Rob Stewart Investigation

That's a brilliant cartoon description of what's going on in the courts Paul. In fact I heard yesterday that the motion to dismiss submitted by many of the parties was denied by the judge. The argument from the parties was that though the Stewart's had proven their son had died on this trip, they had not built any kind of a case that pointed out who was negligent in the matter. For example they argued that rEVO was negligent but failed to show how any of Stewart's gear didn't operate properly. Bizzare. Watch The Third Dive: The Death of Rob Stewart Online | Vimeo On Demand

 

@Wookie, @Rosborne, @chairman,

I'm fairly new user of my rEvo CCR (30hrs), am I right or wrong in saying he had 50 hours of rEvo under his belt. Someone else mentioned MOD 3 which I thought required 100 hours ...hence my confusion

Can you clarify what type of course were they in the middle of. I'm with TDI and it seems to me intro = Air Dil CCR (30m ~ max, circa 8 hrs training), tech = MOD1 = Air Dil Deco CCR (45m ~ max, circa min 36hrs incl experience & course diving), third level (trimix) = MOD2 = Mixed Gas CCR (60m ~ max circa, min 56hrs incl experience & course diving).

 

I don't know what part of BC you are in but I am an active rebreather instructor with about 16 years of teaching experience. I can name off the top of my head about 25 rebreather divers here on Vancouver Island. We aren't that rare, we just don't come to the surface as often

 

@Jill Heinerth had mentioned this in one of her podcasts a month or so ago? where she and Robert were talking about their opinions on it. Good listen
edit; linked to the wrong podcast episode, I'll find the rob stewart one later

 

That's an excellent story put together by Jill and Robert. I was lucky enough to spend an evening with them as they told me that yarn. I spoke with Jill briefly about the Stewart case and wanted to get her filming some of it, but she wasn't available. I would "humbly" suggest that if you want a fuller picture of the Rob Stewart story you might want to look at my upcoming book. Three years of research. https://www.amazon.ca/Third-Dive-Investigation-Death-Stewart/dp/1771603550

Meanwhile I hope you are enjoying the documentary. Watch The Third Dive: The Death of Rob Stewart Online | Vimeo On Demand

 

There are also a huge number of rebreather divers in Ontario. I'm often envious of their bottom times. Some great teachers out here. Shout out to Steve Lewis.

Watch The Third Dive: The Death of Rob Stewart Online | Vimeo On Demand

 

They had just finished the IANTD MOD 3. Well, almost finished. They had finished the course work and three of the four open water dives. They had previously completed IANTD MOD 2 and an earlier course which I believe was the Deco CCR Course (I'd have to check that from my notes to be sure.) IANTD MOD 2 allows CCR divers to dive to 60 meter or 197 feet.

It's hard to determine the exact number of hours they had on their rebreathers in between courses. They were using their gear for dives on the west coast in between courses and possibly elsewhere. I'm not certain that every dive Stewart did would be listed on his Shearwater. But certainly, there has been some comment about whether he had the hours to move to the next course.

Watch The Third Dive: The Death of Rob Stewart Online | Vimeo On Demand
amazon third dive - Google Search

 

Only Stewart and Sotis know how many hours he actually had. Many of us don't believe he had near enough experience. Whatever happened to Sotis on the boat, probably also happened to Stewart in the water. Sotis had enough experience to get on the boat before he collapsed, apparently and tragically, Stewart did not.

 

I think only Stewart and his friend Brock Cahill really knew how much experience he had on that rebreather. Many agree with your position about the lack of experience. I will say that I don't believe that Sotis "had enough experience to get on the boat before he collapsed." The statements from Sotis and the sworn depositions from other witnesses show that it was happenstance that the boat swung around and was closer to Sotis than to Stewart. Both had given the okay sign and Sotis climbed on board because he was right by the ladder. It was the difference between living and dying but I don't believe is was calculated. I know not everyone agrees with that deduction. But then again not many people agree on anything about this accident.

Watch The Third Dive: The Death of Rob Stewart Online | Vimeo On Demand
The Third Dive: An Investigation Into the Death of Rob Stewart: Osborne, Robert: 9781771603553: Books - Amazon.ca

 

TDI requires 30 dives on unit-specific CCR to be air diluent or helitrox diluent decompression diver ( 150 ft) You must have 50 dives on CCR to be MIxed Gas Diluent (200ft) and you must have 100 dives, 50 of which must be on the unit you are training on to be Advanced Mixed Gas diver (330ft)
It is my understanding Rob completed all the above levels in a very short period of time. I have heard people comment that because he is seen wearing a rebreather in the movie Sharkwater he was an experienced rebreather diver but that is not so. In that movie he was wearing a Draeger Dolphin which is not a CCR it is an SCR and does not meet the prerequisite criteria for any of those levels. I am not familiar enough with IANTD standards to comment on whether any standards were broken but this would not have occurred following TDI standards.