MASS-Diver
Contributor
Well it's December, many divers in this part of the country have hung up their gear for the year, one of our of main charter boats is pulling it's boat for a month, and even those who dive year-round (like me) will see reduced action as ponds freeze solid and north-east winds make ocean diving impossible. Also, as the Holidays (including the new year) near many of us spend time with our families: for many it's a time of reflection.
This season 3 divers from MA died. While this number may not seem to high to those who are familiar with FL caves and other dive scenes which (in the past) have produced a very large number of deaths, the loss of 3 local divers in one season is a tragedy here. Although I never dove with any of these men, for two of them I know divers who had.
Last March (right around the time when the dive season starts for many around these parts), I went and saw Bernie Chowdhury speak. I know some divers don't like Chowdhury take on "their" sport, or don't like his writing style, but, I enjoyed his book and was looking forward to hearing him speak and having my copy of "The Last Dive" autographed. While I expected that his talk might go into some aspect of dive safety, I though generally he was going to talk about how exciting diving was and if you bought his book you could join in the adventure.
Well, nothing could have been farther from the truth. Bernie opened the talk by saying the man who was supposed to introduce him had been killed in a dive accident and that over-the counter decongestants (which I was taking before diving heavily at the time, before having major sinus surgery) were suspected as playing a role in this well known diver's death. Chowdhury went on to give a somber talk focusing on saftey and how EVERYONE, not just deep tech divers, need to focus on safety first. He pointed out that the Rouses, who had dove much deeper on air than the depth they reached on their fatal dive, thought they could handle any problems. The talk ended showing the video of divers recovering the Rouses gear.
The attitude the Rouses had (according to Bernie) is a problem divers of all levels need to combat: over-confidence and complacency. One diver who died here this year, according to published reports, was diving at a spot he had dove at hundreds of time before. When his dive buddies (including his wife) had some gear trouble, he accompanied them to shore, but, then, making decision which IMO parallels that of the Rouses', decided to go back into the water even though his single 80 was half empty. A shallow dive, one that he done many times before, he must have figured he could grab a few more bugs and then get out, what could happen to him in 20'? Well, apparently, although conditions where not a poor, a current was running, which probably made things worse. He apparently became entangled in some lobster gear and was unable to remove his "quick -release" jacket style BCD, ran out of air, and, died in about 20' from the surface.
I don't know how many other divers have taken the same type of risk and escaped by luck, I know I've probably done just as stupid things as anyone. I just hope everyone, especially at this time of year, remembers that anyone can die on any dive, the key is to reduce the risk as much as possible with the right gear, training, and most of all the rigth frame of mind. Sorry for the depressing post.
This season 3 divers from MA died. While this number may not seem to high to those who are familiar with FL caves and other dive scenes which (in the past) have produced a very large number of deaths, the loss of 3 local divers in one season is a tragedy here. Although I never dove with any of these men, for two of them I know divers who had.
Last March (right around the time when the dive season starts for many around these parts), I went and saw Bernie Chowdhury speak. I know some divers don't like Chowdhury take on "their" sport, or don't like his writing style, but, I enjoyed his book and was looking forward to hearing him speak and having my copy of "The Last Dive" autographed. While I expected that his talk might go into some aspect of dive safety, I though generally he was going to talk about how exciting diving was and if you bought his book you could join in the adventure.
Well, nothing could have been farther from the truth. Bernie opened the talk by saying the man who was supposed to introduce him had been killed in a dive accident and that over-the counter decongestants (which I was taking before diving heavily at the time, before having major sinus surgery) were suspected as playing a role in this well known diver's death. Chowdhury went on to give a somber talk focusing on saftey and how EVERYONE, not just deep tech divers, need to focus on safety first. He pointed out that the Rouses, who had dove much deeper on air than the depth they reached on their fatal dive, thought they could handle any problems. The talk ended showing the video of divers recovering the Rouses gear.
The attitude the Rouses had (according to Bernie) is a problem divers of all levels need to combat: over-confidence and complacency. One diver who died here this year, according to published reports, was diving at a spot he had dove at hundreds of time before. When his dive buddies (including his wife) had some gear trouble, he accompanied them to shore, but, then, making decision which IMO parallels that of the Rouses', decided to go back into the water even though his single 80 was half empty. A shallow dive, one that he done many times before, he must have figured he could grab a few more bugs and then get out, what could happen to him in 20'? Well, apparently, although conditions where not a poor, a current was running, which probably made things worse. He apparently became entangled in some lobster gear and was unable to remove his "quick -release" jacket style BCD, ran out of air, and, died in about 20' from the surface.
I don't know how many other divers have taken the same type of risk and escaped by luck, I know I've probably done just as stupid things as anyone. I just hope everyone, especially at this time of year, remembers that anyone can die on any dive, the key is to reduce the risk as much as possible with the right gear, training, and most of all the rigth frame of mind. Sorry for the depressing post.
