PugetSounder
Registered
(I'm sorry, this is going to be long but I'm trying to be as detailed and accurate as possible)...
This is ONLY my personal account of these events and my opinions. I have waited several days before posting this to allow my emotions to calm down and to allow the authorities to begin addressing the issue.
Last Thursday morning, 9-13-07, my friend Amy and I arrived at Cove 2 for some recreational diving. As we arrived, we saw Diver's Institute of Technology (DIT) training hard-hat divers with surface supplied air in Cove 2 as well. One of their students came up to chat with us and told us they were doing bottom-heavy training where they were walking along the bottom (no buoyancy compensation). At first I thought the visibility was going to be the only problem, but I was very wrong.
They were rotating 3 hard-hat divers in the water at a time (there were many students there having had, or waiting for, their turn) who were going out to the end of their 300' umbilical and then spending time there before returning to the shore. They were in the southeast end of Cove 2 and the divers were out between the white can buoy and the last two yellow boundary buoy-markers.
While we were putting our gear together, we continued to watch them (hoping they'd finish and leave). Twice we witnessed bubbles inside the yellow boundary buoys and I explained to my out-of-town guest that they were inside the no dive zone. There were no other divers in the water.
Our plan was to drop at the white can buoy, visit the I-beams, come up the line to the pilings, continue up the pilings to the Honey Bear, then return to the beach - approx 50-60min run time. Knowing the visibility would be especially bad, we'd discussed separation and abortion plans in depth.
After our gear and bubble checks, my friend and I began our surface swim out to the white can buoy. As we did, we witnessed bubble trails moving quite rapidly across the bottom. Knowing they couldn't get to the I-beams, we were looking forward to getting there and actually being able to see something. We descended down the white buoy chain in to an absolute white-out. HID lights kept us together and my compass got us to the clear, deeper water. We enjoyed the I-beams and had a particularly fun interaction with a large cabbie. As our planned time at the beams was nearing its end, we proceeded up the rope into the white-out again.
As we proceeded up hill, a hard-hat diver came bounding, jumping, crashing, and sliding (in my opinion, "pillaging" and "destroying" come to mind as appropriate terms) down hill toward us to the extent we had to move quickly to avoid being run-over. The diver passed us and then the umbilical move sharply and quickly toward me faster than I could get out of its way. It became entangled in my first stage and I considered cutting myself free very seriously. I was able to free myself without use of a knife after a minute or so of being pulled backward (and almost becoming separated from my buddy) by the diver who was out of sight due to the visibility.
Once free, I regained contact with my buddy we attempted to cross the cove to get away from the hazardous divers. About a minute after the first incident, I witnessed another hard-hat diver "charging" down the hill towing his umbilical and then leaping off a piling crashing into the bottom... destroying everything in his path. A second after he passed us, his umbilical turned straight toward us, immediately becoming entangled in my harness and back-up regulator as I tried to push it below me to avoid it. Again, I found myself very seriously considering the use of my knife, but was able to free myself without it. (Note: The two times I considered using my knife to free myself, I chose not to do so as it would have forced a DIT student to bail-out to their back-gas. I didn't want to be the cause of someone's death or injury should they not have been able to bail-out successfully following the severance of their umbilical and was determined to do everything I could to free myself without use of a cutting instrument. I believe I made the right decision despite my emotions and adrenaline urging me to take the obvious option of cutting free.)
We continued heading for the boundary line, and soon I experienced the "this doesn't look right" feeling. Having completed our safety stops, I surfaced to find us in the middle of the no-dive-zone (then I remembered witnessing the two times the bubbles were across the line wondering where else the line was damaged). We quickly left the no-dive-zone and I found the damaged boundary line. I attempted to fix what I could in hopes it'd be enough that others later in the day wouldn't fall victim to the buried and mangled line as we did.
We exited the water and packed our gear - Cove 2 wasn't safe for recreational divers with DIT there.
