SAN DIEGO - A man who was scuba diving died Sunday

[uwxplorer]

My point is simply that we don't know at this point in time so why jump to conclusions? What you're describing could be medical, equipment failure, or a panic attack that is very real to the victim whether or not there's any real reason to panic. I'm only suggesting that you're making a lot of assumptions, assuming your assumptions are true, and then reaching a conclusion that the eventual facts may not support.

OK, fair enough. I did not present anything as incontrovertible truth. But with plenty of gas, and a fully redundant setup (I can't recall whether the diver had a deco cylinder with him - but he probably had a second 2nd stage regulator, and whether his buddy was the only single cylinder diver or another twinset diver), the possibility of equipment failure seems remote. Remember, they had come back to 30-40 ft, possibly shallower without any major problem.
Note that I did not advance any possible medical cause either. It could be any of the causes listed by Sudzfd or some other ones, or maybe none and as you say, a simple panic attack. I'll leave it at that, being skeptical that there will be any further evidence brought forward.

I feel for this diver. I gave him a hand to stand up from the bench on the first dive. I talked and joked with him, had lunch with him on the boat. That he did not make it is upsetting, especially when my first buddy canned his first dive at 10 ft, with my complete understanding and support. The diver might have had no warning signs that things would go wrong and that is exactly what I wanted to say, independent of whether the initial problem had a medical nature or not. When you have warning signs, the decision process is straightforward. When you don't have any (as in the case of lack of fitness not being an impediment on land or even in water when everything goes right), that's when there is no escaping potentially dire consequences.

 

[Ryan Nelson]

50 yards from the anchor to the wreck Why so far?

I disagree that fitness is essential for diving. Granted fitness is good for any activity but essential it think is over stating.

Out of curiosity, and not to take the topic off track, what's your weight and height? What's your average time running a mile and how often do you run? I know the types that claim fitness has nothing to do with diving.

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[mathauck0814]

Cut the crap. Just because you're out of shape and dive doesn't mean that it's OK to be out of shape and diving. We could all stand to lose a few pounds and it will probably give us a better shot in the case of an in water emergency.

X and I were on the boat yesterday, it was a pretty terrible day. I was crew on the boat and participated in the rescue and revival attempts prior to the coast guards' arrival. I'm not going to go into any detail about the incident here. The buddy's account and the ME's observation (which I'm told should be available early this week) should be pretty conclusive based on what we observed after cutting away his equipment and beginning our life saving efforts.

I will make two observations:

1) There was a slight surface current that the diver was observed to be struggling with. We put out a granny line to aid divers from the swim step to the anchor line. This diver opted to not use the line and fought the current up the opposite side of the boat.

2) If you don't have a trilobyte or similar z-knife, get one. I've had one for years without this particular occasion for employing it. We were able to cut away the victims' harness, light cable, dry suit (through the zipper), undergarments and all in a matter of seconds.

It was a terrible day for everyone involved, let it set for a while and the facts will come out through the official channels. San Diego has proven in the past to be fairly responsive (relative to other places) when it comes to these sorts of things. .

 

[Freerolling]

I know the diver personally. He was an avid local diver in San Diego. GUE Fundies certified on top of the typical recreational certs. He was pursuing GUE Tech certification over the course of this year. Even his GUE Fundies course is rigorous in balanced rig, controlled, minimum energy effort diving, with repetitive emergency and safety drills, topped off with a pretty good physical fitness requirement. Anyone that has dived with doubles knows they are heavy, and most stoop and shuffle under their weight and need some help getting in and out of the water on a boat. However, they are just a neutrally buoyant and easy to deal with in the water as a single tank rig when managed by a trained, experienced diver, which he was.

This certainly doesn't eliminate a physical issue underwater, but it would be helpful to the thread if previous advice not to speculate were followed.

Let's all wait for the facts as indicated by the DM's post above.

 

[wspalding]

I don't think its overstated at all. If you dont believe that, compare cardiac incident survival rates on land to those occurring underwater.

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The best predictor of survival for a life-threatening cardiac incident is how quickly CPR is started post-event. It is not a surprise that time to CPR initiation would be slower in a dive environment so that statistic would be biased. But having said that, I think it is silly for anyone to discount the value of being physically fit for intended activity, and without a doubt scuba can be a strenuous activity.

 

[serpentara]

It was a tragedy.

 

[iamrushman]

condolences to the family, friends, and all those involved....

 

[Ken Kurtis]

The best predictor of survival for a life-threatening cardiac incident is how quickly CPR is started post-event.

I agree with where you're going with this but recent studies have shown that it's getting an AED on a person with a cardiac incident is what improves their chances of survival. CPR is good, but it's a band-aid compared to the potential gain from an AED.

 

[Tony387]

I'm not a doctor, but I think it would be hard to dispute that that the reason underwater cardiac incidents have such a high mortality rate is not the time to cpr or access to a defibrillator...but the likelihood of drowning.

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[Freezerbrn]

I never thought or hoped I'd ever write in a forum on here. First off, my sincere condolences to the family and friends of the deceased diver. If I'm correct in my assumptions. I dove with 3 divers who are apart of our local diving organization last week on the Marissa. A double Yukon dive. I got a chance to dive and talk with them all. and lunch after the dive. Photos videos and good times by all. If it turns out to be one of those guys. I'm glad I got a chance to meet and get to know him. For those who are wondering. about his diving skills. From what I saw on the Yukon Dive (max depth 95 feet) everyone looked capable and comfortable on those dives. And if he had the training folks are saying he had, then I would say the ability to do the dive was not above his ability I also know and dove with the local inst(s) in the area. both excellent... Once again my thoughts and prayers for the loved ones.