Dive "Buddies"

Just read this on CNN

http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/West/04/29/forg...r.ap/index.html

Jeez, I'd love to dive with friends like that! I though we only did that sort of thing in Australia!

Good thing he had his camera to document the incident...lol. Just glad he's safe - I would **** if the boat left w/o me.

Cheers

James

It was a big cluster F*** on the boat that day. What isn't said in the article is that the DM logged him in and OUT of that dive and back IN on the next dive. When he didn't show up at the end of the second dive all the usual procedures went into play but in the wrong area (10 miles away). He is more than lucky to be alive.

Here is a press release of from the shop that chartered the boat:

Message from Steve Ladd

Rescue of Dan Carlock, April 25

Venice, CA - April 30, 2004 - There has been extensive media coverage about the rescue of Dan Carlock on Sunday, April 25, 2004. We are sorry that Dan suffered through this ordeal and thankful that he was rescued. All of us at Ocean Adventures are extremely grateful to San Diego Boy Scout Troop 681 and the Orange County Sea Scouts for spotting Dan and bringing him to safety. Dan did all the right things to help secure his rescue once he became separated from the group. The Coast Guard responded immediately when we reported Dan missing and joined in on the search initiated by the Sundiver. We have been working closely with the Coast Guard, our dive masters, PADI, and other members of the dive community since Sunday to gather the facts and prevent an incident like this from occurring again. How did one of our divers get left behind? What lessons can be learned? What can we do to prevent something of this nature from happening again? These are some of the questions we have been asking ourselves as we respond to the deluge of media inquiries and questions from divers.

The following are some of the initial facts we wanted to share with you. Ocean Adventures Dive Company chartered the Sundiver for an oilrig dive on April 25. We had 22 divers on board with three dive masters. Dan had trouble equalizing and became separated from his dive buddy, surfacing away from the group and the oilrig. At the end of the dive, Dan's dive buddy did not report that they had become separated and that Dan had not returned from the dive. The dive master called roll and heard everyone answer at the end of the first dive, a visual verification was not done. When roll was again called after the second dive, Dan was unaccounted for. The boat captain was notified and a search was initiated immediately. The Coast Guard was also immediately notified to assist with the search and rescue and to alert boat traffic to keep a look out for our missing diver.

We are taking this very seriously; we are giving it the full attention it deserves. We are closely examining our existing procedures, the guidelines recommended by PADI and those utilized by other dive shops. We will strengthen the procedures we utilize to prevent an incident like this from happening again. Two members of Ocean Adventures staff have been suspended from dive master responsibilities. We have reviewed procedures with OADC dive masters that will be on dives this weekend and have stressed the need for a visual as well as audio check in during roll call. We are reviewing and revising our procedures and going beyond recommended guidelines as needed to assure the safety of individuals diving with us.

We greatly appreciate the suggestions provided by many concerned divers, for Dan's willingness to continue to work with us and for the support we have received from the diving community to date. We remain open to suggestions to always improve the service we provide and to enhancing safety procedures.

.

About Ocean Adventures Dive Co.

Ocean Adventures' mission is to introduce people to diving, help them participate in this sport by providing the necessary training, certification and equipment in a supportive setting. Through diving, people will be taught about the aquatic environment and how we, as divers, can be stewards to it.

Company Website: http://www.oceanadventuresdiveco.com

Ocean Adventures Dive Co. Contact:

Steve Ladd

Owner

email: steve@oceanadventuresdiveco.com

voice: 310-578-9391

Just FYI, when you jump off the boat at the Flowergardens, the boat divemaster marks you "OUT." When you return to the boat via the ladder, the boat divemaster marks you "IN" and also notes your time and depth.

Diving 110 miles offshore, this is an absolute MUST DO procedure.

Cheers

James

I think everyone in Australia is very aware of the issue of leaving divers behind in the water - it's been considered poor form to do so ever since the Lonergans got ditched on the Great Barrier Reef (which wasn't noticed for 3 days - doh!).

I could understand that more, though, cos there's no dive buddy to report you missing when both of you are lost together. I would have thought in this case his buddy should have started looking for him as soon as they got separated at the start of the dive. There's no way you lose your buddy underwater and then don't even check that he made it back to the boat!

