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descend, so the crew slipped additional weight into her BCD
pockets. By the time these problems were resolved, the other
divers had descended. Claire and Jake descended alone.
A plankton bloom, typical for the season and location,
limited visibility near the surface. The divers overcame
their anxiety by giving each other the OK sign repeatedly
as they descended. At about 30 feet the visibility began to
clear, but it was dark, and neither diver had a light.
About 10 minutes into the dive Jake turned to look
at Claire, who had been swimming right behind him,
and realized she was not there. After a moment he saw
someone in the dimness and swam toward the person. As
he approached, he saw it was Claire and realized she was
unconscious. Grabbing her by her BCD, he attempted to
ascend. He kicked hard but was unable to make progress
toward the surface. He did not think to release her weights
or inflate her BCD and was soon overcome with exhaustion.
Jake struggled to get enough air through his regulator and
began to panic. He released Claire and headed for the
surface, spitting out his regulator on the way. He hit the
surface gasping, choking and unable to call for help. The
captain noticed him struggling and motored over to him.
Unable to talk or breathe, Jake kept pointing down.
Once the captain realized there was a problem, he made
a distress call and initiated a diver recall by tapping the
boat’s ladder with a hammer. Not all divers responded to
the call promptly, and some decided to do a safety stop
before surfacing. Precious minutes were lost.
Claire was found in approximately 60 feet of water by
the instructor and another diver. CPR was initiated once
she was brought aboard, and a Coast Guard boat arrived to
transfer her to an ambulance on shore. Claire’s heart was
started in the ambulance on the way to the hospital, where
she was placed on life support in the intensive care unit.
Claire never regained consciousness. Three days after
the accident the doctors determined she would never have
enough brain function to breathe on her own, and we
made the decision to discontinue life support.
DISCUSSION
Neither Claire nor Jake was sufficiently experienced for this
dive. Claire had never dived without a professional guide,
and she had not dived from a boat before. She relied on
someone else to guide her through the process. Jake had not
dived for more than a year and did not take a skills refresher
before the trip. He had never been taught what to do with an
unconscious diver.
Jake had complained prior to the dive that his BCD was
too tight and limited his ability to breathe. When Claire’s
regulator was tested after the accident it was determined
to be performing below the manufacturer’s specifications.
An inability to breathe properly may have contributed to
both Claire’s unconsciousness and Jake’s sense of panic as
he attempted to assist her to the surface. Whenever rental
equipment is used, its fit and function should be assessed by
the diver who will use it before he or she leaves the dive shop.
Dive operations should consider greater oversight and
supervision of inexperienced divers, particularly when
visibility is low and the divers are unfamiliar with the
site or conditions. Neither Claire nor Jake had sufficient
knowledge to evaluate whether the dive fell within the
scope of their competence. Both divers relied on someone
else’s opinion that the dive was appropriate for them.
Claire lacked the experience to know what questions to ask,
so she trusted the dive shop employee who told her not
to worry. Jake expressed misgivings about his equipment
and the lack of supervision prior to the dive. Despite this,
he trusted the instructor who told him it would get better
once they were underwater. Both divers decided to go
ahead with the dive despite their apprehensions.
There were many opportunities for either Claire or Jake to
have decided not to dive. New divers may not have adequate
background to anticipate the potential for an accident, but
every diver needs to have ingrained in them the notion that
if they are not feeling good about a dive they should not get
in the water. Divers must be honest with themselves about
their ability to do any dive safely.
Before giving advice or assurances, a dive professional or
experienced diver must be careful to evaluate the conditions
from the perspective of a less-experienced diver. Although it’s
tempting to tell a new diver who is showing signs of anxiety
“you’ll be OK,” reassurances, however well-intentioned, may
be fatal for unprepared or inexperienced divers.
New divers must be skeptical of others’ assessments and
reliant on their own. If it feels like something is wrong, it
very well may be. Take responsibility for your dive. Problems
on the surface are not likely to improve once you’re
underwater. Whether it’s your fifth dive or your 5,000th, you
have the right to call a dive.
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“Although it’s tempting to tell a new
diver who is showing signs of anxiety
“you’ll be OK,” reassurances, however
well-intentioned, may be fatal for
unprepared or inexperienced divers.”