JT, I do think on the trips you are running or are Capt on you do tend to =
take a much more proactive stance than most regarding fucked up gear =
configs. At least if the diver survives the clusterfuck he will never do =
it again if he knows you are going to be on the boat, Heheheh..

I guess I am befuddled as I went through the same thought process that I =
know Tony must have prior to our Hatteras dives. I knew the water was =
going to be warm but all the diving I have done to date with stages and =
other gear has been with a drysuit. In order for me to dive wet I would =
have had to completely reconfigure my gear, which I was not prepared to do.=
 At it turned out the drysuit worked out fine, as a matter of fact the =
bottom temp on the Manuela was 73F which made me glad I had it on.

In skydiving they have the jumpmaster. The jumpmaster would never, ever =
let anyone out of the plane who has some sort of fucked up gear config. In =
the diving world there is the divemaster and on most dives I've been on =
this is the guy who is in the water first and does no critique at all of =
gear configs unless you are in the Fl.Keys and jumping into 30ft of water. =
Then they give you a hard time.

Perhaps an interim solution is to have a safety diver standard on all =
difficult trips. He would be in the water first all right, but instead of =
a goal of being first to the lobsters, his or her job would be to take =
station at the hang bar to observe and check over divers who have just =
jumped in. This would certainly have saved Tony's life and perhaps a few =
others over the years.

I know that you believe in safety divers and as a result can pull off =
dives like the Billy Mitchell fleet with no casualties. While Tony's death =
was due to his own fuckup, we all fuckup once in a while and whats the =
problem with a "safety net", particularly on tech dives. And a Capt on a =
boat can require a safety diver(s) without infringing on the sacred =
mandate that a diver has to kill himself if he damn well wants to.

Safety divers are the key, IMHO.

