Missing Diver Off Vandenberg?

[Bob DBF]

I was wondering the same thing, she was diving with her husband. Personally, I would watch out for my wife. I would not lose her

The only reason I couldn't lose my wife on a dive is because she is on the boat and doesn't dive.

When buddy diving, I am a very hard person to lose, but it all depends on the severity of conditions and how much my buddy is committed to not getting lost. One of the many reasons I prefer solo.

 

[jadairiii]

This is the problem with the diving industry as a whole. People are taken on dives that they should not be diving but for the most part survive which then the dive operators believe the dive is safe, Normalization of Deviance.

The wreck is in 140', all divers on that boat should be trained, equipped and ready to do a 140' deep wreck dive. Anything else is merely a "trust me" dive. And this clearly was a "trust me" dive since the report is that the dive master was leading the dive and signaled for them to surface.

I wonder how many of the divers (including the DM) on that day had the proper gas and equipment to conduct a 140' deep wreck dive?

For all we know it was a medical emergency, but it does not change that facts that taking divers on deep wrecks that are not properly trained and equipped for the max depth is a receipt for disaster.

 

[Wookie]

This is the problem with the diving industry as a whole. People are taken on dives that they should not be diving but for the most part survive which then the dive operators believe the dive is safe, Normalization of Deviance.

The wreck is in 140', all divers on that boat should be trained, equipped and ready to do a 140' deep wreck dive. Anything else is merely a "trust me" dive. And this clearly was a "trust me" dive since the report is that the dive master was leading the dive and signaled for them to surface.

I wonder how many of the divers (including the DM) on that day had the proper gas and equipment to conduct a 140' deep wreck dive?

For all we know it was a medical emergency, but it does not change that facts that taking divers on deep wrecks that are not properly trained and equipped for the max depth is a receipt for disaster.

A student from the Spree was the first fatality on the Vandenberg. He had a heart attack on the deck and died on ascent. Both of his instructors (instructor candidate and Instructor trainer) as well as the student were on trimix , although it was the first dive of the day.

Sometimes crap happens.

 

[Marie13]

What’s the standard rec (not tech) configuration for this wreck? A single AL80?

 

[jadairiii]

A student from the Spree was the first fatality on the Vandenberg. He had a heart attack on the deck and died on ascent. Both of his instructors (instructor candidate and Instructor trainer) as well as the student were on trimix , although it was the first dive of the day.

Sometimes crap happens.

You are completely right, but.....methinks that the majority of the divers diving on the Van are not trimix divers.

 

[Steelyeyes]

This is the problem with the diving industry as a whole. People are taken on dives that they should not be diving but for the most part survive which then the dive operators believe the dive is safe, Normalization of Deviance.

The wreck is in 140', all divers on that boat should be trained, equipped and ready to do a 140' deep wreck dive. Anything else is merely a "trust me" dive. And this clearly was a "trust me" dive since the report is that the dive master was leading the dive and signaled for them to surface.

I wonder how many of the divers (including the DM) on that day had the proper gas and equipment to conduct a 140' deep wreck dive?

For all we know it was a medical emergency, but it does not change that facts that taking divers on deep wrecks that are not properly trained and equipped for the max depth is a receipt for disaster.

So if you're diving Bloody Bay Wall on Little Cayman you should be prepared to dive to 1000 FSW? Many dive sites involve diving structures that are well within recreational diving limits that are not over a hard safe depth bottom. How do we square that logic?

 

[Wookie]

What’s the standard rec (not tech) configuration for this wreck? A single AL80?

Yes. The particular dive shop this diver was diving with the DM carries a slung 40 to hand off to any diver low on gas.

 

[Steelyeyes]

What’s the standard rec (not tech) configuration for this wreck? A single AL80?

Single 80, sometimes Nitrox, the operation I used never went below 100 feet. The decks and all of the walkways still have lifelines made of pipe so straying out past the hull isn't a simple mistake.

 

[Bob DBF]

The wreck is in 140', all divers on that boat should be trained, equipped and ready to do a 140' deep wreck dive. Anything else is merely a "trust me" dive. And this clearly was a "trust me" dive since the report is that the dive master was leading the dive and signaled for them to surface.

It's a trust me dive because the divers are not evaluating their skills and the dangers inherent in the dive, not because of the depth of the water. Under your rules there are a lot of wall dives that are off the list as well, Including my wall dive at Tahoe.

 

[boulderjohn]

It takes a split second to lose your team mate.

This is absolutely true, and many people cannot begin to understand how true it is. Here is a very simple example. I was diving with my daughter-in-law and grandson on a relatively shallow reef in good light and visibility. We were in a triangle formation, with me in the lead and the others side-by-side. I turned to signal the end of the dive. My grandson noticed immediately and returned the signal, but his mother was checking out the reef and did not see it at first. When she saw my signal, she immediately looked at her SPG, and during that time, my grandson and I ascended maybe 6-7 feet and waited for her. When she looked up from the SPG, she could not see us. She began to look around frantically. Her son dropped back down so she could see hime, and we ascended.

My point is that if in that time she was looking at her SPG her son had lost buoyancy control and gone to the surface instead of hovering a few feet above her, she would never have seen it, and she was being as attentive as a mother can be.