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Thanks to strokes we are now F... ed. Andrew ----- Original Message ----- From: Kevin Connell <kevin@nw*.co*> To: Kent Lind <klind@al*.ne*> Cc: <techdiver@Aquanaut.com> Sent: Wednesday, August 04, 1999 2:26 PM Subject: Re: Now Congress is involved (was Doria Count?) >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'. > -- Send mail for the `techdiver' mailing list to `techdiver@aquanaut.com'. Send subscribe/unsubscribe requests to `techdiver-request@aquanaut.com'.
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