Galapagos Scuba Diving Fatality - February 12, 2010 - Eloise Gale

[DandyDon]

Edit: I now understand that the article was written by an attorney named John B, found on a number of sites.

I take this from this part...

Kimberly said that during the time she was struggling, at the 3-7 minute mark, was the last time she saw Eloise who had been just behind her, toward deeper water. Neither of us remember seeing Eloise or Denise grabbing onto the sloping bottom. It is Kimberly's recollection that Denise was in front of her and me, while Eloise was behind Kimberly.

...that Denise was Eloise's buddy and they were significantly separated then?

 

[HBO MD]

It sounds like the conditions were exceedingly challenging. While it may well have been panic, I do not believe that it was necessarily "cut and dried" as suggested. With the rate of air consumption described, hyperventilation could well have contributed to changes in blood chemistry and abnormalities in cardiac rhythm, etc. Claiming that self control would have allowed a controlled ascent and avoidance of this calamity is a gross simplification of the situation.
Further, when one achieves a standing of dive master of master diver or whatever the qualifying agencies sell, then the potential for lack of adequate preparedness does exist despite the illusion of yet another patch on one's sleeve. There are definitely a number of perceived commercial imperatives which contribute to accidents, whether it is the hype of yet another scuba specialty such as naturalist diver, national geographic diver, sphincter control diver etc that can be completed online or with 2 dives, or the need to get boats filled, all these factors heighten potential risk.
And yes, the diver is absolutely totally responsible for his/her actions, choices and safety. Nevertheless, one cannot merely ethically discard liability in the face of loss of life. What in fact would people suggest that the dive master's responsibility is, if any? What are the minimum standards of qualifications for dive guides in these far off destinations? I do not consider shepherding a group of divers to a site and ensuring overall safety to be beyond their responsibility. The determination of a plan "B" should conditions change, a plan for aborting a dive under untoward conditions, rescue plans in an emergency, briefings regarding emergency facilities on skiffs and the main boat, etc : these are all reasonable expectations when on a live aboard in my opinion, and I have experienced this previously.
My heart goes out to the family of this young woman and I am grateful for the courage of the author to share such a tragedy.

 

[darkstar]

The actual source of the material quoted is from the blog of John Bisnar

Scuba Diving Fatality - Galapagos - February 12, 2010 - Eloise Gale :: California Injury Blog

John and his wife Kimberly were on the Galapagos Aggressor, and the blog is John's first hand account of the accident.

 

[bsee65]

The actual source of the material quoted is from the blog of John Bisnar

Scuba Diving Fatality - Galapagos - February 12, 2010 - Eloise Gale :: California Injury Blog

John and his wife Kimberly were on the Galapagos Aggressor, and the blog is John's first hand account of the accident.

Well, then I hope someone asked permission before reproducing the author's work here in full.

 

[sweatfrog]

Yes, it sounds like a classic case of passive panic, leading to deep water blackout.

It may have been exacerbated by hyperventillation.

From everything I have ever read or heard about diving off the liveaboards in the Galapagos, it's diving for VERY experienced divers with solid confidence and the ability to deal with the unexpected. I remember reading, several years ago, a frightening story from a dive instructor who got separated from his group and ended up on the surface in an area where several currents converge and the water is extremely rough. He waited something like an hour and a half for pickup, ran through all the gas in his tank, and was afraid he would drown.

Those kind of currents occur in lots of places, like Palau & Costa Rica. Buddy separations happen in those instances.

The Galapagos is not on my bucket list.

I've dove the Galapagos on the Aggressor and while challenging currents are prevalent, the pelagics make the trip well worth the effort.

It's terribly, terribly sad to hear of someone dying this way.

I agree wholeheartedly.

With regards to all of the blame Grover48 places, the diver is ultimately responsible for their own actions. If someone bolts to the surface, or gets caught in a down-current on a dive, the DM shouldn't injure themselves trying to catch that person. They have a larger responsibility to the group.

 

[Grover48]

I did not write the article.

I was not there.

I copied and pasted it.

The author's byline is under the title.

 

[DiveDocMD]

I have been a diver on the Galapagos Aggressor II and had the same divemaster mentioned by name in the original post.

The Galapagos Islands offer incredible opportunity for the diver. The sealife that you will encounter is widely varied and amazingly abundant. The diving environment is one of the most challenging that I have experienced.

The water is relatively cold. The surface entry is choppy. The currents are strong and in some places unpredictable. The diver should be aware of these conditions and comfortable with gear and procedures before undertaking this trip.

Before the first dive each diver sits down individually with the lead divemaster to go over their personal dive experience. This is more that just checking off whatever certification card you carry. I was asked about places and conditions for previous dives. The dive staff are fluent in English. I was given every opportunity to ask questions about the dive plans.

Like mentioned in the OP, the afternoon of arrival we went to a protected cove to do an in water check and determine weight needs. This was a cold dive. Divers had as much time as needed to work on bouyancy control. For many, it was the first time using semi-dry exposure gear and hoods. I was glad that I had taken mine to the quarry several weeks earlier to have some experience. I observed that some divers did not spend much time in the water, largely because of the cold temperatures.

I found the divemasters to be exceedingly skilled. They were observant of the groups that they led. Their job is to lead the dive and try to ensure that the divers get what they came for, that is to see "stuff". It is incumbent on the diver to be prepared. This in not a Caribbean "follow the leader" dive in 100 foot viz. You are in a buddy pair. You are responsible for yourself and secondarily for your buddy.

 

[SelkieDVM]

The Galapagos is not on my bucket list.

