Edmonds - Another weekend...another diver

[girldiver]

http://heraldnet.com/article/20100410/NEWS01/100419994

[Mattleycrue76]

Wow hope he's ok. Is it just me or does Edmonds seem to have more than it's share of medical incidents? It would appear that between the long surface swim and the sometimes significant currents that site is not nearly as benign as the depth would have one assume.

[girldiver]

I'm not sure what Edmonds looked like today...but we were at Redondo. And I had two students who the heavy surf got the best of. If you're not in "diving shape"...the water can definitely throw some curve balls at you. This incident we have no other info on...so no idea what happened...but ugh...really hoping this turns out like the last weekends events...with everyone coming out of it.

[mkmc]

^I was at Edmonds, and the waves were pretty intense for most of the day.

[Dusty2]

I think I'll cross Edmonds off my list. To much bad ju-ju going on there. I had one close call there early on in my diving and it scared me good. The combination of a long swim and currents that can pull you away from shore are just too much for allot of newer less experienced divers or us tired old fogies. Edmonds is definitely not as benign as people would have you think.

[Alexitt]

Not much info in the article and I haven't found a follow-up on it yet, but I hope he makes it OK... I was at the Muk wall yesterday and the conditions weren't too bad but it was earlier in the day 10'ish, surface was a bit choppy but doable. I did my ow cert at EUWP and the swim out can be a bugger, but we rarely make that on the surface... Seems to be an unusual # of incidents there lately though... From the tone of the replies in the article though it seems he was diving solo but again no way to know without more info... Again I hope he comes out of it OK...

[spatman]

Is it just me or does Edmonds seem to have more than it's share of medical incidents? It would appear that between the long surface swim and the sometimes significant currents that site is not nearly as benign as the depth would have one assume.

i'm not familiar with edmonds, but it does seem like a popular site. how does edmonds compare to cove 2 or redondo in the number of divers who frequent that site?

could the higher incidence rate be partially due to the amount of divers it attracts in proportion to other sites?

[mkmc]

Is it just me or does Edmonds seem to have more than it's share of medical incidents? It would appear that between the long surface swim and the sometimes significant currents that site is not nearly as benign as the depth would have one assume.

i'm not familiar with edmonds, but it does seem like a popular site. how does edmonds compare to cove 2 or redondo in the number of divers who frequent that site?

could the higher incidence rate be partially due to the amount of divers it attracts in proportion to other sites?

Edmonds is a very popular dive site. There are weekend mornings where nearly every car in parking lot belongs to a diver. It does have a longer surface swim than other well known sites and it can have a moderate longshore current. I feel that one thing divers try to do when they dive Edmonds is see too much of it in one dive, (its nearly 30 acres!). I see people doing a surface swim almost out to the boundary which in my opinion is unnecessary. There is always more to see for future dives.

[lizard0924]

It would appear that between the long surface swim and the sometimes significant currents that site is not nearly as benign as the depth would have one assume.

I agree. Edmonds seems like a good site for beginners (or an easy site for more advanced divers) because, hey, it is only 40-50 feet deep...there are lots of amenities available...there's a trail system underwater...the shore entry is fairly benign,,.there are always lots of divers there (so it must be easy, right?)...etc.

But....then you get out there and realize that the surface swim is A LOT longer than it looks from shore and once you drop down, currents can become an unexpected issue. Not to mention the shallower depths make mastering buoyancy in a drysuit more challenging than, say, practicing those same skills at 50+ feet. Dropping early rather than doing the long surface swim to any one of the buoys is not a bad option, since there is some cool stuff to see in the shallows.

I hope the gentleman from yesterday is ok.

[ljjames]

one problem i see with the edmonds underwater park is that people don't plan dives around slack. There is a predictable slack window correction for admiralty head. if you are even in the ballpark it can be a pleasant dive. outside of that, it can really kick along that stretch. Those questioning the making of a park in a current sensitive area, please understand that the current is what bring the nutrients to the bountiful marine life.

on a mild exchange weekend yes, you can dive all day if you do it smart. And many students who remember doing EUWP in their OW class may not have realized or remember that their instructor planned it for such a weekend. They also forget that generally only one dive was out around the enhancements, the rest were bouncing around doing skills in the protected area by the jetty...

So the disconnect that occurs is "well, we went to EUWP for our openwater class, so it must be a beginners site". I suspect this is part of why many people go there after a long hiatus. People from out of town read about it and see "30' max depth" see the pictures, and think "excellent!"

