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This is completely lame. We're screwed. At 12:39 PM 8/4/1999 -0700, you wrote: >If you folks don't think this problem has totally spiraled out of control, >read >the following article. George was completely right on this one. > >--------------------------------- >Rep. William Delahunt will review the string of fatalities and consider >solutions. >Cape Cod Times 7-30-99 >It may take an act of Congress, but Coast Guard officials and several highly >trained, experienced divers all agree that something must be done to stop >the dying at the Andrea Doria shipwreck. >In the wake of the second diver fatality in a week on Wednesday, and the >fifth in 13 months, a senior aide to Rep. William Delahunt, D-Mass., said >the congressman will take a hard look at the situation to see what needs to >be done. >"People are dying. It ought to be a pretty loud wake-up call to get the >facts and move quickly to make recommendations on how to address the >problem," said Steve Schwadron. >"Obviously the Coast Guard has plenty to do, and we don't want to force new >missions on an already-overburdened Coast Guard, at least without giving >them the resources. >"But the overriding mission of the Coast Guard is public safety on the seas, >and there is not much question that we need to act quickly to find out what >is going on," he said in an interview yesterday. >Delahunt, as co-chairman and founder of the Congressional Coast Guard >Caucus, is in an ideal position to guide an inquiry. >Diving on the Andrea Doria is considered extremely difficult, and is called >"technical" diving because of the advanced training required. >Nevertheless, experienced divers have said they think some who make the dive >on the Andrea Doria are not adequately prepared. >"I think the diving technology is beyond the physicial and mental >capabilities of many of these divers," said Robert Higgins, a former >commercial diver familiar with dives over 200 feet. Higgins is a civilian >with the Coast Guard's Boston headquarters who is compiling data on diver >fatalities. >Other technical divers agreed, but focused their concerns on the lack of >regulations for "recreational" divers, those who even with an advanced >certification are not supposed to dive deeper than 130 feet. >Currently there are no federal regulations controlling certification >requirements for recreational divers. >The basic certification program consists of classroom instruction, pool >practice, and open water diving. >But the actual time involved can range from a weekend for a "resort" >certification for a group to more than 30 hours at more rigorous training >programs with one-on-one attention. >"What needs to happen is that the (dive) training agencies need to be held >accountable. The industry is out of control," fumed technical diver and dive >shop owner Don Stevens, of Rye, N.H., owner of Atlantic Aqua Sport. >Michael Manfredi, a technical diver and owner of Aquarius Diving Center in >Buzzards Bay, recommended against the short certification course, because it >does not give the student enough experience with the water or the array of >gear a diver relies on beneath the surface. >But he also expressed concerns about the skills of some technical divers. >"My biggest concern is that there are a lot of inexperienced divers out >there. I'm not saying they all are, but some who died should not have been >out there," he said. >The latest victim of the Andrea Doria was 52-year-old Charles J. McGurr, of >Bricktown, N.J. >He failed to surface from a 245-feet dive to the wreck of the Italian luxury >liner, which sank in 1956 following a collision with the Swedish liner >Stockholm on a foggy night about 45 miles south of Nantucket. >The Suffolk County Medical Examiner's office was to conduct an autopsy to >determine cause of death, but no information was available yesterday. >McGurr's body was recovered 180-feet down by Daniel Crowell, owner and >skipper of the dive charter boat Seeker out of Montauk, Long Island. >Another diver died last week after he had made one dive to the wreck, and >was about to make another when he suffered an apparent heart attack. >Both divers were on the Seeker, which was also the charter boat which >carried three of last year's Andrea Doria diving accident victims. >Crowell has been the owner and skipper since 1994. Under a previous owner >there were nine other diving deaths, although no information was available >on which wrecks were involved. >Efforts to get comparison information on other fatalities involving other >charter boats were not successful yesterday. Officials with the Diver Alert >Network in North Carolina did not return telephone messages. >Stevens and other technical divers who have dived on the Andrea Doria off >the Seeker praised Crowell and his crew as being top notch. >"Dan, he's the best," said Stevens. >The Seeker is one of several charter vessels bringing divers to shipwrecks. >Among other things, the Seeker requires divers fill out a two-page waiver >and have it notarized. The waiver explicitly asks if divers are familiar >with deep dives in excess of 130-feet, and if they know the dangers >involved. >Diving on the Andrea Doria is difficult for a variety of reasons, including >extreme depths, pressure and decompression requirements, underwater >currents, poor visibility, and the danger of becoming trapped or lost inside >the wreck. >Because of the degree of difficulty, only divers who have completed a >rigorous technical diving training program can make such difficult dives. >And then, qualified divers may elect to become certified to use a special >gas mixture for deep diving, which reduces some risks associated with using >regular air under pressure. >Both divers who lost their lives this year were technical divers and had the >"Trimix" certification for the gas mixture, something the Seeker requires. >Nevertheless, they died. >"Once a diver is in the water, it's all up to the diver. You can have the >best trained crew, provide a solid briefing, talk yourself blue in the >face," said Eric Takakjian, of Yarmouthport, a technical diver who has dived >on the Andrea Doria and other deep-water wrecks. >"When that head goes below the surface, they are going to do what they want >to do. It's up to them," he said. >Takakjian said that what is happening now at the Andrea Doria is similar to >what has been happening at Mt. Everest, where some people not qualified to >make the ascent are paying huge sums to join expeditions. >"I'm afraid so, that's what's happening with the Doria. And there's no way >to stop it," he said. >-- >Send mail for the `techdiver' mailing list to `techdiver@aquanaut.com'. >Send subscribe/unsubscribe requests to `techdiver-request@aquanaut.com'. ----------------------------------------------- Kevin Connell <kevin@nw*.co*> NW Labor Systems, Inc http://www.nwls.com Who is John Galt? ----------------------------------------------- -- Send mail for the `techdiver' mailing list to `techdiver@aquanaut.com'. Send subscribe/unsubscribe requests to `techdiver-request@aquanaut.com'.
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