We lost one of our own today

[Joshua Smith]

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/40872522.html

Sadly, I feel that I must report to the site that the diver in the story was one of our members, BigFameOne. I've talked by phone with another diver who was at the scene, and I'm sure he'll post his account when he's ready and able.

Jake was a good guy. I very much regret not having met him in person- he worked at a place I do business with occassionally. We had exchanged a bunch of PMs over the winter, and I had been meaning to introduce myself the next time I went in. He wasn't a member here for very long, but he made a lot of friends in a short period of time. He will be missed.

RIP, Jake.

[Penopolypants]

This is terrible news. I keep trying to say nice things that start with typing "he was...." - and I don't want to use the past tense.

I too have heard that there were members were there, it will be nice to have an accurate, speculation-free report.

This is a sad day, indeed.

[spatman]

we never got a chance to meet in person, jake, but you were a friend nonetheless. we all will miss your infectious humor and your new found passion for diving.

our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.

[cardiver]

Damn.....I could sense his enthusiasm for diving through his posts......My thoughts go out to family and friends.

[Tangfish]

This is a terrible loss, and I have always dreaded the day that I would find out for the first time that a news story about a tragic diving accident involved one of our members as the victim.

RIP

[airsix]

I'll miss you Jake. I'm too messed up to say more than that right now.

-Ben

[H20doctor]

My prayers for his wife .. Family .. And friends ..So sad. To hear this today

[Paulicarp]

I'm so sorry. His dive reports were fantastic encouragement to me as an aspiring diver. I only met him online, and it was just today, but I feel like I've lost a dear friend nonetheless.

--Paul

[LCF]

It was not a diving accident. It appears to have been something medical that happened while diving. They did a very conservative dive down to the Honey Bear, and when they got there, Jake indicated he wasn't feeling right and wanted to go back. They started back, and got partway when he signaled to surface. Once there, he said he couldn't breathe right. His buddy towed him to the rocks between Cove 2 and Cove 1 and got him out of his gear, yelled for somebody to call 911. At that point, Sounder and I, who were standing in the Fishnchips parking lot, ran over to see what was happening. By the time we got to the bottom of the rocks, Jake didn't have a pulse. The medics arrived promptly and everything that could be done, was. There was no mistake made by the divers, and there were no decompression problems.

I feel incredibly sad. I met Jake on ScubaBoard, before he ever signed up for a class. We talked, and I sent him to NWSD to get certified. We've been in touch ever since. I loved his incredible enthusiasm and his joy in his new skill. I was immensely looking forward to diving with him and getting to share in some of that.

My heart goes out to his buddy and friend of 20 years, who did everything humanly possible to help.

A very sad day.

[H20doctor]

He was just at the city counsel meeting with us for mukilteo..

[Sounder]

I was there, cut him from his gear, did CPR, etc. - I am presently recording my thoughts in writing while they're fresh. I will post a full report as soon as I'm done with all the details I can remember and then will be glad to answer questions.

For now, know that there is wide-spread agreement that this was not associated with the dive per say. They had a solid plan and they followed it - there were no mistakes in the plan or the dive. This was a medical condition that may have been made worse by diving, but it was not from ANY poor decision, gear malfunction, gas, bad plan, etc.

As I said, details to follow soon. This really sucks and it its home, hard. I was Jake's mentor and this is absolutely killing me.

We lost a good one today. We lost one of us.

[Dusty2]

Damn! I was just reading one of his posts and invited him to dive with me some day. I lost a friend and fellow diver today and never even had the chance to shake his hand. It is hard to comprehend how such a vibrant person can suddenly be gone.

We will miss his wonderful posts and morn his loss.

[Pez7378]

I just don't know what to say..........

[Tom Nic]

Oh My Goodness... words fail me...

[mattwave]

I will miss you Jake, the times we had shared will be always remembered. May the pain and suffering your friends and family are feeling be washed away by fond memories of the joy you brought to their lives.
Love you man

[John Rawlings]

Just this morning I read his post on the trials and tribulations of a recent dive and thought about how even when things were going wrong his enthusiasm just BURST through!

We should all try to maintain that excited enthusiasm, not just for diving, but for life itself.

I met Jake briefly the other day at the Mukilteo meeting, just long enough to want to get to know him better.

I'm greatly saddened by this.....

Let's not forget the anguish of those that were there and tried their best to keep him with us....his dive buddy, Sean, Lynne (LCF), and Doug (Sounder). Keep them in your thoughts and prayers as well, as they are carrying a painful burden right now.

- John

[DiverDown]

My heart is broken, I have long dreaded the day this would happen. Diving related or not We are a pretty close family on this site. To lose a member is tragic. Take some time to remember those weve lost, life is short.

My thoughts go out to his family and freinds, and all of us here..

[Tangfish]

Doug, Lynne - thank you for doing all that you could, given the situation, and for communicating to the rest of us. I know it must be very hard to pull yourselves together to post here on the board. What a sad day.

[Fishstiq]

Jake posted some of the funniest trip reports and general banter I've ever seen. Every time I met him, he was smiling and had a joke at the ready. He was obviously one of those people who love to make others smile and laugh, and it never mattered if that laughter came from poking a little good-natured fun at himself.

People like you are rare, Big Jake, and even though I just read this post and the article, I feel like our world as divers just got a little less bright.

My prayers are with Jake and his loved ones. I don't know what else to say...

[coachrenz]

RIP.

[Aquanautchuck]

My prayers are with him and those there. I also only knew Jake from his posts and am kind of in a daze. RIP Jake.

[Jan K]

What a terrible loss. He sure enlivened the dive report thread ! Yes Jake, RIP..

[Burntchef]

rest in peace jake, my thoughts go out to your family and friends.

[Grateful Diver]

Rest easy big guy ... we miss you already.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

[Huskychemist]

Reading Jake's post about the trials and tribulations of his dives made me laugh with the knowledge that I had some of my own errors early on. As entertaining as his posts were, I also looked forward to posts from him that said, "I got it!" And I knew that day would come. His enthusiasm for diving would keep him going even through tough dives where it seemed like nothing worked the way it was intended.

It saddens me that his infectious spirit is now gone. At the same time, I feel lucky to have been influenced by him in the short time I "knew" him on the board here.

RIP Jake.

And my thoughts are with all of your friends and family, and those of you with Jake at the end.