I did not address any of the DIT staff as I was ignorant to whether they were permitted to be there and was ignorant to any politics surrounding DIT, Cove 2, the City, and the dive community. Knowing my emotions were charged, I didn't want to take any action which could possibly jeopardize Cove 2 for the diving community out of my ignorance (of the situation) and rage. I also was too angry and adrenaline-pumped (following the entanglement issues and finding myself in the no-dive-zone) to be confident I would remain rational should a DIT instructor object to my complaints.
Later in the day, after processing and discussing what had happened, I wasn't comfortable just "letting it go." I contacted Randy Williams, (Starfish Diving Inc. and "RDW" on this board) as he knows the politics of Cove 2 and has been in the local diving community for MUCH longer than I have. He was extremely upset and advised me to write a letter, copying Kathy Whitman (Aquatics Manager for the City of Seattle). I told Randy I believed that something had to be done quickly as a DIT student told us they were planning to be out there Friday (the next day) at 7am again. It was after hours, but we decided trying a call was better than doing nothing. Randy also said he would advise Jack Connick (a local diver who was/is heavily involved in keeping Cove 2 what it is, the politics with the City, and keeping it available to divers and safe) immediately.
I contacted Kathy Whitman who happened to answer her phone, after business hours, on the first ring. She was EXTREMELY helpful and is VERY pro-diving community, especially in Cove 2. I told her Randy said to call her, and shared my experience with her. She thanked me and said she would call me back but that she was calling DIT immediately. She called me later saying DIT would NOT be out there the next day and that if they were, that I should call Harbor Patrol (I was already planning to dive with LCF at Cove 2 the next morning anyway).
It should be noted, during the dive on Friday with LCF, I could see significant disturbance of the marine wildlife environment including distinct boot prints... it was disturbing to see and it completely offended me (not easy to do). It was clear that something awful had happened recently and appeared, in my opinion, to look like someone drove several tanks up and down the sea floor, demolishing everything in their path.
The next day my friend was in the Fish & Chips place (while Lynne and I were diving) when she overheard a man identify himself to someone at the restaurant. He asked if they'd been the ones who called, and when they said no, he asked if they knew who had. He also asked them if they liked DIT training there (which of course they did - they sell fish and fries to their bored, hungry students) and solicited a phone call from them to someone (my friend thinks she heard Kathy Whitmans name) to tell them (her) that they liked having DIT at Cove 2.
Also on Friday, I spoke at length with Jack Connick about my incident and about what had transpired up to that point. Following this conversation, I felt very confident the situation was in the best hands it could be. The City of Seattle was taking action and some of our local Cove 2 guardians were now involved.
Other stuff I've come to learn:
-DIT applied for a permit to do hard-hat diving training and was granted one at Magnesson Park for a fee. They declined the permit.
-DIT was in Cove 2 without any permit (which is required according to the City).
-DIT had recently blocked half of the West Seattle boat launch (violation of harbor code).
-Cove 2 is a City of Seattle park and leases the bottom (the sea floor) from Washington DNR.
There were certainly violations of law associated with this training. There were also, in my opinion, sever ethical violations surrounding the park and its marine life. Unfortunately there aren't laws against ethics violations so the focus must be on the laws that were broken.
The City of Seattle REALLY came through for us, the dive community, as well as for me personally, a recreational diver who was recklessly endangered due to the irresponsible and illegal actions of DIT. Kathy Whitman and her department deserve a HUGE "Thank You" for being an advocate for the recreational diving community.
Randy Williams and Jack Connick were extremely helpful and resourceful in helping me report my incident through the proper channels. They are actively involved in the up-keep of the Coves and are planning some work parties for the Coves soon. PLEASE COME SUPPORT THE WORK PARTIES!!! Most of us enjoy diving in the Coves, and we have a responsibility to keep it healthy. I know I will be at the next work party - perhaps it'd make for another good NWDC Dive & Pizza day!
I'm sure this post will stir things up, and I'm sure by the time you've read all the way down to here, your emotions are running pretty high. I'm very interested in hearing what the group's responses are, just please keep it constructive and respectful.