Don't count it out just based on reports of challenging conditions. From what I know of you from the boards, you would be one of the last people I'd worry about.

I was there on the Estrella Del Mar last October. We did receive very thorough briefings and the guides were careful to stress the need for timed negative entries and to descend quickly. So, this could be a problem for photogs who need to have their rigs handed to them or for those who can't clear quickly.

As I understand it, the currents were moderate for the Galapagos when I was there, but can be much stronger. They were comparable to those I've experienced off NC but not as strong as the Cooper River. The cold and vis I suspect were nothing compared to Puget Sound.

I don't consider myself an experienced diver but I have dived in conditions similar to, but not exactly like, those in the Galapagos. I was admittedly nervous going in but had no problems. I saw more cool stuff in a week there than I have in my entire diving career prior.

Consider this just one more anecdotal perspective that I hope can help someone make a decision as to whether or not to write the dive the Galapagos.

 

[joshjensen]

I concur with the comments made by DiveDocMD.

I too have been onboard the Galapagos Aggressor II (twice) and have dived and been briefed by both Patricio and Jaime. I have found both to be well trained and extremely experienced dive professionals with excellent English skills. Both are genuinely concerned for the well-being and enjoyment of the divers under their care.

There is no doubt some of the conditions I encountered during those two trips are among the most challenging I have faced in my 6000+ dives. The majority of dives however were significantly less challenging and there were many dives with no current at all. As a dive instructor and more often a dive guide, I have often led dives in very strong currents and it is a difficult task. It is almost impossible in the strongest of currents to keep the group together and you must rely on your divers looking after themselves and their buddies to some extent. More importantly, you must rely on each diver to know the limits of their own comfort and abort the dive if and when they reach that limit.

This was a tragic accident that will haunt everyone involved for the rest of their diving lives. I hope divers that read this account will take an important message from it - diving is supposed to be a recreational and fun activity, if conditions on a given dive are too tough, or for any other reason you are not comfortable and not enjoying it, signal to your buddy and ascend. You will be a better diver for the experience.

 

[Bubbletrubble]

Besides the issue of what gas mix she was diving which touches on the possibility of ox-tox (32% nitrox is offered on the Aggressor), I had a few thoughts regarding the incident. Current is not something to be taking lightly. The powerful current is a factor that may have contributed to buddy separation. It sounds like everyone was working very hard in that current. Under such conditions, I think of carbon dioxide retention and how this might exacerbate narcosis at greater depths. Current can knock off a mask. Losing a mask in challenging conditions can lead to panic. We'll never know at what point Eloise lost her mask and whether it contributed to her death.

I have no knowledge of the underwater topography, but with such strong currents and the possibility of sharp changes in wall structure I have to wonder about downdrafts/updrafts and the concomitant challenge of maintaining depth control. Anyone diving in such conditions should have a game plan for recovering from "vertical" currents. It may seem counter-intuitive, but a technique to get out of the strong flow is to move away from the wall. I have no idea whether a downdraft occurred or even if this technique might have been useful in the scenario. The author describes a sloping contour that would seem to argue against the presence of a wall on this particular dive. I raise this issue purely as a "what-if" that might lead to more discussion or thought.

I was bothered by the author's language regarding the check-out dive. Experienced, well-trained divers shouldn't be "struggling" to determine weighting requirements even considering that completely novel gear (thick wetsuit, hoods, etc.) is being used. Doing a proper weight check is a basic OW skill. With experience and each gear change, I think a diver should be getting ample practice with conducting weight checks. If this isn't the case, then perhaps more/better training is indicated.

I feel bad for Denise. I'd be very interested in hearing what led to the initial buddy separation. Although I hope this is not the case, it is possible that Denise was following the DM closely and didn't notice that Eloise was falling behind. My training has emphasized that remaining with one's buddy is more important than staying with the DM or DM-led group. Holding hands with a buddy, as John Bisnar apparently did with his wife, is a valid technique for sticking together. It's interesting to note that Denise and Eloise seemed to fit the definition of "insta-buddies" -- no previous dives together, no shared experience to draw upon in the face of challenging dive conditions. FWIW, I'm not sure there's anything Denise could/should have done differently once the buddy separation occurred. The DM, an experienced guide with local knowledge of the waters, directed Denise to stay with the rest of the group while he searched for Eloise. She did the correct thing by remaining with the group.

It sounds like Patricio gave a fairly decent dive briefing on-board the Aggressor. Considering the unpredictable surface conditions, I think it's reasonable that any pre-dive discussions in the panga prior to splashing would be very brief. As has already been mentioned, buddies should be doing final equipment checks on their own. From reading the account, my impression is that overall the DMs acted responsibly.

On a side note, I was interested in finding out a little more about the person writing the eyewitness account. After viewing the other blog posts on the author's http://www.bestattorney.com/ website, I can't help but think the site smacks of ambulance-chasing in the 21st century. The implied message behind most of the blog posts is: look at this accident, these people should contact a personal injury lawyer to explore whether they can get financially compensated for their experience. Just thinking out loud here...but personal injury law in SoCal must be very lucrative since John and his wife had floor seats at the Staples Center for the Laker-Magic NBA Finals last year. Despite my distaste for how the author conducts his business, I am sorry to hear about his Galapagos experience.

I am unsure of the legality of copying-and-pasting Bisnar's blog post to SB. There isn't a specific legal statement on the website prohibiting copying of the content, although there are technological measures in place (Copypaste) to deter such behavior (refer to the bottom of the blog page in question).