I came across the CNN story after spending the morning reading the BSAC incident reports

http://www.bsac.org/techserv/increp01/fatalities01.htm

When it all goes pear-shaped underwater, you want the fella you're diving with to 1/know what he's doing and 2/actually be there.

Hey James, it's the same out here. They mark time in the water and time out. But the problem with this incident was that the DM actually had a time out of the water when he was still floating around. Worse yet the DM had a time in the water for dive 2 even though he never got back from dive 1.

Rob, he buddied up with another pair of divers that he did not know. I can only assume that they assumed he was somplace on the boat. Not a very good thing for them to assume.

The thing that concerns me is how many times has this happend before but since nobody actually drifed away it just wasn't a problem.

DM's need to treat their jobs as a serious as any "official" rescue worker and I think some do and some don't.

I've gone on a few local charters in the past that me and my buddy have actually commented on how we were amazed that they have never left anyone behind. We never chartered with that shop after the second time.

I once surfaced after the a dive off of Anacapa Island CA just in time to see the boat pulling up it's anchor. The Dive Master frantically motioned for me to stay put. When I got back to the boat the captain was making an announcement that every one should answer only to their own name. This boat had a good crew; its just that someone answered the roll call twice. This boat checked everyone in and out. I have seen this happen on other boats using the check in check out procedure; though not to the point where the anchor had actually been pulled up.

Same thing happened on a boat that was chartered by Air Force Special services when I was stationed on Okinawa. A friend of mine who was a dive master and was on the boat said he watched the charter's dive master twice take the roll and couldn't understand how anyone was missed. But 9 p.m. the night after the trip a Marine's wife called to ask where her husband was. He was found on a sand spit out in 10 miles of open ocean (This is where the last dive of the day was) Needless to say the Commanding General on the Island blew a gasket when he heard the story. Dive safety procedures the 2 years I was on the island after this could be best described as "Annal".

The Truth Aquatics boats have two people independently count all the tanks on board. They then do an oral roll call before moving the boat. This procedure is now used by most boats in So. CA and seems the closest to fool proof. One time though the crew was going nuts because they could not account for all the tanks. After a frantic 15 minutes I realized that I was the problem. I had packed away my pony bottle in my duffle bag. A new crewman had counted it as one of the tanks and they couldn't find it.

The Coast Guard is looking into this incident right now and are discussing different ways to improve the system currently being used. It's still not clear if they intend to make their new procedure mandatory or not.

I went out on this boat with this shop last Wednesay for our Chamber Day. Disclaimer - I am a friend of the captain, and IMHO he is the best around, and one of the most experienced around (certainly knows how to find the best dive sites).

In Cal. the dive boat custom (for charters, as this was) is that the capt. relies on the shop's DM to get an accurate count. For good or bad. IMO the captain is completely innocent, and it could just as easily have happened to any captain in the So cal fleet given the way we do things.

As others have said, all DMs need to take their job seriously, and most do. The problem is, tho the DM may get fired or whatever, but it is the Captain that gets left holding the bag legally (i.e., he has to hire an atty to defend him in the investigation). So the captain takes al the heat while the DM skulks away into the night. Likely, I don't see any catastrophic rsults (pulling licenses) coming out of this. maybe a reprimand.

Don't even get me started about his buddies who (1) continued the dive after a separation - clearly this wasn't discussed or it was ignored if it was), and (2) DIDN'T TELL ANYONE that their buddy wasn't back on board. I've dived with strangers before. I'd notice, especially if separated during the dive.

Steve Ladd was very open about talking about the incident. Interestingly enough, he said that FOUR people heard Dan answer "here" when his name was called, and there were no other Dans aboard. Who said this, and how he got marked back in on the next dive is a mystery only the DM can solve.

He also made it clear that there was enough "blame" to go around, and that the goal should be how to improve the system, if it needs improving.

Verbal and visual roll call done after the dive. And though it shouldn't need to be said, in the briefing it was mentioned to let them know if their buddy had not returned. Well duh

Chris