There are plenty of SCUBA websites around. I saw one the other day that just incensed me (Cyber Diver News Network). This highly political website posted their top story,  “SCUBA Carnage: Five more divers die during Florida’s annual lobster hunt”.  It really wasn’t as much a story, as a laundry list of divers, who have died, diving in Florida.

I quote, ”The high number of diver deaths, including yet another  scuba diver killed by a boat, underscores the unacceptably high risk of scuba diving in Florida, America’s most dangerous dive destination”.  A small blurb is written about each of the divers and an alleged cause of death. This year’s mini season list was five men, 36-60 years of age. Accidents ranged from problems under water, diving solo, to being hit by a boat (was more than 150 yards from his boat, was not towing a dive flag and don’t forget waves concealing heads). . The article fails to address the reason for the deaths.

Another article headlined, “Dying for lobsters: Diving accident kills ninth Florida bug diver”. This article said this diver was on a hookah rig, wearing a weight belt, surfaced in distress, sunk and drown when her family was unable to rescue her. Questions fly into my head: hookah divers are not required to be certified, so was she aware of the dangers of diving, was she over weighted, did she have adequate training to drop her weight belt in am emergency, where was her dive buddy, was there emergency equipment and a rescue plan on the boat?

SCUBA instructors spend inordinate amounts of time emphasizing some of the simple rules: never dive alone, never hold your breath, be familiar with your equipment, plan your dive and dive your plan, do weight checks, have a rescue plan, have proper equipment to affect a rescue, watch your depth and time, don’t push the tables, no alcohol when diving and of course, if you hear a boat, stay down until the either stops or the sound fades.

The article failed to mention: Florida and the Keys is the number one dive destination in the world, with over a million divers visiting every year. It claimed 26 diving deaths or injuries in the last five years occurred in Florida. It didn’t mention that many diving victims are sedentary, in poor physical condition, smoke, drink , dive once a year on vacation, didn’t bother with a refresher class, didn’t have their gear serviced and generally feel that they have been diving for twenty years (with 30 dives logged) and some “whippersnapper” dive shop employee can’t tell them anything.

My sympathy goes out to the diver’s family, friends, co-workers, dive shops, the people who had to recover a body, the people who tried to rescue and the people who were in the wrong place at the wrong time. A diver assumes the risk and a lapse in judgment and focus can have devastating effects. In the nineteen years I have been diving, I am aware of only a handful of accidents that were NOT due to operator error. Of course the article never addressed any of these issues. I guess that wouldn’t be sensational enough to print.