Posted by Ken Kurtis on January 08, 2001 at 16:05:43:
In Reply to: Re: Scuba Diver Dies Off Mission Beach posted by jr gordon on January 08, 2001 at 15:39:45:
(JR Gordon wrote) Ken she may well have made a bad decision that cost her her life, but I still don't understand where the hell her husband/buddies were. An OOA situation is the definition of an emergency and someone should have been with her. It's likely that extra bottle got away from her when she descended, and with her back tank OOA she was SOL.
I agree totally and have wondered the same thing.
And I also wonder why the decision wasn't simply made that (1) I've blown my dive plan since I'm low on air, (2) I've got to go to the surface, (3) Since I've got a deco obligation, put me on O2 on the boat and monitor my condition, (4) and take me to the nearest chamber for further evaluation and treatment if necessary. (Hindsight, of course, is always 20/20.)
This accident, to me, underscores one of the dangers of deco diving because in a non-deco situation you're simply going to go to (and stay on) the surface. With deco, when you screw it up, you may be tempted to take other measures that are even more dangerous than the missed deco stop.
Given the choice, I'm sure we'd all opt for being treated in the chamber rather than laying in the morgue. The problem is, we never tend to realize that what may seem like innocuous decisions can actually be life-threatening.
Ken Kurtis
NAUI Instr. #5936
Co-owner, Reef Seekers Dive Co.
Beverly Hills, Ca.