This is ONLY my personal account of these events and my opinions. I have waited several days before posting this to allow my emotions to calm down and to allow the authorities to begin addressing the issue.
Last Thursday morning, 9-13-07, my friend Amy and I arrived at Cove 2 for some recreational diving. As we arrived, we saw Diver's Institute of Technology (DIT) training hard-hat divers with surface supplied air in Cove 2 as well. One of their students came up to chat with us and told us they were doing bottom-heavy training where they were walking along the bottom (no buoyancy compensation). At first I thought the visibility was going to be the only problem, but I was very wrong.
They were rotating 3 hard-hat divers in the water at a time (there were many students there having had, or waiting for, their turn) who were going out to the end of their 300' umbilical and then spending time there before returning to the shore. They were in the southeast end of Cove 2 and the divers were out between the white can buoy and the last two yellow boundary buoy-markers.
While we were putting our gear together, we continued to watch them (hoping they'd finish and leave). Twice we witnessed bubbles inside the yellow boundary buoys and I explained to my out-of-town guest that they were inside the no dive zone. There were no other divers in the water.
Our plan was to drop at the white can buoy, visit the I-beams, come up the line to the pilings, continue up the pilings to the Honey Bear, then return to the beach - approx 50-60min run time. Knowing the visibility would be especially bad, we'd discussed separation and abortion plans in depth.
After our gear and bubble checks, my friend and I began our surface swim out to the white can buoy. As we did, we witnessed bubble trails moving quite rapidly across the bottom. Knowing they couldn't get to the I-beams, we were looking forward to getting there and actually being able to see something. We descended down the white buoy chain in to an absolute white-out. HID lights kept us together and my compass got us to the clear, deeper water. We enjoyed the I-beams and had a particularly fun interaction with a large cabbie. As our planned time at the beams was nearing its end, we proceeded up the rope into the white-out again.
As we proceeded up hill, a hard-hat diver came bounding, jumping, crashing, and sliding (in my opinion, "pillaging" and "destroying" come to mind as appropriate terms) down hill toward us to the extent we had to move quickly to avoid being run-over. The diver passed us and then the umbilical move sharply and quickly toward me faster than I could get out of its way. It became entangled in my first stage and I considered cutting myself free very seriously. I was able to free myself without use of a knife after a minute or so of being pulled backward (and almost becoming separated from my buddy) by the diver who was out of sight due to the visibility.
Once free, I regained contact with my buddy we attempted to cross the cove to get away from the hazardous divers. About a minute after the first incident, I witnessed another hard-hat diver "charging" down the hill towing his umbilical and then leaping off a piling crashing into the bottom... destroying everything in his path. A second after he passed us, his umbilical turned straight toward us, immediately becoming entangled in my harness and back-up regulator as I tried to push it below me to avoid it. Again, I found myself very seriously considering the use of my knife, but was able to free myself without it. (Note: The two times I considered using my knife to free myself, I chose not to do so as it would have forced a DIT student to bail-out to their back-gas. I didn't want to be the cause of someone's death or injury should they not have been able to bail-out successfully following the severance of their umbilical and was determined to do everything I could to free myself without use of a cutting instrument. I believe I made the right decision despite my emotions and adrenaline urging me to take the obvious option of cutting free.)
We continued heading for the boundary line, and soon I experienced the "this doesn't look right" feeling. Having completed our safety stops, I surfaced to find us in the middle of the no-dive-zone (then I remembered witnessing the two times the bubbles were across the line wondering where else the line was damaged). We quickly left the no-dive-zone and I found the damaged boundary line. I attempted to fix what I could in hopes it'd be enough that others later in the day wouldn't fall victim to the buried and mangled line as we did.
We exited the water and packed our gear - Cove 2 wasn't safe for recreational divers with DIT there.
