Diver dies in San Diego

[Oside Jimc]

SAN DIEGO – The body of a missing diver was found late Saturday afternoon following an all-day search off La Jolla Shores.
The man, who was in his 40s, and his 19-year-old son were diving for the first time after receiving their certification at a depth of about 150 feet at 9 a.m. when the father ran out of air, San Diego lifeguard Lt. John Greenhalgh said.

Advertisement Search teams from the U.S. Coast Guard and lifeguard agencies around the county scoured the sea for eight hours before finding the man using a remote-controlled underwater vehicle around 4:45 p.m.
Authorities have not released the names of either the father or son.

When the father ran out of air, the two began “buddy breathing,” sharing the air supply from the son's tank as they tried to ascend to the surface, but they became separated. The son told authorities that he continued to ascend, but ran out of air himself about 40 feet below the surface, Greenhalgh said.

When he surfaced in front of the La Jolla Shores lifeguard station, about a quarter of a mile out to sea, he began waving his arms in distress and caught the attention of a lifeguard.

The teen was taken to UCSD Medical Center in Hillcrest as a precautionary measure because of his rapid ascent. He was listed in “stable but guarded condition” Saturday afternoon, a nursing supervisor said. It was unclear if he was suffering from decompression sickness, which is when gas bubbles form in the bloodstream.

Rescuers launched an immediate search with dive teams, a helicopter and boats, but by 10 a.m., the mission had been reclassified as a recovery effort, Greenhalgh said.

Divers from the Coast Guard and other agencies later responded to aid in the search.

Dive instructor Todd Young, with Aqua Tech Dive Center, said his group of student divers had just completed their first dive when lifeguards ordered all divers in the area out of the water.

Young said novice recreational divers are taught not to exceed a depth of 60 feet unless they have more advanced training. Divers who breathe high-pressure gas at extreme depths can begin to feel as though they are drunk and can seriously impair judgment.

“We preach that you should always be watching your gauges and compass,” Young said.

 

[DiverBizz]

What a tragic loss. Thankfully the son was able to reach the surface to get assistance. 150 feet for the first dive after certification, I wonder if the dive was planned or just part of the tragedy?

 

[Teamcasa]

Horrible, I hope the son is fine. Very sad indeed.

 

[kadleck]

150 feet for the first dive after certification, I wonder if the dive was planned or just part of the tragedy?

Maybe it was their first after AOW certification?

 

[Grey_Wulff]

I was diving at the Shores during the tradegy. The first I knew there was something wrong was when a free-diver attempted to get me to surface in 40ft of water. With considerable deco to run off I indicated I was staying down. A similar thing then happened in 25ft of water - now I was getting a little concerned about what was happening.

I surfaced after 104 mins to find lifeguard boats behind me and vehicles, lifeguards and divers lining the Shores. As soon as I surfaced lifeguards came over and checked my name. My dive buddy (who I had become separated from earlier in my dive) had informed the lifeguards I was on a long run time and they were expecting me.

When I got to the Shores I heard a diver was missing. The search was obviously in full swing as I was running off deco. The beach was closed for about 2hrs. By 11am the beach reopened but obviously the body was not recovered until much later.

Our thoughts are with the family.

Grey_Wulff

 

[Bubbletrubble]

I also happened to be at LJ Shores at the time of the incident. The Lifeguards ran an immediate and professional rescue effort. The search area was south of the North Wall and west of the Secret Garden. Although all details of the accident haven't been released to the public yet, I hope that eventually we will get follow-up regarding the state of his gear and the official cause of death. In particular, I'm curious whether the victim's weights were ever ditched, if he had any medical conditions, and exactly how air was being shared between the buddy pair. News reports refer to the air-share as "buddy breathing" but video footage of the son's gear clearly shows that he had an octopus on his regulator setup. Considering their lack of experience, I have to believe that the pair did not plan to hit a max depth of 150 fsw. Each diver was diving an AL80 tank. We all know that an inexperienced diver with a high SAC rate would blow through his air quite quickly at that depth. I'm not sure what site they were trying to explore. They definitely weren't far enough out to hit up Murray Head.

It was a pretty surreal experience being on shore while the rescue effort unfolded. It was interesting to see OW students standing around in the grassy area by the flagpole after Lifeguards ordered all divers to exit the water. At least one class went ahead and did their second OW dive once the search transitioned to a recovery and Lifeguards gave them the green light to get back into the water. Scuba diving is a potentially dangerous sport and bad stuff happens. I can imagine that would be a tough thing to witness before Dive #2.

This is very tragic. My thoughts are with their family at this very difficult time.

 

[drbill]

Based on my limited experience diving La Jolla Shores, although it can be a long surface swim over fairly shallow water, once you hit the canyon it can drop off quickly. I think it bad to speculate about the depth they actually reached until we hear official reports based on direct evidence. One can be diving in water that is 150 ft to the bottom, but they may be at 60 ft midwater.

 

[Bubbletrubble]

Based on my limited experience diving La Jolla Shores, although it can be a long surface swim over fairly shallow water, once you hit the canyon it can drop off quickly. I think it bad to speculate about the depth they actually reached until we hear official reports based on direct evidence. One can be diving in water that is 150 ft to the bottom, but they may be at 60 ft midwater.

I agree that it would be prudent to wait for official reports to surface. However, at least two news reports by local media quote Lt. John Greenhalgh (SD Fire Rescue) as specifying that the pair had descended to a depth of "about 150 feet". Here's a link to the News 8 story. I'll concede that the data wasn't taken off of a dive computer, though. As rescue efforts progressed at the Shores, we were given the same info by lifeguards regarding the buddy pair's dive profile (max depth of 150 fsw). In my mind, the depth is pretty accurate. I've done a fair number of dives at the Shores in the past few years (probably close to 150). Considering where Lifeguards were searching (just southwest of the Secret Garden site), it's at least 120 fsw there. The 150 fsw number is believable in my book.

 

[mikerault]

Let's see, from the facts posted:

1. Diving too deep for experience level (even if it was AOW which I doubt)
2. No or poor air management

A tragic but avoidable accident.

Their instructor should definately be questioned as to ability and what he taught them on these subjects.

Mike

 

[D_B]

As has been pointed out, we do not know how deep they were, nor the exact circumstances of the accident.
We do know that it is very saddening and I hope the son gets help to deal with this ..

DrBill is right, the canyon drops off pretty steeply
I am surprised that they would go so deep if they did, that would not be what I would have even thought of doing right after training, AOW or otherwise