DIVE LOG AUSTRALASIA FEB 2025 ISSUE 410

Some of the main causes of the ultimate disaster were as follows:

Another worse one is badgering a partner to do the course against their will. Students have to want to learn to dive. I always told student flat; Never force a friend to share your dive excitement against their will. Never try to teach a friend because of the danger of not knowing how to rescue them if something goes awry. (As it often will)

Untrained, Inexperienced, and sometimes “older divers”.

Around one quarter of the forty-two fatalities between 2014 and 2018 were extremely inexperienced or with very limited experience. On the other hand, two-thirds were described as experienced or very experienced, who often succumbed to a medical event. Fourteen were hunting food, six were undergoing training and included five students and one supervising instructor. Two were rebreather divers. Fifteen divers were separated from their buddies, at least four intentionally. Of the 42 deaths, only eleven were still with their buddy. The obvious conclusion is that the buddy system is a very good idea. About one third of fatalities occurred on or near the surface. The surface can be more dangerous than underwater, often due to prevailing conditions. I always insisted that trainee divers insert the snorkel into their mouth the instant that they surface. I frankly do not understand why some divers are against this extremely important safety equipment. Apart from saving a huge amount of energy on long surface swims, it saves your air supply and allows you to breathe in sloppy, windy conditions in choppy water. Well over half did not inflate the BCD. Some had equipment malfunction due to lack of service. At least two-thirds still had their weight belt on. Poor dive planning was evident in more than half of the diving deaths. eight died in dangerous sea conditions. Over ten died after losing their buddy One of the absolute worst-case scenarios is an Open Water Diver who has just been certified and is filled with absolute joy at the freedom of diving and the exhilaration of scuba. He insists on taking a friend for a ‘try dive’ to share the joy. With minimal experience and knowledge and no training in Diver safety rescue, it will likely lead to a huge disaster. There were eleven ‘Solo divers’ Poor dive planning

Some other general discussion points

Lack of fitness

Obesity and pre-existing heart disease were major factors in many cases. The average age of victims was nearly 50 years old. Pre-existing heart conditions (which are often unknown to the individual), obesity and increasing age, lack of fitness all lead to the suggestion that the medical assessment should include a “Fitness to dive’ test. It is recommended that all divers aged 45 years or older seek a diving medical assessment with a doctor who is trained in diving medicine. Diving has some quite unique heart stressors and most doctors are unfamiliar with the demands of the underwater environment. The absolute and paramount importance of the buddy system has arisen as a major factor in the prevention of dive fatalities. The ongoing practice of dive skills especially for long time divers in skills like ditching weights and self-rescue It is the reason that the BSAC system of practicing dive skills in a pool regularly is such a good idea. Imagine the few seconds wasted as it takes for a diver in distress to remember how to rescue their buddy. These fwe seconds could be the differnece between life and death. Naturally, there are so many other situations that I could discuss. If one diver reads this and gets some benefit and avoids a scary experience, then my time will be worthwhile. The vital issue is that all divers can benefit from reading John’s vital research and acting on it by revising skills and being more careful. John’s full paper can be read by copying and pasting the link below into your browser at: https://adsf.cdn.prismic.io/adsf/Z4IUU5bqstJ99VgA_Lippm ann_CompressedGasFatalities-2014-18.pdf

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DIVE LOG Australasia #410 - February ‘25