saltierdog
10-17-2008, 02:45 PM
i got this e-mail from mark today
thought i'd pass it along
maybe i may go out and buy a can of white spraypaint for my wong's
joe
Several weeks ago I read the first account by Cameron Kirconnel for his heroic effort to save his dive buddy's life and I remember reading the article in detail.
It hit especially close to home having been in a similar situation before, on the receiving end, training for the Nationals in the Keys in 1999 the only comp I ever did. The short of it is I blacked out after ascending from a long wait on the deck of the Thunderbolt in 90' or 95' trying to out smart some smarter Cubera and blacked out before I hit the surface. After briefly hitting the surface and blacking out I came to and was drowning with no motor skills what so ever and I was slowly sinking to the bottom unable to release my weight belt or help myself, except that I was frightfully still conscious and coughing/drowning simultaneously. I could see my surroundings until my dive buddy Chris Morrison made eye contact with me and swam down to grab a hold of me as I slowly sank helplessly toward the bottom. He saved my life. If you've been around this sport long enough you've probably had a close call or know someone that has had a close call with swb.
In 1998' a friend of mine and my former team mate from that eye opening Nationals experience that occurred a year later was also our rep for Miami, Jorge Pellegrin. We didn't hear from him for some time and decided a call into him was in order. He said he hadn't been in the water for months after suffering a tragic accident. He was diving with his team-mate Juan Estevez, and Juan's dad was driving the boat. George was diving and after not seeing his buddy in a few dives he looked around and spotted him lying on the bottom head down. He dove down the 40' or so, grabbed him and pulled him to the surface. He motioned to Juan's dad to bring the boat. His father, lit with fear froze and then as he was trying to help Jorge bring Juan over the side he had a stroke in the boat. Jorge was now left with two bodies to deal with his friend's and his friend's dad. After performing CPR he managed to resuscitate Juan and he came to coughing and spewing. Juan's father on the other hand didn't fare so well. He was later pronounced dead at a hospital in Miami. He died at the site of his unconscious son in the deck of their boat. Many times a blackout has adverse effects on our loved ones as well aside from the victim.
I am disturbed because while I can closely relate to Steve and Camerons story and am very glad they survived this ordeal relatively unscathed I got caught up in reading over the details of their experience and don't understand the motive, most likely unintentional on their part, for leaving out the detail of the white handle that caught Cameron's attention. So I want to dwell on it. This is important and needs to be said as their story provides another valuable lesson. It should be highlighted from a safety stand-point. It should not be left out because it can save a diver's life as it most clearly contributed to Cameron noticing something out of the ordinary, Steve's gun as it was slowly sinking.
http://www.spearboard.com/showthread.php?t=66252 http://www.******************.com/showthread.php?t=7798 http://www.hawaiiskindiver.com/community/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=6438
"As Cameron lined up the shot on the cubera, the white handle of my speargun sinking past him caught the corner of his eye, moments before he pulled the trigger."
A white handle is the reason why today and for the last ten years Omer and also Beuchat, and a couple lesser recognized brands, following incidents like mine and other less fortunate ones around the world, have produced spearguns with white handles. For safety. In particular with all the camouflage patterns and low contrast patterns our equipment manifests today, safety is the number one reason for a white high visibility handle that sticks our like a sore thumb in an otherwise stealthy spear gun. Hold the handle the visible portion of the handle is gone, let go for whatever reason and you make it easily discernable even in less than ideal water visibility. I have spotted a gun that I thought was lost several times and I'm sure I'm not the only one, and in this instance it saved a life. In fact, anyone who has seen an Omer gun underwater on the bottom or suspended in mid water or slowly sinking in the periphery as in this case, can attest how easily distinguishable it is even far away compared to handles of a less noticeable color.
I believe this was an important detail that should not be left out of this story and in fact should be highlighted in light of a potentially disastrous situation. In particular because it is not by chance endorsed by the gun manufacturer, this is specifically aimed at preventing the loss of the gun from eyesight should it be released or dropped adding a fundamental element of safety. If we can learn something today about gear, anything, on how to make it safer, and how in fact it can be responsible for saving a life of a diver from coming so close to the Grim Reaper's grasp of another shallow water blackout it should not go unmentioned particularly when it may have played a role in saving another diver's life.