Yes, there is a bit of a swim, but it doesn't have to be a surface swim the whole way... you CAN follow jetty way out. that means you can essentially descend along the jetty, poke around and get your shit together and then head out on the line. underwater, far away from the scary ferry.

Cove 2 suffers similar issue, and we've beaten that horse to death about calling a site where there is a big cool thing starting at 70' a beginners site "oh, i went there for my OW class, so it must be safe" not realizing that the instructor herded them around shallow and in theory planned it so that they didn't have to slog up the rocky slope of horrors.


but back to the issue at EUWP, where people get in trouble is loosing the line on the way in (or out) due to the alge and life covering it, current blowing towards the ferry (the drydock was sunk to be A CURRENT BUFFER), they pop up to get their bearings and realize they are getting blasted right into the ferry docks. they start swimming hard, panic, its a heart attack waiting to happen.

How to help this problem?

Planning
compass headings (in and out)
follow the map/lines
and yes.. fitness.

Back when i was teaching OW classes (and the instructor who I learned with before me), the two sites we used were shilshole on high tide/low exchange (there is nothing there) and the underwater park. the tour dive was the drydock. everyone swam out to the piling and descended there. I don't remember anyone being unable to do that swim. Occasionally we'd get someone with leg cramps but that gave someone else a chance to practice their tired diver push, they'd stretch it out, and on we'd go. The swim in was underwater, we'd have planned ahead of time for the teams to simulate running a compass course in.

if you have popped up to get bearing, are getting blown towards the ferry dock (and the ferry is coming in) and you are fighting waves and current, remember that the drydock is there for a reason, and there WILL be a current shadow. so... DON'T PANIC If you have enough gas, descend (look for the kelp and follow it down) and make your way in on the bottom. Sometimes you will notice some upwellings and swirling near the end of the drydock if current is really intense, but it's dealable with. If you find the drydock (on purpose or by accident) swim along the north side of it, your compass may or may not be functional at this time because of the big pile of metal, as you go towards shore it will get smaller and more crumpled. Pretty soon you'll see an orange traffic cone. the line should be there that will take you in to the big piling and for the most part, out of harms way.

[clackadiver]

Our prayers too,
Tolmie is another, long surface swim to get to the barges or any depth at all but it looks "not too bad".

I hate seeing this stuff happen, makes us all look bad sometimes.
And not to start another training thread, but......

One of my pet issues, turning out folks then not taking them diving.
Not that that happened here, but, too often I see students graduate, then go to the river, Titlow, Edmunds, or other sites that arent a walk in the park if you don't plan your dive properly.
Too often they aren't even taught dive planning......
I and my staff ALWAYS stress to our student to come diving with us after certification.
That they are always welcome to tag along.
To hone their skills and practice the basics.
Never dive alone.
And to never dive a site they haven't researched and preferably dove with someone that knows the site. At least til they have quite a few dives under their belt.

Our instructional team has looked at some of the recent "accidents" and changed our focus on some skills.
It does take a little longer but I feel we have better trained and better prepared students as a result.
I tell all my classes that I want to make divers that I or any of my team would like to dive with.
We make divers not just teach diving.
And if they can't share air without freaking out they aren't going to get signed off. If we have to give money back then we do. But their C-card isn't going to have my name on it.

<off my soapbox now>

Jeff

[H20doctor]

i heard a diving number about How many divers dive the park in a year ... well Over 100 K, or sumthing like that? .. like LJ stated .. current and the swim gets you in trouble , Its a Long swim.... Long

[girldiver]

I dove the park a number of years ago with two big guys. This was back when you could do it by scooter. I'm not sure, but I think it may have been my first visit to the park. The first dive we did with scooters...and it was a blast. The second dive, we dived without scooters....and on the surface swim in, one of the guys I was with became exhausted because we had to surface swim against the current (one didn't have air supply to go below). Luckily it had a happy ending (though the tired diver opted to exit at the end of the jetty) but prior to that, I had no concept the park was so big, and with choppy waves and surface current, you can end up in a bad spot in a hurry.

Saltwater State Park, Tolmie, Edmonds...all of these can kick somebody's butt on the surface. Titlow, Keystone and Day Island Wall are all touted as amazing dive sites...but all SOOOO current dependent and I've gathered "lesson stories" from each of these areas, either as a witness or (unfortunately) as a participant. Divers need to realize the water is bigger and heavier than they are...and it makes the decisions. Learning to work WITH the water (i.e. understanding tide/current charts and following them) makes a huge difference for the newer divers.

[ljjames]

well, we all know too much scooter diving makes us weak and we forget how to swim *grin*