A friend just sent me this
Scuba diver's sudden death in West Vancouver under investigation, local police say
Scuba diver's sudden death in West Vancouver under investigation, local police say
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Name? PM?Still waiting on details........heard it was an equipment failure.....
As above, the family would like the identity of the diver to remain private, but would like the dive community to be aware of the cause, and perhaps learn from this tragedy. There are likely other points, but as an avid scooter diver I'd advocate for the following:
- get training before using a scooter (yes they are fun, can be practical, but are potentially dangerous if used incorrectly)
- if possible, re-programme the scooter to start in the lowest gear available with a low RPM (some scooters come from the factory/dealer programmed to start in a cruise gear and RPM configuration)
- lock out the trigger any time you are not actively under-way (lock out the trigger for 'pat-downs', gas-switches, and any other activity that requires letting go of the scooter)
Underwater, loose line (like a scooter tow-rope) seems to develop a life of its own, and is usually not the least bit interested in yours. Manage your tow-rope like your life - or at the very least, your dive, depends on it.
I've never had a scooter class, but some of the protocols are interesting to me. Perhaps it is specific to the model of scooter, but what do you do when it stick "on" and will not shut off? This can happen from issues with the switch position or sticking, but can also be induced by a salt water leak into the scooter and shorting it out.Tow rope caught on the trigger can be extremely bad. This is one of the reasons proper scooter protocols teach turning the power off, or locking the trigger on models without a power switch, when stopping, especially so when taking your hand off the controls. Unfortunately many folks do not always do this or simply forget.