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Ray, # 7 should read "Rule Number One - "Don't dive with strokes". This means on the boat, in the water , anywhere. You are being too nice. Ask Jim Fernandez about Rule Number One. He is dead. RLatulip@ao*.co* wrote: > > In a message dated 7/5/1998 11:38:19 AM Eastern Daylight Time, dlv@ga*.ne* > writes: > > > This is really too bad. I was really hoping we'd have a good example to talk > > about for a while, instead of more of the same. > > When I called a number of the Boynton beach dive people, I found some > > reluctance to discuss particulars in this case. > > I on the other hand have no problem in discussing the particulars of this dive > with anybody that cares to discuss it. > > On June 9th 1996 around 12:30 Arielle and I descended to the deck (170') of > the SkyCliff. We were on air (okay no blasting that was then this is now... > back then it was common to teach Tech Nitrox with air dives to 180'). There > was 70' + visibility and minimal current. We okayed and then entered one of > the hatches on the deck. We were moving along just fine with myself in the > lead and Arielle about 5-7' behind me. Suddenly I was flashed the emergency > signal that we use when cave diving, I turned and reached Arielle who was now > floating on the ceiling of the wreck with no mask on, her regulator out and > unconscious. A cable had become entangled on her isolator valve and in the > attempt to turn to remove it she somehow banged her head and was knocked > unconscious. I immediately placed her regulator in her mouth and while holding > it there made an exit of the wreck to a hatch on my right hand side. As soon > as we were out of the wreck I placed her against the bulkhead and tried to > keep her breathing. At this point another diver Dave Rosenthal saw the > situation and attempted to place his backup mask on her face but had problems > doing so because she was in spasms. Another diver peter Schultz who was > teaching a tri-mix class came over and removed the cable that was still > wrapped around her manifold and then went back to his class. In the meantime > I was attempting to work with Arielle and realized that she was drowning. > Continuing to hold the reg in her mouth I began to ascend using her wings. We > started a very rapid ascent which I tried to control. At about 100' while > holding on to her and working the inflator I lost control of her reg. While > attempting to get the reg back in her mouth we fell back to 170'. Turning her > around I realized that she was basically drowned (it was just like the scene > from the movie "The Abyss".) It was then that I did an all out ascent with > her riding her to about 70' (Dave Rozenthal followed me up). At 70' I let her > go as I was having trouble keeping my lungs empty at the rate we were going > (later determined to be 156' per minute we were also beta testing the > Commander Nitrox at the time). I followed her up and came underneath her and > saw the divemaster jump in and grab her. Knowing that she was with the > support team I dropped and did a quick 5min deco with Dave Rosenthal standing > by the whole time. > > At this time I ascending to the boat that was right over my head and while > climbing on board yelled at them because they were not performing CPR. The > divemaster then said that she was breathing on her own but still unconscious, > I then yelled for oxygen which they were not applying. I was handed a DAN kit > and I attempted to work on her with that demand mask and soon realized that it > was getting me no-where. At this point I yelled for the AL 80 that was full of > oxygen and stuck the reg in her mouth and pinched her nose while holding the > purge button. After about a minute she came too so I cut off her wet suit. At > this time the lifeguards showed up in their Zodiac and both her and I were > placed on oxygen and taken to shore. She was flown via Trauma Hawk to St. > Mary's hospital and I was taken via ambulance. At the emergency room she was > treated for drowning and we were both given a chamber ride. My chest at this > time hurt (felt like I had broken ribs) which I assume was from the rapid > ascent I did to get her up. We both spent the night in the hospital. Lynn > Simmons (Capt. of the SplashDown) brought Arielle a change of her own clothes > and stayed most of the night at the hospital and then came back in the morning > to drive us home. > > Later when Peter Schultz was asked why he didn't assist further he made the > statement to both mine and Arielle's face that when he saw her after we had > dropped back to 170' that she basically looked dead to him. He was not her > instructor on this dive nor her buddy but he was in a position to provide much > needed help had he chosen to do so. > > Likely causes deemed to be excess narcosis leading to an over reaction on her > part when her manifold became entangled to the point that she may have > panicked and hit her head hard enough to be knocked unconscious (in fact she > had a large contusion over her right eye). This is a guess as she only > remembers up to the point that her manifold became entangled. > > Things to learn from this accident. > > 1. Don't dive deep on air. > > 2. When faced with a situation stay calm relax and solve the problem (don't > panic). > > 3. All divers in the vacinity should ensure that the diver in trouble reaches > the surface (none of us can breath water). > > 4. You must have a good support crew (boat or cave surface team). > > 5. Always apply oxygen immediately (don't rely on the DAN kit demand mask for > an unconscious diver). Have a scuba tank filled with oxygen with a great > working regulator attached. > > 6. Maintain a good fitness program. > > 7. Last but most important don't dive in the vacinity of divers who are > unwilling to help. > > For the curious we are both very fit and actively exercise, the certifications > at the time of the accident were as follows. > > Myself... I.A.N.T.D. Technical Divemaster, I.A.N.T.D. Technical Nitrox, > I.A.N.T.D. Full Cave, I.A.N.T.D. Deep Air, P.A.D.I. Rescue Diver. > > Arielle... I.A.N.T.D. Technical Nitrox, I.A.N.T.D. Deep Air, P.A.D.I. Rescue > Diver, I.A.N.T.D. Overhead Environment. > > P.S. We were married on the aniversary of the accident on a beautiful mountain > in Colorado. She loves cave diving but still gets uneasy on certain ocean > dives. > > I hope this answers all your questions. As to why you might have closed lips > from the Boynton area perhaps its because Peter Schultz almost exclusively > uses the Splashdown for his training dives. > > Ray LaTulippe -- Send mail for the `techdiver' mailing list to `techdiver@aquanaut.com'. Send subscribe/unsubscribe requests to `techdiver-request@aquanaut.com'.
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