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The following is a response to a request from a techdiver list member for additional information on the subject: On 6/4/96, two divers, Ken Clayton (57) and Doug Summerhill (32), attempted to dive the wreck of the Panam off Morehead City, NC. Neither dived reached the hull at approximately 450fsw or the bottom at 495fsw. Clayton's depth gauge showed a max depth of 456fsw. Summerhill did not return from the dive and his body has not been recovered. Details follow: Boat: M/V Sea Wife IV, 50' diesel-powered sport fisherman. Captain Buck Wilde and one mate. Support Diver: Two were scheduled; one was detained at the last minute by work requirements in the Washington, DC area. Water Temp: 76F at 15fsw (my reading), 69F at about 300fsw (Clayton's reading), about 66F at about 450fsw (Clayton's estimate) Ambient Temp: Low 80s, Sunny Seas: Less than 3' Current: Slight (I swam in open water following descending divers with u/w camera/strobe and easily maintained distance to them); Clayton reported "no current" at his max depth. Visability: About 80' lateral Descent Line: From stern of boat. Approximately 650 of line plus 80' of chain and wreck hook Diver Mix (Clayton): 10/60 O2/Helium, stage bottles contained Nitrox40 and air Diver Mix (Summerhill): 7/67 O2/Helium, stage bottles contained Nitrox50 and air Surface-supplied O2 at 20fsw The divers alternated napping and doing setup on the 3.5 hour trip offshore. Summerhill and girlfriend Patty Barnhart had driven down from Maryland the previous evening, arriving about 1a. Barnhart drove some of the distance so Summerhill could sleep. Boat loading took place about 6a; departed about 7a. Both divers drank a lot of water and juices on the trip out. The wreck was quickly found on the depthfinder, but it took about two hours to get the boat solidly hooked to the wreck. During this period Summerhill said he felt a little queasy. When the divers were suited up (Clayton in a wetsuit; Summerhill in a drysuit), I entered the water to check water temp, current, light levels, visability, camera/strobe operation, etc. It was 30+ minutes before they were in the water; longer than I expected. I surfaced but continued breathing from my regulator because the diesel was running to keep water from entering the exhaust system. I didn't recall diesel fumes on the boat. Clayton and Summerhill entered the water; Clayton first, Summerhill 8 minutes later. I photographed them underwater as they prepared to descend and as they descented through 100fsw. Clayton was leading; Summerhill was following pushing his small video housing. I didn't see the red record light on the camera, but I assume he was taping the descent. The housing was tethered to him. Clayton reported turning twice during the descent seeing Summerhill behind him. Clayton reached 456fsw, was short of bottom gas and had not reached the hull. It was about 15' below him and he would've had to leave the line to touch it. He elected to stay on the line, make his turn and begin his ascent. He reported seeing Summerhill on the line "in the haze" at about 370fsw, parallel to the line, and went back to looking at his gauges. The next time he looked up, he did not see Summerhill. He assumed that Summerhill had ascended out of his visability range. The divers were due back at their 100fsw deco stop at 2:15p; Clayton was on time, Summerhill never returned. Clayton completed his deco and returned to the boat at 4p. By this time, a USCG C-130 was flying search patterns over us. Later, a USCG helicopter joined the air search and a cutter was dispatched from Wrightsville Beach. At dark, the USCG released us to return to Morehead City (8:30p). We tied a large orange float with a flashing strobe to the anchor line and left it for the cutter. The cutter was to continue the search through the night and the USCG would resume the air search in the morning. Summerhill was a competent and experienced trimix diver. He and Clayton had dived together on numerous occasions. Summerhill was a support diver for Clayton's dive on the USS Virginia 9/93 (390fsw), then a mixed gas diver on the Destroyer G-102 6/94 (355fsw), German Light Cruiser Frankfurt 6/94 and 10/94 (415fsw) and others. They both seemed comfortable making this dive together. I asked about ascent/descent tethering and Clayton said they preferred to maintain contact with the line manually. No surface debris was spotted by the USCG or the three fishing boats doing cris-cross patterns downcurrent from our location. The were also looking for signs of a small red & white lift bag Summerhill carried as a marker for such things as a drifting deco. Summerhill and I talked about the strength of his video housing early in the day. He was confident the new housing would not implode as one did the previous year. Several deep divers who know Summerhill and the facts surrounding the dive believe he most likely became unconscious from a CO2 buildup. Chris Crumley Virginia Beach, VA 72570.717@co*.co* www.earthwater.com
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