Diver dies in San Diego

[ShakaZulu]

Wow, that is insane!

 

[InTheDrink]

That's what I thought too. Seemed like an accident simply begging to happen. Condolences to the boy but the father made a terribly bad and ultimately selfish call.

 

[NudeDiver]

More than a little sad and sobering...

Honestly, it's hard for me to have any sympathy at all for those who are willing victims of their own refusal to follow even the most basic training they have received and/or the most basic safety standards of the activity in which they are engaged.

He followed his father 150 feet down into the Pacific Ocean, a dangerous, alarming descent for new divers.

Violation #1.

Josh Sonsteng said he had no choice. Why? That's unconditional trust. He's my father.

Violation #2.

Josh thought they were pushing it. He was thinking of his air supply, but he kept by his father's side.

Violation #3.

The night before the dive, he had boasted to her that he was going to go down to 130 feet even though he was certified to go less than half that.

Violation #4.

John went 20 feet farther than his goal, and Josh went with him.

Violation #5.

He pushed his dad down and away from him.

Violation #6.

Because he had ascended so quickly

Violation #7.

I couldn't help but feel for this young man

...and I can't help but wonder why. I'll save my sympathy for those who are wronged by others, or the victims of unforeseeable and unpreventable or random events. These two guys were practically begging to die. The only sobering thing here is that only one of them got what they were asking for.

Of course this contains the usual inaccuracies, we don't use oxygen

Really? The air in my tank has plenty of oxygen. Its at least 21% oxygen. My body really likes it

 

[TheMadDane]

Just sad, avoidable.

 

[Rick Inman]

...and I can't help but wonder why.

Because that is the human condition. To care about others, to feel sympathy for those who suffer, even when their own mistakes of poor judgment were the cause. Because each of us have made mistakes, but may not have had to die for them, or worse, live afterwords without their Dad.

Caring for others, having sympathy, having a heart... these are high qualities in a person.

 

[mintaka]

Wow ! I am a new diver and new to SB. For some reason I was immediately drawn to the accident-incident forum and am going to read everything. This story was so tragic but I really feel like I learned a lot from it and the discussions involving controlled emergency ascents.I am going to be sure to occasionally practice these.

My first instructor was very adamant about stressing not going too deep (too=beyond your abilities). This story really hammered that advice in.

So far I am in love with diving and while incidents like this don't change that, they certainly make me realize how fast bad things can happen and how this wonderful activity should never be taken for granted.

 

[justintx]

Well, that is a horrible story. As a new diver, there's a lot of wisdom to be gleaned from that. While avoiding such a dive should be both common sense and ingrained knowledge, sad reminders like this serve as powerful reinforcement.

 

[Red Vette]

Well put Rick!!! You ARE what you write.