Posted by Ian Marshall on August 15, 19100 at 18:41:22:
TRAPPED DIVER RESCUED
With four fatalities last weekend; Ron Fuller, Tony Maffatone, David Cooper, and a Diving Instructor in Tobermory, Ontario, I thought people might like to hear of a rescue in the Straits of Mackinaw.
The Niagara Divers' Association had chartered two boats, "Virtual Reality" (Capt. Andy Denato) and "Sand Dollar" (Capt. Jim Stayer), to dive the area and were on the wreck of the Cedarville on Sunday.
The divers on the Sand Dollar had just removed their tanks after completing a dive on the bow when KK, a diver from Chicago with a group on the Intrepid, popped to the surface at the stern some 450' feet away, waving his hands and calling for help. There was a BCD and tank beside him in the water and Pat Stayer called that there was an unconscious diver on the surface. While Jim Stayer notified the other boats that there was an emergency, he spun the Sand Dollar around to pick up the diver. As the diver was being pulled into the boat, it was discovered that he was alone and the gear belonged to him. He shouted that he and his buddy, JH, had gotten into the wreck and that his buddy was still lost inside by a porthole on the wreck. KK had managed to take off his gear on the bottom, squeeze through a porthole and rocket to the surface. While Maria Bellantino (Welland, Ontario) was setting up the NDA Dan O2 Kit to administer oxygen to KK, the Straits Wreck Diver rafted off to the Sand Dollar. While the group on the Sand Dollar was putting together a plan of action, Mike Apple and Steve Ohrt (both from Columbus, Ohio) were completing their dive and getting ready to board Virtual Reality (still at the bow). Capt. Denato allowed Steve to board and then towed Mike, half on and half off the swim platform to the mooring line.
It was decided that after a surface interval of only 17 minutes, Dave Mekker (Stoney Creek, Ontario) and Anthony DeBoer (Richmond Hill, Ontario) would gear up and go down to help the trapped diver. At the same time, one of the captains off the Straits Wreck Diver (still to be identified) jumped into the high 40 degree water with no thermal protection to deliver a small pony bottle to the trapped diver. Simultaneously, Andy Denato rigged up a spare 80 ft3 tank and sent it down to the diver with Mike while Steve was in the water on standby.
By this time, KK was on oxygen and providing more details to Dave and Anthony as they were gearing up. Shortly after Dave and Anthony hit the water, Virtual Reality pulled up alongside Sand Dollar to transfer an "H" oxygen bottle for a drop system that Jim was rigging up with his own oxygen bottle. It was feared that all the divers would be racking up a lot of decompression time, so the drop system would provide 6 regulators for the divers to complete accelerated decompression on pure oxygen at 20 feet. By this time, we received word that air had been delivered to the trapped diver.
While the divers were down, there was a lot of activity on the surface. Intrepid radioed Virtual Reality to inform them that they could not start their engines and needed a tow and still had 6 divers in the water. A Coast Guard zodiac was circling the site but not providing assistance and another charter boat, Wet Dreams, was arriving on site. Jim hailed Wet Dreams to see if they could provide assistance, but they didn't answer his call and proceeded to the bow mooring to complete their dive oblivious to the emergency that was taking place. By this time, KK had drained the Niagara Divers' Association oxygen cylinder but was showing no symptoms of DCS. We could also see divers' bubbles coming from the descent line and Dave and Anthony were soon on the surface. They delivered the good news that the diver was safe with Mike, decompressing on the line. Steve went down the line with a slate to let the two divers know that there was oxygen available off the boat. Realizing that the divers could not locate the oxygen drop system, Anthony and Dave descended once again. After tying a reel off to the oxygen regulators, they directed the divers back to the oxygen drop system for decompression. Shortly thereafter, everyone surfaced and was back on board safe and sound.
After arriving back at the dock and talking about the situation, more details began to come out. JH said that he was banging his light on the hull of the wreck in the hopes that someone would come over and investigate and help him out. As it turns out, he said he saw two divers go right past him and take no notice of the situation. He was getting dangerously low on air (he was unable to inflate his BC to adjust his buoyancy on the way out) "when this diver in a bathing suit passed him a small pony tank". When Mike reached him, he could see the pressure gauge on the pony drop with each breath and had to pass him the 80 within three minutes. He said JH's eyes were as big as saucers. Mike had to also prevent JH from leaving the porthole in an attempt to seek his own way out and to convey that help was on the way.
When Anthony and Dave first descended, they verified JH's position and that he had air, then proceeded to find a way to reach him. Because of the Cedarville's semi-inverted position, they had to descend until they found an opening into the engine room, work their way through an area they had never been before in almost zero visibility, and ascend until they saw portholes and eventually found JH. Dave led JH by the hand along the line, with Anthony reeling up behind until they cleared the wreck. It's interesting to point out that although Anthony and Dave are both cave certified, they had no intention of doing any penetration this day, so all they had between them was one video light, and one quickly borrowed backup light and reel.
So what are the lessons that we need to learn from this incredibly close call? If it has been said once, it has been said a thousand times, all divers should know their limitations. Diving beyond your training and without appropriate safety precautions is akin to playing a game of Russian roulette. Is there anything that is worth taking that type of risk? As was stated back at the dock after the incident, you have to remember that when you take chances, not only are you putting yourself in danger, but you are also endangering the lives of those who will be coming to rescue you. As captain Andy Denato stated back at the dock, if all JH is suffering from is some embarrassment and he can still get home to have dinner with his family, then the day turned out all right. The alternative is unthinkable.