Missing Diver off of Kahala, Oahu, Hawaii

[justleesa]

Here is another article on what they found:

New search ends for missing diver from New York - Hawaii News - Staradvertiser.com

The search for a diver missing off the Waialae-Kahala coast since Aug. 28 was concluded about 4 p.m. today by Honolulu fire and rescue personnel after they failed to find any new clues into the whereabouts of the 28-year-old visitor from New York.
Firefighters were able to locate a dive regulator, believed to have been used by Matthew Curley, about 50 to 100 feet north northwest of the sunken wreck he had been exploring, said Honolulu fire Capt. Terry Seelig.
Curley went missing during a group scuba dive with Island Divers half a mile from shore on Aug. 28. The search, conducted in high surf from a south swell, was suspended after four days.
At the request of Honolulu police, firefighters combed a large area of water today after Island Divers located a dive mask, wetsuit and other equipment that apparently had been rented to Curley, at the same spot firefighters later located the dive regulator, Seelig said.
Fire personnel also searched the area with a helicopter and along the shoreline without success.
“They found no evidence of Mr. Curley or his remains,” he said.
The search won’t resume unless new leads are found, Seelig said.

I find it very strange that they found his wetsuit....don't you?

 

[DandyDon]

I find it very strange that they found his wetsuit....don't you?

They didn't say what condition it was in.

 

[justleesa]

but still...

 

[trailblazer1229]

They didn't say what condition it was in.

A report on the local radio station indicated it was "shredded." I don't know where they got their information and I don't want to speculate. Through a 3rd party DLNR seems to confirm some of what the news is reporting in regards to the equipment recovered. If the current and swells were up that day and if it is true according to some reports that some of the divers got separating and surfaced in different areas, is it possible this was a boating accident? Possible shredded wetsuit, possible reg separated from the tank. Could this be a result of a prop? What was the boat traffic like out there. If the equip. Was found only 100 feet from the wreck....What is that 10-20 kick cycles? I don't know what this vis was, but I am surprised the equipment wasn't found a little earlier. I guess the question is where was the buddy on the ascent?

 

[MauiScubaSteve]

I guess the question is where was the buddy on the ascent?

Did I miss something; has someone claimed the missing diver had a buddy? If the missing diver was buddied up, I would not be surprised to hear that that buddy was "abandoned" by his bad "insta-buddy" early in the dive.

 

[Black_3000psi]

those are very valid questions.

 

[Black_3000psi]

Divermike1011 wrote: "You just confirmed what I wrote in my post, so thank you Zrxdiver."

I am not confirming anything! Again, conditions were not to rough. Three dive boats were diving the same place on the same day.

I saw 3 groups of 5 or so divers surface surface withing 100yds of the OPs boat with surface markers, just shy of the last wreck along the drift line. There are 3 wrecks in an east west line. The two other divers were not picked up by another boat. They simply ascended on the mooring line of the last wreck, and another dive boat was moored there. The OP boat picked their divers up in about 5 mins.

Maybe they all intened to ascend on the mooring line of the last wreck and didnt make it due to bottom time or air.
Maybe they seperated in to 3 or 4 groups, based on air consumption, on purpose. There's no need to stay as one group of 15+ divers.

no, your right, there is no need to stay as a group of 15 on a drift dive, with no float to mark your position so that you dont get run over by a boat when you surface, yes you should have five groups of threes popping up where ever. I dont know who had floats or any other types of markers but I can tell you this: the two divers who came up our line while we were at the landing craft did not have one, and no signal sausages. so tell me is that the way a drift dive is done where you come from?

 

[MauiScubaSteve]

I have done a number of drift dives where the groups is 5-7 divers and there is one dsmb. The briefing is where someone says "everyone stays within sight of the person with the dsmb!" When the first divers get to ascent pressure the float goes up, then the LOA divers ascend. Typically the drift continues for divers not yet at ascent pressure. After SS's, divers surfacing near the float are then picked up by the boat. Continue as necessary until all divers on board; the diver with the float surfaces with the last of the divers (or vice versa).

