that an embolisum Pnumathorax etc can be treated, ok the diver may never dive again but they will be alive, I feel that its time to push all the trainning agencys to change there attitude to divers loosing there lives. Lets act now before the authorities such as the HSE do.

Your opinions are invited along with your suggestions on how can we improve the saftey of all of us who enjoy the underwater world, we just want it safer.

 

[PhilEllis]

I see another diver has died at the ill fated Stoney cove in Lestershire England(thats 25 now), Why are so many divers being found at the bottom of open water conditions with there weight belts still in place. Its about time that the trainning organisations took this on board, Teach people to remove and hold on to there weight belts if they black out or become unconcious then they drop the belt and will be positivley bouyent an will surface. All you instructors out there remember that an embolisum Pnumathorax etc can be treated, ok the diver may never dive again but they will be alive, I feel that its time to push all the trainning agencys to change there attitude to divers loosing there lives. Lets act now before the authorities such as the HSE do.

Your opinions are invited along with your suggestions on how can we improve the saftey of all of us who enjoy the underwater world, we just want it safer.

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Are you advocating that recreational divers remove their weight belts and hold them in their hands as a normal course of each dive?

Phil Ellis
Discount Scuba Gear at DiveSports.com - Buy Scuba Diving Equipment & Snorkeling Equipment

 

[RJP]

Its about time that the trainning organisations took this on board, Teach people to remove and hold on to there weight belts if they black out or become unconcious then they drop the belt and will be positivley bouyent an will surface.

What on earth are you talking about?

 

[tomboyy]

I see another diver has died at the ill fated Stoney cove in Lestershire England(thats 25 now), Why are so many divers being found at the bottom of open water conditions with there weight belts still in place. Its about time that the trainning organisations took this on board, Teach people to remove and hold on to there weight belts if they black out or become unconcious then they drop the belt and will be positivley bouyent an will surface. All you instructors out there remember that an embolisum Pnumathorax etc can be treated, ok the diver may never dive again but they will be alive, I feel that its time to push all the trainning agencys to change there attitude to divers loosing there lives. Lets act now before the authorities such as the HSE do.

Your opinions are invited along with your suggestions on how can we improve the saftey of all of us who enjoy the underwater world, we just want it safer.

Guess you haven't thought out your suggestion.

 

[irishsquid]

... Teach people to remove and hold on to there weight belts if they black out or become unconcious then they drop the belt and will be positivley bouyent an will surface. ... Your opinions are invited along with your suggestions on how can we improve the saftey of all of us who enjoy the underwater world, we just want it safer.

I would address the "root causes"; such as: the conditions, stress factors, etc., that these divers are in, that ends up in a situation where planning a dive to dump weight is the solution.
How would you teach people to know they will black out or become unconcious?
What happens when they blackout with a "Kung-Fu" grip? Now a rescuer can't dump their weights. Training or lack of training could very well be the problem, but; it probably isn't - not knowing to dump weight.

 

[TheMadDane]

How would you teach people to know they will black out or become unconcious?
What happens when they blackout with a "Kung-Fu" grip? Now a rescuer can't dump their weights. Training or lack of training could very well be the problem, but; it probably isn't - not knowing to dump weight.

 

[irishsquid]

How would you teach people to know they will black out or become unconcious?
What happens when they blackout with a "Kung-Fu" grip? Now a rescuer can't dump their weights. Training or lack of training could very well be the problem, but; it probably isn't - not knowing to dump weight.

??????? I'm sorry, what did I miss?

 

[obsession600]

How would you teach people to know they will black out or become unconcious?

this is where the idea falls apart

What happens when they blackout with a "Kung-Fu" grip? Now a rescuer can't dump their weights.

How about using your shears or a dive knife? On the belt, not the wrist.

 

[Diver0001]

I see another diver has died at the ill fated Stoney cove in Lestershire England(thats 25 now), Why are so many divers being found at the bottom of open water conditions with there weight belts still in place. Its about time that the trainning organisations took this on board, Teach people to remove and hold on to there weight belts if they black out or become unconcious then they drop the belt and will be positivley bouyent an will surface. All you instructors out there remember that an embolisum Pnumathorax etc can be treated, ok the diver may never dive again but they will be alive, I feel that its time to push all the trainning agencys to change there attitude to divers loosing there lives. Lets act now before the authorities such as the HSE do.

Your opinions are invited along with your suggestions on how can we improve the saftey of all of us who enjoy the underwater world, we just want it safer.

I can certainly sympathize with this point of view. To me it's also hard to understand that divers sometimes reach the surface and then sink again and drown or that they fail to reach the surface because they have failed to employ a buoyant ascent when all else has failed.

I'm not sure I completely understand the OP's suggestion about how to act but I can certainly understand his sentiment that more can be done. He's right. More CAN be done. Maybe our training needs to emphasize bugging out better. Maybe instructors are too focused on solving problems under water instead of getting your butt back to the surface when the s.hit is hitting the fan....

Maybe the "favour" we think we doing for divers when teaching them to keep diving when problems arise isn't a "favour" at all, but a death sentence for some....

Maybe we really do need to re-think some of our "norms".

R..

 

[DevonDiver]

1. Diving organizations DO teach to drop the weight belt.

2. Diving organizations DO teach/suggest buoyant emergency ascents.

3. Stoney Cove recieves XXX thousand divers a month...statistically, the accident rate is not exessively high.

4. In the majority of diving fatalities, the victim reaches the surface and subsequently sinks.

5. In most of those circumstances, the victim is suffering a medical condition (heart attack etc), that prevents them from doing anything to save themselves, including ditching the weight belt.

6. In the other circumstances, the victim is suffering from uncontrolled panic, that prevents them from doing anything to save themselves, including ditching the weight belt.

I advocate the attachment of weight belts with explosive bolts...linked to detonate from a heart rate monitor..... no worries