It's not the agency, it's not the instructor... it's the diver

[Slamfire]

I love ktomlinson's conclusion of the story.

I hesitated to use the word "captain" in my translation, it just didn't seem to fit the character of "El Chele".

 

[highdesert]

This guy reminds me of a divemaster who works about 10 miles west of this incident ... built like a whiskey barrel, probably sips air like a 90 pound female.

 

[deepstops]

this guy is a badass

I agree, Major Badass!

 

[Bogie]

Wow. He kept his cool and survived.

He has mental stamina to tough it out.

 

[Zippsy]

....hmmmmm..... some comments made me wonder. There was a semi-famous case out here were a freak storm came up quickly while a diver was doing a very long solo deco, hanging on a line at the back of the boat. I didn't witness it but according to the diver's account, he knew the ship was having trouble because of the strain on the mooring line which ended up being cut away so the ship could hide behind an island to ride out the storm. From the details that the diver posted, there were obvious things I would have tried to do differently as an operator but..... the captain also explained that he had serious concern for the fate of the ship and the other 25 people on board. He made the conscious decision to risk one person, rather than 25. When the storm ended, the operator said he calculated the currents, headed to where he thought the diver would drift and found him. The diver ended up spending an extra 60 minutes (if I recall correctly) on the surface, mostly in the raging storm - which sucks. Maybe the diver still had the right to scream away but I doubt the operator felt so guilty. Sometimes those guys have to make tough decisions.

 

[Scott L]

I am willing to bet that in the future, Luis Andres Sanchez will be diving with another harness system including a buoyancy cell of some sort. Thankfully, he was utilizing an AL cylinder in place of steel...

 

[beautybelow]

The fact that he was a lobster diver meant he could have been on his 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th and so on tank of the day too.

 

[KP3S]

Most of these divers in South America are using gear that is not on the best shape due to lack of professional service, money and out dated vintage gear. Some use tanks that are not safe or that have been repaired due to corrosion. But since the economy of those countries is bad they have to use what they have on hand. Like Luis Andres Sanchez, his gear looks like is from the 70's and he saved his life without a BCD!

I wish I had the money to spare, I would send him a complete scuba set to reward him for saving his life and keep under control his fears. That way he can be safer and better provide for his family. He is my heroe.

 

[halocline]

Many of the lobster divers also get bent from lack of concern and/or training about decompression. The dive shop at which I did my DM on Roatan took care to completely destroy any throw-away gear, including drilling old tanks, so that the lobster divers would not use it. The whole issue of lobster diving around the bay islands is a very serious problem IMO. This guy survived, but many don't, and there's not sufficient regulation/enforcement to keep untrained divers out of the water with unsafe gear, and as shown in this thread, unsafe boat practices.

Sending this guy new scuba gear is a nice thought, but on average it would actually endanger his life more. It would be far better to get him (and all the lobster divers) some deco training and maybe a computer.

 

[fnfalman]

I guess in this case, the snorkel came in real handy.