Northwest Dive Club

I just heard this - not much information. The missing diver is a 70 year old man "from Washington State" diving as part of a group. Does anyone have any other information or know of a group that is up there? This is tragic for everyone concerned....

http://www.cheknews.ca/police-search-fo ... er-116082/

He was a member of the Marker Buoys. Club email was sent out about this unfortunate event.

Ken Gatherum was lost on a dive at Mizuno Point in Nootka Sound Sunday. He was on a dive to photograph the gorgonian corals there and did not surface from the dive. Ken and several others were on a weekend trip to Tahsis BC and were diving with Tahtsa Dive Charters.

Ken was an active Marker Buoy Dive Club member, an avid underwater photographer and frequent contributor to our newsletter, The Buoy Tender. There is a lot more I want to say about Ken but for now but it would sound too much like an obituary. We can all hope for a positive outcome but that seems very unlikely at this point.

Mark Wilson
President
Marker Buoy Dive Club

Ken was an outstanding guy. He was always cheery and put positive energy into any gathering he was with. He loved to dive, but needed to be carrying a camera. He was incredibly serious about his photography. Wide angle and diver shots were some of his favorite pix. He would never pass up an opportunity for a dive. I will miss him a lot.

A beautiful short piece on Ken in PNW Diver, including some of his photographs.

http://www.pnwdiver.com/uploads/4/6/9/0 ... 013-09.pdf

ljjames wrote:A beautiful short piece on Ken in PNW Diver, including some of his photographs.

http://www.pnwdiver.com/uploads/4/6/9/0 ... 013-09.pdf

Impressive work with the Nikonos, sad we lost another one.

Ugh....

Very sad, my prayers are with those impacted. I loved his photography, thank you for sharing it. Beautiful vintage work.

Mozino Point is an extremely beautiful but potentially treacherous dive site in the wrong conditions. I had one of the scariest dives of my young diving career at that site, a CO2 hit at 200 feet on CCR (everyone else had a great dive, so one person's experience can be different than others' - even on the same dive).

I know that Scott and Jude run a fantastic and safe operation up there, so I have no doubt that everything was done properly both before and after the dive accident.

It's very sad. After reading Laura's link it's clear that the PNW dive community lost one its local pioneers of underwater photography.

RIP Ken Gatherum and condolences to his family, friends and fellow dive club members over at Marker Buoy.

So sorry to hear this. My condolences to all who knew and loved him.

My condolences to his family and everyone involved in the tragic event.

After two days of searching with an ROV the RCMP has stopped searching for signs of Ken. It is assumed that his body has been pushed into deeper waters.

Very sad for everyone involved. My heart goes out to his family and friends, and the responders as well.

R.I.P. Ken G.

Photo of Ken doing what he loved to do.

Tangfish wrote:Mozino Point is an extremely beautiful but potentially treacherous dive site in the wrong conditions. I had one of the scariest dives of my young diving career at that site, a CO2 hit at 200 feet on CCR (everyone else had a great dive, so one person's experience can be different than others' - even on the same dive).

As your buddy on that dive, I remember that extremely well! ("Holy Sh*t! Where's Calvin???!!!") It is no mystery to me how a diver could be lost there, especially an underwater photographer. The beautiful deep water corals get more plentiful, colorful, and larger the deeper you go, so the temptation to go ever deeper on a dive because you see sometime even more spectacular below you is always there. Those corals also feed on nutrients brought to them constantly by the currents, which can be extremely powerful.

Clearly, Ken was respected and loved by many in the diving community...may he rest in peace in the sea that he so loved.

I just checked out the article that LJ posted. What a wonderful photographer.
My condolences to his family and friends.
Kirsten

Ken was a genuinely kind soul and generous of spirit. He was happy to share his knowledge, and eager to learn from the experience of others. He was a really good guy, and this is a really big loss.