   Jim

On Tuesday, July 6, 1999, Capt JT <captjt@mi*.co*> wrote:
> >Recently I dove out of hatteras in 85F surface temp waters. I still =
used =
>>my drysuit as I did not have any idea of what buoyancy characteristics =
my =
>>gear would have using a wetsuit. What posessed Tony to use a weightbelt =
>>with steel doubles with a skin and why nobody on the boat questioned =
this =
>>is a mystery to me.
>
>Hi Jim
>As many may or may not know you , some others and I have tried to dive
>together and arrange our gear the same.I have also tried to show you some
>things that in time you may have to use to save your life when things go
>bad and sooner or later they always do.You also know that when I'm on =
board
>the boat as Capt , mate , or diver , everyone on board knows I am =
watching
>, very few things get by me , most have that feeling that they should be
>very careful in my presents .To the point , I can not stop all from doing
>dumb things or bad gear configurations.Do you remember the diver who lost
>control of his drysuit early this year and rocket up from 120ft , he did
>not get hurt , but what if he had held his breath in a panic , death =
would
>have happen , we were all there , who gets the blame , we all saw that =
the
>suit did not fit him well.He said it was fine , alittle big , but OK for =
he
>got a good deal on it.How could I stop him from diving , because his suit
>was alittle big?He was also more upset that I was present when it happen
>and he had gotten the personnel invite to my yearly cookout, than the =
fact
>that it happen. =
>Do you remember when the new owner was on board last year and cut our =
dive
>time on a tech dive ,  we have never gotten on board again when he is in
>charge.Things have to be really bad before you stop someone from diving =
to
>the point that all on board can see it.
>I even point to the boat Grateful Diver which is the one I think that the
>WKPP backs , you can CK the archives on Dumb and Getting Dumber Oct 22 =
1998
>by Bill Mee , which the Capt took out an instructor with students on a =
deep
>dive with steel doubles and stages in a wetsuit and a story was wrote =
about
>it.This was even after the triple death down there , if someone would =
have
>died on that trip , would you still ask why nobody on the boat question
>this before they let them do it or  why they let them do it at all.
>Jim you and I both dive solo , just as Tony did , we have tried to buddy =
up
>, it does not fit into our plan , the only dives that work as a buddy for
>me are the very deep ones that I do , beyond 275ft .And that is for
>companionship.
>The fact is Tony killed Tony , all he had to do was open his valves , =
even
>in the water , that is why you see me open my valves with the tanks on my
>back , if I can't do it on the boat what makes me think I can do it
>underwater during stress.
>No one can predict if they will panic or not when things go bad until it
>happens.Being OOA will always be a true test , I can not think of a =
single
>thing that brings panic as fast , only those that have been there and =
lived
>know that to be true.Jim ,you and I both know that to be true.I am truly
>sorry for the death of Tony Smith and my prayers go to the family , =
friends
>,and Capt. and crew of the boat.
>
>Capt JT
>
> >Recently I dove out of hatteras in 85F surface temp waters. I still =
used =
>>my drysuit as I did not have any idea of what buoyancy characteristics =
my =
>>gear would have using a wetsuit. What posessed Tony to use a weightbelt =
>>with steel doubles with a skin and why nobody on the boat questioned =
this =
>>is a mystery to me.
>>
>>I really hope you guys read this carefully and learn. This
>death should =
>
>>not have happened.
>>
>>--------------------------------------------------
>> Subject: Re: Recent Fatality Sea Gypsy North Carolina Date: 1999/07/02 =
>>Author: Michael Blitch <mblitch1@ta*.rr*.co*> Posting History  =
>>
>> On 1 Jul 1999 17:09:44 -0500, tfkelley@wo*.at*.ne* (Tom Kelley) =
>>wrote: =
>>
>>I'm trying to find as much info as possible about the recent death of a
>>friend  >of mine diving in North Carolina on Sunday 6/27. Not looking =
>>for blame  just  >as much as I can find out to put this to rest for =
>>me. His name was Tonymith  >and he was diving with the Sea Gypsy. =
>>Any info would be appreciated. =
>>
>>Below is some of the correspondence about the accident that was posted =
on =
>>a private e-mail list. Someone was also looking for info on their friend =
>>and got the details. Also quoted (besides the accident info) is a short =
>>message from the person who asked for info in the first place (=
apparently =
>>the fiance of the deceased). The e-mail address and names of the poster =
>>have been deleted due to privacy. Ask me if you need it for some reason. =
>>Remember, accidents can happen, but complacency kills.  =
>>
>>************************************************************* =
>>
>> From: ************ Date: Tue, 29 Jun 1999 02:44:00 EDT =
>>
>>As always - the members of this list are outstanding. =
>>
>>Thank you to those who conveyed condolences, and to those of you who =
>>helped with info. What I discovered was VERY distressing, but somewhat =
>>predictable. =
>>
>>Tony has been diving 10+ years, is Full Cave/Trimix trained, and crews =
on =
>>the John Jack for Capt. Zero in Staten Island. He did 60-80 tech dives a =
>>year, if I remember right...(how many nights was he gone...sleeping on =
>>the boat?  :-) . Last month he came back from his Dream Trip - Truk =
>>Lagoon, doing  amazing dives on the deeper wrecks. =
>>
>>He tried to dive as much of the DIR configuration as possible for him. =
>>But  DIR is also a philosophy and mindset, not just a gear =
>>configuration.  Unfortunately, he was NOT always as attentive to =
