Northwest Dive Club

A group of us from NWDC recently went to Maui for a mini dive vacation. On our first day of boat diving, a woman died while scuba diving. We don't know the actual reason for her death, but poor training and/or poor skill upkeep may have been the contributing factor. I think someone else from the group, who actually found her and brought her to the surface, will probably provide further information, but I just want to post a thank you to our instructors here in the PNW. The training provided here by many instructors I've come across seems to go above and beyond what is required by their certifying agencies. Obviously we have a lot more obstacles than those diving in clear, tropical waters, but the training I received (from Grateful Diver) really has made me a MUCH better, safer, and more confident diver. It is so much more than the 3 day training that I received in Florida, and I can't imagine diving with just the information I had learned from that one class. So thank all of you instructors, again, for making us great, safe divers.

I'm sorry you had to go through that. I am also very thankful for the quality instruction I have received. I hope to never witness a death diving, and I hope that if I am able to recognize a diver who is too rusty, or poorly trained to be safe, I will be able to help in some way, to prevent a tragedy.

My sympathies to everyone who was there. I can't imagine what that has been like for you.

Sadly, I've been there, and I'm with you 100%. I was surprised at how lax everyone was about safety in Hawaii, especially with dive-once-a-year-if-lucky tourists. I think we do receive superior training here in the PNW, but we also benefit from living in a place where we can dive on a regular basis and keep our skills sharp.

I have been thinking about this quite a bit today. I actually wrote but never posted several threads on this subject. When something tragic like this happens it is natural to want to discuss and deconstruct the event trying to figure out how we can keep this type of thing from ever happening again. But it's also important to remember that the victim and her husband are from Washington and someone close to them may well be reading this.
I was the one who found her and brought her to the surface. The facts are that her tank was empty and her regulator was out of her mouth. I have an educated opinion on what happened but am going to refrain from making any assumptions on a public forum. I agree with Rachels statement on the general quality of PNW dive training standards. I also have a newfound respect for the responsibility instructors take on when they sign their name on a C-card.
My thoughts and prayers are with the surviving family. I sincerely hope that they will find some comfort in the knowledge that she passed doing something that she loved.

Oh Matt, I'm so sorry you had that awful responsibility. My heart goes out to you, everyone who was a witness to the event, and the family. You know there are several of us on the board who have been through similar awful events, so please reach out if you need to talk.

damn, dude. so sorry to hear about your experience. i hope you and your group that was there can find peace with this burden soon.

Sorry you went through that, Matt.
Fwiw, sounds like you done good.

Mattleycrue76 wrote:I have been thinking about this quite a bit today. I actually wrote but never posted several threads on this subject. When something tragic like this happens it is natural to want to discuss and deconstruct the event trying to figure out how we can keep this type of thing from ever happening again. But it's also important to remember that the victim and her husband are from Washington and someone close to them may well be reading this.
I was the one who found her and brought her to the surface. The facts are that her tank was empty and her regulator was out of her mouth. I have an educated opinion on what happened but am going to refrain from making any assumptions on a public forum. I agree with Rachels statement on the general quality of PNW dive training standards. I also have a newfound respect for the responsibility instructors take on when they sign their name on a C-card.
My thoughts and prayers are with the surviving family. I sincerely hope that they will find some comfort in the knowledge that she passed doing something that she loved.

Wow... Matt... tough stuff. My hat's off to you, and I'll agree with Josh that you done good.

And I will second Rachel's comment about the wealth of instructors, as well as the diving opportunity we have that can keep our skills sharp if we take advantage of it.

You gave the family their loved one and closure.

Well done Matt.

Matt I cannot imagine how this must feel. You did a great thing, though, getting her back to her loved ones. I hope the healing goes quickly for you.

I gotta chime in here. Mattley relayed the entire event to me on the phone yesterday, and I completely respect his wish for not disclosing the events as they happened. Some things surrounding the event though should be pointed out and applauded.

Raachel and Greg, you did awesome maintaining your composure and being clear-headed enough to recover the victims gear that sank after it was removed. Every bit of it will help the report and hopefully the families closure.

Cory (Samson, jacksonbrown) I know you can't read this, but I'm told you grabbed the clipboard and immediately started a roll call of divers and staff while the boat was being fired up and prepped to run. That's a very heads up move,making sure no one was left behind in the chaos. Good work looking out for others safety when all the focus was on the victim.

Linda, Matt told me once the boat was underway, you positioned yourself between the captain and the victim/caregivers and relayed info from one group to the other. With the roar of the engines,the wind and waves,and the general chaos of a situation like that, you provided the information the captain needed to relay to emergency responders who would be waiting on shore. It takes a lot of composure to think and know to do that in a stressful situation. You did awesome.