Regards,
Mark Laboccetta
Technosport Inc. - Omer & C4 USA
thought i'd pass it along
maybe i may go out and buy a can of white spraypaint for my wong's
joe
Several weeks ago I read the first account by Cameron Kirconnel for his heroic effort to save his dive buddy's life and I remember reading the article in detail.
It hit especially close to home having been in a similar situation before, on the receiving end, training for the Nationals in the Keys in 1999 the only comp I ever did. The short of it is I blacked out after ascending from a long wait on the deck of the Thunderbolt in 90' or 95' trying to out smart some smarter Cubera and blacked out before I hit the surface. After briefly hitting the surface and blacking out I came to and was drowning with no motor skills what so ever and I was slowly sinking to the bottom unable to release my weight belt or help myself, except that I was frightfully still conscious and coughing/drowning simultaneously. I could see my surroundings until my dive buddy Chris Morrison made eye contact with me and swam down to grab a hold of me as I slowly sank helplessly toward the bottom. He saved my life. If you've been around this sport long enough you've probably had a close call or know someone that has had a close call with swb.
In 1998' a friend of mine and my former team mate from that eye opening Nationals experience that occurred a year later was also our rep for Miami, Jorge Pellegrin. We didn't hear from him for some time and decided a call into him was in order. He said he hadn't been in the water for months after suffering a tragic accident. He was diving with his team-mate Juan Estevez, and Juan's dad was driving the boat. George was diving and after not seeing his buddy in a few dives he looked around and spotted him lying on the bottom head down. He dove down the 40' or so, grabbed him and pulled him to the surface. He motioned to Juan's dad to bring the boat. His father, lit with fear froze and then as he was trying to help Jorge bring Juan over the side he had a stroke in the boat. Jorge was now left with two bodies to deal with his friend's and his friend's dad. After performing CPR he managed to resuscitate Juan and he came to coughing and spewing. Juan's father on the other hand didn't fare so well. He was later pronounced dead at a hospital in Miami. He died at the site of his unconscious son in the deck of their boat. Many times a blackout has adverse effects on our loved ones as well aside from the victim.
I am disturbed because while I can closely relate to Steve and Camerons story and am very glad they survived this ordeal relatively unscathed I got caught up in reading over the details of their experience and don't understand the motive, most likely unintentional on their part, for leaving out the detail of the white handle that caught Cameron's attention. So I want to dwell on it. This is important and needs to be said as their story provides another valuable lesson. It should be highlighted from a safety stand-point. It should not be left out because it can save a diver's life as it most clearly contributed to Cameron noticing something out of the ordinary, Steve's gun as it was slowly sinking.
http://www.spearboard.com/showthread.php?t=66252 http://www.******************.com/showthread.php?t=7798 http://www.hawaiiskindiver.com/community/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=6438
"As Cameron lined up the shot on the cubera, the white handle of my speargun sinking past him caught the corner of his eye, moments before he pulled the trigger."
A white handle is the reason why today and for the last ten years Omer and also Beuchat, and a couple lesser recognized brands, following incidents like mine and other less fortunate ones around the world, have produced spearguns with white handles. For safety. In particular with all the camouflage patterns and low contrast patterns our equipment manifests today, safety is the number one reason for a white high visibility handle that sticks our like a sore thumb in an otherwise stealthy spear gun. Hold the handle the visible portion of the handle is gone, let go for whatever reason and you make it easily discernable even in less than ideal water visibility. I have spotted a gun that I thought was lost several times and I'm sure I'm not the only one, and in this instance it saved a life. In fact, anyone who has seen an Omer gun underwater on the bottom or suspended in mid water or slowly sinking in the periphery as in this case, can attest how easily distinguishable it is even far away compared to handles of a less noticeable color.
I believe this was an important detail that should not be left out of this story and in fact should be highlighted in light of a potentially disastrous situation. In particular because it is not by chance endorsed by the gun manufacturer, this is specifically aimed at preventing the loss of the gun from eyesight should it be released or dropped adding a fundamental element of safety. If we can learn something today about gear, anything, on how to make it safer, and how in fact it can be responsible for saving a life of a diver from coming so close to the Grim Reaper's grasp of another shallow water blackout it should not go unmentioned particularly when it may have played a role in saving another diver's life.
Regards,
Mark Laboccetta
Technosport Inc. - Omer & C4 USA