Posted by northcoast diver on January 23, 2005 at 13:30:04:
In Reply to: Missing abalone diver's body found posted by on January 23, 2005 at 09:43:33:
All other disappearances here in northern Calif that I have heard of have ended up being recovered somewhere in southern Calif.
The main offshore current runs south. There is a near-shore counter-current that runs north however, in most of the coves and along a large portion of the coastline here.
Advanced freedivers tend to weight themselves neutrally, or nearly negatively. Unfortunately this makes them difficult to be recovered if they lose consciousness for any reason.
This accident can be thought of as a double-failure in that sense, since (1) the sea state was really bad in the first place, and (2) the freediver was apparently negatively weighted. Double failures are often what lead to fatalities. If you also consider (3) the loss of the float, and (4) the buddy separation, then it easily adds up to four failures.
My condolences to the surviving wife, and to the rest of the family.