All in all, other than the two medical professionals on board, it sounds like our PNW crew stepped up in a big way when no one else really did (vacationers I mean, not boat staff). I feel very fortunate to be surrounded by divers like you all, and to be able to dive in an area with so many quality instructors who produce these kinds of divers.

wow, just wow

I am proud to call each and every person mentioned in this tragic event my friend.

Fishstiq wrote:I gotta chime in here. Mattley relayed the entire event to me on the phone yesterday, and I completely respect his wish for not disclosing the events as they happened. Some things surrounding the event though should be pointed out and applauded.

Raachel and Greg, you did awesome maintaining your composure and being clear-headed enough to recover the victims gear that sank after it was removed. Every bit of it will help the report and hopefully the families closure.

Cory (Samson, jacksonbrown) I know you can't read this, but I'm told you grabbed the clipboard and immediately started a roll call of divers and staff while the boat was being fired up and prepped to run. That's a very heads up move,making sure no one was left behind in the chaos. Good work looking out for others safety when all the focus was on the victim.

Linda, Matt told me once the boat was underway, you positioned yourself between the captain and the victim/caregivers and relayed info from one group to the other. With the roar of the engines,the wind and waves,and the general chaos of a situation like that, you provided the information the captain needed to relay to emergency responders who would be waiting on shore. It takes a lot of composure to think and know to do that in a stressful situation. You did awesome.

All in all, other than the two medical professionals on board, it sounds like our PNW crew stepped up in a big way when no one else really did (vacationers I mean, not boat staff). I feel very fortunate to be surrounded by divers like you all, and to be able to dive in an area with so many quality instructors who produce these kinds of divers.

amazing job to all involved, sounds like all the best calls were made and no time wasted. we had a slightly different scanario on our liveaboard in thailand, and i gotta say from what transpired it was very ugly and disturbing. again kudos to all.

pensacoladiver wrote:I am proud to call each and every person mentioned in this tragic event my friend.

Exactly what I was thinking. Sorry you guys had to go through that. Having experienced diving in the Philippines with a multitude of divers with varying and questionable experience, I had to accept the fact that what you guys experienced in Hawaii, and what Howard and the gang experienced in Thailand is a very real possibility.

There's a reason why the DM's overseas take one look at us in the water and basically allow us to dive our dive. We are PNW divers, and as Spatman says, you gotta respect that! And although we too are vulnerable to accidents and incidents, our local instructors have made us all better divers.

My condolences to the family and my gratitude to our instructors. I'll take my hats off to Bob Bailey who is an amazing teacher and I cannot wait to splash with him again.

Wow having just been to Maui hearing of this shakes me. I have always wanted to dive with the people on this board but my work schedule has never let it happen. It sounds like everyone involved kept a cool head and did what was nessasary. I hope I am not out of line here, but would you mind sharing what charter you were on?

Matt, you know I have been there before both with a diver i didnt know as well as a close buddy. The one thing I can tell you is it helps to talk things through. People don't appreciate the effect a body recovery or attempted rescue has on the divers involved but it can really rip you up. The victims family may contact you, if they haven't already, with hard questions about why their loved one will not be coming back. Its important to their closure, but you also will need some kind of closure on this and the dive community here is ( unfortunatly perhaps ) well equipped to help you and all the divers involved work through this.
Hang in there man.

Agent 47 wrote:Matt, you know I have been there before both with a diver i didnt know as well as a close buddy. The one thing I can tell you is it helps to talk things through. People don't appreciate the effect a body recovery or attempted rescue has on the divers involved but it can really rip you up. The victims family may contact you, if they haven't already, with hard questions about why their loved one will not be coming back. Its important to their closure, but you also will need some kind of closure on this and the dive community here is ( unfortunatly perhaps ) well equipped to help you and all the divers involved work through this.
Hang in there man.

Well put!
Mat and all other NWDC aboard this charter,
Thanks for being great people / divers. Take the time you need to get past this event.

Another +1 to what Joe and Chad said. I'm so impressed by how you all reacted to the situation. I am pretty much in awe at how well you guys all came together to help out. I feel very lucky to get to dive with such reliable dive buddies.

Agent 47 wrote:Matt, you know I have been there before both with a diver i didnt know as well as a close buddy. The one thing I can tell you is it helps to talk things through. People don't appreciate the effect a body recovery or attempted rescue has on the divers involved but it can really rip you up. The victims family may contact you, if they haven't already, with hard questions about why their loved one will not be coming back. Its important to their closure, but you also will need some kind of closure on this and the dive community here is ( unfortunatly perhaps ) well equipped to help you and all the divers involved work through this.
Hang in there man.

I couldn't have put it better myself.

Take care of yourself. Take care of each other. I know you have a fantastic dive community there and will find support. My heart goes out to you.

Dive safe.
-Elise