Posted by brianc on April 03, 2001 at 09:05:41:
In Reply to: Re: Sad, but true... posted by AADIVER on April 02, 2001 at 17:03:27:
I'll play devil's advocate based on the info I posted.
First, I want to add that the initial article I took the information from was based on details from a Ranger observing from shore. The more recent post from the S.F. Chronicle article fleshes the story out with more info. It sounds like this was an accident waiting to happen.
The diver was seen submerging solo by a Ranger. He was next seen by that Ranger 25 minutes later, face down in the water. If the lost diver had someone in the water with him, the buddy could have turned him over, started rescue breathing and/or gotten assitance much quicker. Resuscitation of the injured diver would have a much greater chance of success if it had begun faster. The buddy may have hit the rocks also, but the chance that both would be knocked unconscious is low. Speed is key in rescuing a drowning victim. There was plenty of help available once the victim was noticed. He just went unnoticed to long. I believe that the presence of a buddy would greatly increase the likelihood of a rapid response.
There are just too many ab diver deaths up here. I spoke with a Ranger at Salt Point last year after the recovery of a dead ab diver. Our O/W class was just exiting from dive II as the medics worked on the obviously dead body on the shore. The Ranger told me that the typical case (actually, he said always, but he was pretty shook up) involves solo diving and not dropping weights. Remember that ab divers are not necessarily scuba divers and that many of them have no training beyond what expeirenced buddies may tell them. One hopes that an experience buddy would tell a new diver to stay away from rocks in heavy surf.