Seems like diver(s) might not have followed the briefing(s).

 

[airdiver1995]

The following is something I wrote to my colleagues at work the day this happened. I was there, on the Sea Fox. I found this thread while googling Matthew Curley to see if there was any new news. My heart aches for the family and I hope they feel all the love and prayers everyone is sending them. PLEASE, DON'T READ INTO MY COMMENTS. These are lessons I learned from that day, which is what some people posting here are claiming to be on this board for. I have edited some comments (but none that are safety related) with the knowledge that the family could be reading this. I suggest others do the same. To correct one thing that was said, my buddy and I surfaced at another boat. We knew it wasn't our boat when we surfaced. We saw 5 divers doing their safety stop as we came up a bouyed line. I initially thought they were divers from our group, but when looked at the ladder at 15 feet I realized it wasn't. I did have a safety sausage, but not one on a reel. I won't reenter the water without one. But, I saw no need to deploy a signaling device when I came up on a boats' line. Please don't ask me specifics about the dive; I will only say that the divemasters were professional, there were safety briefs given, there were complications not relating to Matt's disappearance, and they knew he was missing when we got on the boat and alerted other boats and authorities immediately after completion of the dive when he did not resurface. The conditions were challenging but manageable. He did have a buddy. I would dive with Island Divers again.



This may be premature, but I want to share some lessons I learned on a scuba dive today. Our dive boat came back into shore with one less diver, and I have spent a good part of the day obsessing about it. I would be remiss if I heard something similar happened to someone I knew and didn't share the things I am going to do differently on my next dive.

1. Have a "safety sausage". One that simply inflates is not enough. You need one on a reel. Do not do a drift dive without one. Yellow or orange is easier to see than red.
2. Have a signaling device. Better yet, have 2. After two hours of searching the vast ocean, I learned that a black wetsuit, while good for buoyancy is not good for visibility. I'm going to get a signal mirror (very effective) and a whistle. Contrasting colored fins (yellow ones versus blue) will be easier to see if you have to wave it over your head to get noticed. I'm also going to pick up a waterproof flashlight with a strobe function.
3. Preflight your equipment, thoroughly. Especially rental equipment. Triple check that your air is on. Make extra sure your tank is securely in place on your BC. I know this sounds like common sense stuff, but after 60 dives, both have those have happened to me. The hooks for tanks on rental gear is usually not the same as the big secure velcro straps on a BC you would buy for yourself. It may not even work the way you think it does (happened to me with my rental equipment in Guam; came off in the water).
4. Know how to quick release your weights. Practice with your eyes closed.
5. Know how to inflate your BC without looking. And don't be afraid to take it off if need be.
6. Don't start a dive without your buddy. If your buddy isn't where he/she is supposed to be, resolve where they are immediately. Don't assume you know what happened. Tell someone with the dive company immediately.
7. Wear a wet suit, even if you don't need it for warmth.
8. Do not let a dive company take you into conditions you aren't familiar/comfortable with. If the conditions are over your head ability-wise, stay on the boat. I really don't know if this was a factor, but it's something worth mentioning. Today's current was pretty strong; so strong a drift dive was really the only thing we could do.

I'm not trying to insult anyone's intelligence. And before today, I felt pretty safe diving off a dive boat. But, I learned how quickly you can get separated from your group and if you aren't prepared with the proper gear, how different the outcome came be than if you do. The coast guard is still looking for the guy who jumped off our boat at 9:20AM and vanished. Stay safe everyone!

I received a number of responses from my colleagues after posting this, a couple of which I found helpful. An old CD/DVD makes a great signaling device. There is a waterproof radio/GPS coming on the market; I'm waiting for that to come out and will buy it immediately (see nautiluslifeline.com). Dive with surgical scissors or a knife to cut yourself free from entanglements.

 

[DandyDon]

Hi Airdiver,

Get a DAN tag with your info on one side, a mirror on the other. Better than a Cd. Great post tho, thanks...!