I did not address any of the DIT staff as I was ignorant to whether they were permitted to be there and was ignorant to any politics surrounding DIT, Cove 2, the City, and the dive community. Knowing my emotions were charged, I didn't want to take any action which could possibly jeopardize Cove 2 for the diving community out of my ignorance (of the situation) and rage. I also was too angry and adrenaline-pumped (following the entanglement issues and finding myself in the no-dive-zone) to be confident I would remain rational should a DIT instructor object to my complaints.
Later in the day, after processing and discussing what had happened, I wasn't comfortable just "letting it go." I contacted Randy Williams, (Starfish Diving Inc. and "RDW" on this board) as he knows the politics of Cove 2 and has been in the local diving community for MUCH longer than I have. He was extremely upset and advised me to write a letter, copying Kathy Whitman (Aquatics Manager for the City of Seattle). I told Randy I believed that something had to be done quickly as a DIT student told us they were planning to be out there Friday (the next day) at 7am again. It was after hours, but we decided trying a call was better than doing nothing. Randy also said he would advise Jack Connick (a local diver who was/is heavily involved in keeping Cove 2 what it is, the politics with the City, and keeping it available to divers and safe) immediately.
I contacted Kathy Whitman who happened to answer her phone, after business hours, on the first ring. She was EXTREMELY helpful and is VERY pro-diving community, especially in Cove 2. I told her Randy said to call her, and shared my experience with her. She thanked me and said she would call me back but that she was calling DIT immediately. She called me later saying DIT would NOT be out there the next day and that if they were, that I should call Harbor Patrol (I was already planning to dive with LCF at Cove 2 the next morning anyway).
It should be noted, during the dive on Friday with LCF, I could see significant disturbance of the marine wildlife environment including distinct boot prints... it was disturbing to see and it completely offended me (not easy to do). It was clear that something awful had happened recently and appeared, in my opinion, to look like someone drove several tanks up and down the sea floor, demolishing everything in their path.
The next day my friend was in the Fish & Chips place (while Lynne and I were diving) when she overheard a man identify himself to someone at the restaurant. He asked if they'd been the ones who called, and when they said no, he asked if they knew who had. He also asked them if they liked DIT training there (which of course they did - they sell fish and fries to their bored, hungry students) and solicited a phone call from them to someone (my friend thinks she heard Kathy Whitmans name) to tell them (her) that they liked having DIT at Cove 2.
Also on Friday, I spoke at length with Jack Connick about my incident and about what had transpired up to that point. Following this conversation, I felt very confident the situation was in the best hands it could be. The City of Seattle was taking action and some of our local Cove 2 guardians were now involved.
Other stuff I've come to learn:
-DIT applied for a permit to do hard-hat diving training and was granted one at Magnesson Park for a fee. They declined the permit.
-DIT was in Cove 2 without any permit (which is required according to the City).
-DIT had recently blocked half of the West Seattle boat launch (violation of harbor code).
-Cove 2 is a City of Seattle park and leases the bottom (the sea floor) from Washington DNR.
There were certainly violations of law associated with this training. There were also, in my opinion, sever ethical violations surrounding the park and its marine life. Unfortunately there aren't laws against ethics violations so the focus must be on the laws that were broken.
The City of Seattle REALLY came through for us, the dive community, as well as for me personally, a recreational diver who was recklessly endangered due to the irresponsible and illegal actions of DIT. Kathy Whitman and her department deserve a HUGE "Thank You" for being an advocate for the recreational diving community.
Randy Williams and Jack Connick were extremely helpful and resourceful in helping me report my incident through the proper channels. They are actively involved in the up-keep of the Coves and are planning some work parties for the Coves soon. PLEASE COME SUPPORT THE WORK PARTIES!!! Most of us enjoy diving in the Coves, and we have a responsibility to keep it healthy. I know I will be at the next work party - perhaps it'd make for another good NWDC Dive & Pizza day!
I'm sure this post will stir things up, and I'm sure by the time you've read all the way down to here, your emotions are running pretty high. I'm very interested in hearing what the group's responses are, just please keep it constructive and respectful.