>>details as he could have been (therefore, I wouldn't usually dive with =
>>him), and it caught up with him...... =
>>
>>I am somewhat reluctant to post these findings, because they display =
>>utter strokedom, but I know that you will read both, shake your heads in =
>>disbelief, and begin to feel my frustration at this senseless waste of a =
>>precious life.   He DID get shown George's tapes - 6 of them - multiple =
>>times! We had LONG discussion/debates about scenarios, etc. He DID =
>>practice reaching his valves.  I converted him from deep air to gas. =
>>And it all came down to carelessness.   Utter stupidity. I
>just hope he =
>
>>dropped like a rock, quickly blew out his ears, and got knocked =
>>unconscious. None of us want a dear friend, even when being a stroke, to =
>>suffer.  =
>>
>>If more divers would listen to George and JJ.....we wouldn't have tears =
>>on our keypads as we permanently delete e-mail address from our "diving =
>>buddies" directory..... =
>>
>>Thank you all for your support,  S**** B******** << "I am writing this =
>>and I am sad to say it really happened, buck just called me with the =
>>facts.A new York tech. diver, who was trimix certified and very =
>>experienced put his gear together, charged his regulators, and then =
>>turned his tanks back off. This was done on the ride out, this was also =
>>his first dive this year without a drysuit.When they anchored the wreck =
>>the diver put his steel doubles on, his aluminum 80 was clipped to his =
>>side, he put his weight belt on,over his dive skin, he put the crotch =
>>strap on over his weight belt.See the problem yet, he jumped over the =
>>side without turning his tanks on and being about 30 pounds negative if =
>>my math is right, he couldn't ditch his weight belt , he apparently =
>>couldn't reach his valves either. They found him on the bottom with 4000 =
>>psi in every tank, and all tanks were turned off." =
>>
>> This second one sadly tells of even MORE mistakes.... =
>>
>>Subject: A Preliminary Analysis Date: Mon, 28 June 1999 06:39 PM EDT =
>>From: ***************8 =
>>
>>Over the weekend a "technical diver" lost his life along the NC coast. =
>>The following information is based on local news reports, comments from =
>>the physician that completed the postmortem examination and discussions =
>>between the boat captain and US Coast Guard on the marine radio:  =
>>
>>Diver had been diving for approximately 10 years. The dive was to be a  =
>>work-up dive for an upcoming tech dive to 230 FSW. Maximum depth at the =
>>site is 135 FSW. The victims exposure suit was a dive skin. Victim's =
>>weight was estimated at 300 pounds. Victim was wearing 12 pounds of lead =
>>on his weight belt. The diver was equipped with double, high-pressure =
>>steel tanks (mix not reported). Victim was carrying a stage bottle (tank =
>>size/material and contents no reported..... stage bottle was reportedly =
>>found several feet away from the victim). =
>>
>>The unofficial report is that the diver entered the water at =
>>approximately 11:30 AM. His tanks were not turned on. His low pressure =
>>inflator hose was not attached to his inflator/deflator mechanism. The =
>>diver entered the water, slipped beneath the surface and was not seen =
>>again. After all other divers were onboard it was noted that the victim =
>>was not present.  The divers were apparently diving solo. =
>>
>>Analysis: =
>>
>>There appear to be several problems that may have lead or contributed to =
>>the fatality.  =
>>
>>-The diver's choice of tanks was inappropriate for the exposure suit he =
>>was wearing. The diver would likely have been near negatively buoyant =
>>without the addition of the weightbelt. Such a configuration could =
>>prevent the diver from making an emergency ascent to the surface.  =
>>
>>-Apparently the diver failed to do a basic systems check before entering =
>>the water. Obviously the diver was not aware that his tanks
>were not =
>
>>turned on.   One can only assume he also didn't realize that the low =
>>pressure inflator hose was disconnected. (I have seen divers enter with =
>>the hose disconnected "because the inflator leaks a bit/free flows until =
>>I get a few feet under the surface.") =
>>
>>-All the divers involved chose to dive solo rather than executing a team =
 =
>>
>>effort which would have greatly reduced risk in the event of a problem.  =
>>
>>-Divers apparently failed to file a dive plan with the boat crew. Crews =
>>can become aware of problems before it's too late if they know when to =
>>expect to see divers returning to the deco lines. =
>>
>>-The dive boat crew may have failed to do a quick visual check of the =
>>divers' equipment before entering or the diver may have entered the =
water =
>>before completion of the pre-dive briefing. =
>>
>>Summary: =
>>
>>This type of accident simply should not happen. No diver should ever be =
>>in such a hurry to enter the water as to skip a basic systems check of =
>>all life support gear. Regardless of experience and certification level, =
>>always perform a pre-dive safety check, use equipment that is =
appropriate =
>>for environment/compatable with the entire system and apply team =
>>diving  techniques.  =
>>
>>It will be interesting if the diver's certification is reported in the =
>>near future. It may also be interesting to find out if the diver had =
>>previous experience diving technical style gear configurations.
>>
>> -------------------------------------------------------------------
>> Learn About Trimix at http://www.cisatlantic.com/trimix/trimix.html
>>
>>
>>
>><< Send subscribe/unsubscribe/help requests to
>VBTech-request@ci*.co* >>
>> =
>
>
>
><< Send subscribe/unsubscribe/help requests to
>VBTech-request@ci*.co* >>
>



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